The larger version of the images come in two installments – the first is of the small bird, and the second series focuses on the red-tailed hawk. I personally prefer the 1st series – the sharpness and detail in the feathers is something else, not to mention the amazing colors.

Humanoid also commented that it was fine to leave the VR (vibration reduction) mechanism on the lens in the ON position while mounted on the tripod. He used the Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S VR lens plus the AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E II and mounted the whole setup on a Bogen 3221 tripod with a Markins ball head (source).

If you’re interested in more Nikon D200 bird photography samples, see Janet Zinn’s bird photos with the Nikkor 200-400mm lens.

To view the larger version of the images and read through the forum thread, go here.

On top of superb composition and waiting for the ideal light, the spectacular effects in some of these photos were mainly achieved with the use of two photo filters: a Cokin P125 Tobacco Gradual (or Graduated) filter (see usage examples here) and a ND (Neutral Density) filter.

Nuno also put the Sigma 10-20 mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM lens to good use, making sure to compose in a way that exaggerated the foreground, thus leading the eyes into the main subject.

I’m seriously impressed by the saturated colors in the pictures – Nuno shot the photos in RAW mode and converted the NEF files in Nikon Capture NX.

View more of Nuno’s amazing landscape photos at his PBase gallery.

Sidenote: common filters used in landscape photography

Graduated filters are useful in landscape photography, and they help by darkening the sky, thus allowing you to ensure that both the sky and foreground are correctly exposed (read more here). Neutral density filters darken the entire scene, allowing you to use slower shutter speeds to capture the effect of silky-smooth water in motion, such as waves or waterfalls.

Go here to view a larger version of the images and read through the forum thread which he had started.

He used the Sigma APO 120-300 mm f2.8 EX IF HSM which he remarked was not as fast-focusing as the Nikkor 200mm f/2 VR. He talks more about the Sigma 120-300 here, commenting that it’s sharp even at wide-open apertures, and that he used the older, non-DG version. ISO 1600 was required to keep the shutter speed around 1/500 seconds, but even with this, the images are slightly underexposed due to the very dim lighting conditions there.

Of particular interest is his postprocessing method. The images were shot in RAW mode, and converted through Nikon Capture 4.4 where he decided to use COlor Mode IIIa for a boost in saturation and contrast, with NR (noise reduction) set at Intensity / Sharpness of 5 / 5. Noise reduction was further applied using Neat Image, and finishing touches and sharpening in Photoshop plus the FocalBlade sharpening plugin.

Glijn has very helpfully included identification data in the photos.

The first series of 7 photos are of a Leaf Insect, Phyllium celebicum. View the larger images and read the related forum thread here, and click here for a Google search on this species.

The insect in the second series (view here) is the Ghost Praying Mantis (search Google: 1st variation | 2nd variation), the insect that I mentioned I had not seen before.

Equipment used to shoot the photos are the Nikon D200 and Sigma Macro 105mm f/2.8 EX DG lens.

View more fantastic images by Glijn at his photo gallery.

The above series of portraits were shot wide-open at an aperture of f/2 with the “Fat Boy” (some owners gave this nickname to the lens) by Jeff-C – you can view a larger version of the images here.

You can view a larger version of the 2 fantastic images of cheerleaders below here. The bokeh from this lens is truly second to none.

Recommended Monopods

This post recommends the use of Manfrotto 679B Monopod, which is able to support the weight of the D200 plus Nikkor 200mm f/2 G lens combination. The Manfrotto 694 Magfiber monopod also gets recommended.

Recommended Camera Bags

A Lowepro backpack seems to be a good choice to carry the Nikon D200 + Nikkor 200mm VR combination.

Use With Teleconverter Lenses

A few owners mention of image degradation when using the Nikkor 200mm VR with teleconverters (more noticeable with 2x TC lenses), so use them only when necessary. Degradation also becomes more prominent the farther away the subject is from you.

The images were shot with the Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX lens mounted on a Nikon D200. The 17-55 is an ideal lens when on a city walkabout, offering a nice 17mm for reasonably wide shots, moderate telephoto at 55mm, and the ability to shoot wide-open at f/2.8 aperture when in low-light situations or a when blurred background is desired.

Links:

1. View a larger version of the images here.
   The entire Venice, CA gallery can be found here.
2. Venice, CA, on the map.

With the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, you get the best telephoto zoom lens Nikon has to offer; you also get to pay huge amounts of money and carry a lot of weight and stick out like a sore thumb as you walk around in public areas with that lens mounted on your D200. It’s all worth it, however, if you’re looking for the sharpest images possible from a zoom lens, if you need wide-open apertures at f/2.8, etc – so, know whether you want or need the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR lens first, then vote with your wallet if it’s a YES.

For the rest of us who’re interested in buying a versatile lens with a huge zoom range that allows you to take pictures in almost all situations, look no further than the Nikkor 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6g IF-ED AF-S DX VR lens. In fact, Luke presents this series of images that best exemplifies the range of photos you can capture with this optic:

To view a larger version of the images and read Luke’s mini-review and account, go here.

If you have unlimited (or a lot of) money, go ahead and buy both. Otherwise, you might want to consider this “checklist” and 18-200 “trade-offs” to decide if the Nikon 18-200 or the 70-200mm best suits your needs.

Links

1. View a larger version of the gorilla images and read Tony’s account of the behavior of the gorillas
2. Equipment used: Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR lens.
3. When shooting with the Nikkor 70-200, care needs to be taken to when shooting into the sun – otherwise, the occurrence of flare will spoil the contrast in photos.
4. See more images at Tony’s Western Lowland Gorilla gallery.

Terri French shares four pictures shot at the Grand Teton National Park and Idaho.

Links:

1. View a larger version of the images
2. Terri says that three of the images were shot with the 17-55mm while the second Teton image was photographed with the Sigma. She also shares her photography techniques which includes setting up the D200 in aperture priority, staying at f/8 to f/11, and using matrix metering and the histogram to judge exposure. Images were shot RAW and converted in Photoshop.
3. Materials which helped Terri in her photography, especially in the postprocessing aspect: John Shaw’s Photoshop Guide and Dan Margulis Lab Color Book
4. Roman Johnston recommends the use of Expodisc for white balancing, and gives other tips on landscape composition with wide-angle lenses.
   He follows up with some image samples demonstrating the use of perspective anchor points to strengthen the foreground.

Do pay a visit to Terri’s Grand Tetons photo gallery to enjoy more of her amazing work.

Equipment used for this landscape series: Nikon D200, Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM.

Related links:

1. Forum post, and larger version of the images. Hans notes that he’s now able to give up manual focusing while photographing underwater as the D200’s AF is up to the task.
2. Lenses used: Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor, Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor and Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye

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3. He had to modify his Subal for F4 housing because the version for the D200 wasn’t ready at the time – he describes the Subal modification steps at his site; you’d need to understand Dutch to take advantage of the information there.
4. Hans explains that an SB-800 flash in a Subal housing is used for macro shots, while for the ultra wide-angle pics with the Nikkor 10.5mm, two SB105 flashes are used.
5. He sometimes uses Magic Filters from http://www.magic-filters.com. The filters are designed to counteract blue light underwater. Dr. Alexander Mustard, the designer of the filters uses the Nikon D2X for his underwater photography, samples of which can be seen here.
6. Enjoy viewing more splendid images at Hans Leijnse’s site