I don't do a lot of tweaking of shots in Photoshop. There are a couple of reasons for that, one, even though I have been using it for years, I have barely scratched the surface on everything it can do and would still consider myself a novice with Photoshop. Two, my thought is that is I have to spend more than a couple of minutes on a shot, it's probably not good enough anyway (I know, I'm a perfectionist). Although I do occasionally go back and look closer at shots that didn't make the first cut. I like to do that during the off-season.
One thing that I have started doing recently is hunting dust spots on my images. One of the sites I post photos to are real dust spot nazis, and they will reject photos if you have one or two dust spots. I found it vexing at first, but realized that they were just pushing me to be more of a perfectionist (or as the missus would say, more of a pain in the arse). Clearing dust spots with the clone stamp tool really does make them better. Of course, cleaning the sensor and the lens helps!
But in the environments for shooting airplanes, dust is always an issue.
I have the 18-200 VR and it is a really nice lens. The first shot above was taken with the 18-200 on the D50. The second was with the Bigma. The last one was with my first big zoom, the 70-300 ED lens (not the VR version). I have been toying with picking up the 70-300 VR for a nice light-weight zoom for the closer shows. I love the Bigma, but that thing is a beast. The 18-200 is my favorite lens, not too heavy, nice reach and tack sharp images. It has perfect range for air-to-air work and the VR is a great addition.
Ken Rockwell is the man! I was directed to the site by a friend of his. He is an electrical engineer, turned photographer and gear expert. I have used his site for reference many times and to check on something I am considering purchasing. He raved about the 18-200, and I couldn't agree more. And the d300 is on my list for this year if I can keep the cashflow in the positive direction.
You're doing fine with your shots Lee. Your compositions are well done. Once you get the hang of the D200, you are going to get some good stuff. The D50 is a good camera, the D200 is a
great camera.