You have captured the serenity of a magical moment in a tripartite composition with the emphasis on those very dramatic clouds. Well done!

I have read your reference today and learned a great deal on this subject. I am beginning to understand the benefits and limitations of Digital Camera-IR photography. Some 30 years ago, I photographed the remains of color on ancient Greek statues and was able to capture some of the original: what looks to us dark red today turned out to be mostly golden yellow but also either blue or green. I have been hoping to duplicate this process using modern equivalents. Total Spectrum -with or without filters- looks very promising.

I have been asking -but not getting answers- whether it is possible to duplicate the film color IR that had the capacity of penetrating the surface to detect substratum color, or to pick up minute traces of color to reconstruct original compositions. The beauty of film IR was its ability to penetrate the surface. Even B@W could detect invisible elements below the surface of the earth. I wonder if Total Spectrum does this sort of thing.

Allied Photocolor of St. Louis (tel.314-652-4000) still processes color film once or twice a week. Check their web-site or call to ask if they still do Kodachrome II.

Great composition of a very unusual and ominous sky with disorderly clouds.
Sarantis

Exceptional images! Good for you and the Nikon equipment.

The interior shots are great, for the exterior you will need at least a 28mm lens, or better still a 24mm (still with minimal distortion). There are a few hours when tourists are not around, like early on a Sunday.

I photographed the planet Venus three weeks ago zooming in and out with the SX-50. Most of the pictures came out as a bright circle in the dark sky but a couple of images surprisingly showed strange and out-of-focus patterns. I tried but couldn't get them in focus. I cannot decide whether this is an astronomical or photographic puzzle. Since we are not supposed to see the surface, I am inclined to think the patterns are light diffraction or perhaps digital cameras have the capacity of infrared penetration (?).

Check out today's classified section and you will see an excellent 7100 for half the price.

The key to self-portraiture is the lens. If you have, use a macro lens. If not try a 35mm (focuses to one foot), or a 50mm (focuses to two feet). The lens you are using cannot focus at the distance you are trying. With a macro or 35mm you will be able to release the shutter with a cord or infrared control. Your camera will auto-focus, no worries there.
Good luck,
Sarantis

I have been following the discussion and the many excellent suggestions how to photograph the moon. Not sure if anyone posted the equipment used, I might have missed it. I have tried the 500mm Nikkor, and my old 800mm Tokina on the D800E but found the image to be too small and in need of serious cropping, even with the addition of a TC-1.4 (much better but image still small inside the frame). I finally tried the old Nikkor 1000mm mirror lens and added the TC-1.4B on the D700. I find this combination to be nearly perfect, an image larger than this would be impossible to keep in the viewer long enough to capture it. The attached image from last night shows the result without any cropping or other adjustments. It is very sharp (I think) and for the first time I zoomed onto that puzzling white spot at the upper left and it turned out to be a deep crater from a recent impact.
I -along with others- would be curious to know what equipment and process is used by the experts.

Moon, September 25

The pictures are great but I also admire the quality of the flowers, the result of a green thumb!

Unlike the D800 and other Nikons, the D700 has an aperture setting for 9.5. I am quite certain the the 95 aperture in question is simply a typo in the data.

It might be a typo, like 9.5 instead of 95

If I were you, I would also follow the advice given by Haydon: His bird photograph is the best I have ever seen and obviously he has the right equipment: camera, lenses, patience, and a working system.