I have a D300 and that was taken with just a cheap 18-55 @3.5-5.6 lens.

For that pic? HDR but I am not a big fan of editing pictures so I usually shoot just as is (photoshop doesnt make a good photographer)

That was done in photomatrix to combine the different exposures then photoshop to extract, slightly blur,then slightly darken the bg highlights.

And not sure.. It's is insanely old though - wooden frame and suicide doors!