Recent content by Sandpatch

Extraordinary images as always @Woodyg3. My daughter is visiting my wife and I over Thanksgiving and I'm looking forward to showing these to her. Upon seeing the pelican pictures, my wife recalled a rhyme from long ago: A wonderful bird is the pelican, His bill will hold more than his...

The westernmost tunnel on NS's challenging mountain route in western NC is Swannanoa Tunnel at Ridgecrest, NC at 1,832 Feet Long. This eastbound is about to enter it and begin the 12-1/2 mile descent to Old Fort. This line was devastated by Hurricane Helene in September 2024 and is under...

From this morning at Columbia, SC, a CSX local train in dappled light and Norfolk Southern's specially painted Delaware & Hudson "Heritage" locomotive. I'd not seen this one before. [D5100]

A time exposure from 08/19/1989 at Anniston, AL. Not wanting to spend the money on the Nikon attachment to take time exposures with my N2020, I figured if I shorted the two contacts it accessed, I could keep the shutter open. It worked, though it was kind of a pain with my tiny alligator clips...

From 08/27/2022 at Columbia, SC, a solid train of BMW's is headed to the Port of Charleston for export. That bird is in no mood for train watching. [D5100] :)

What focusing option have you selected? I'm not sure what the D3300 has, but my (now ancient) D5100 has Single-servo AF (AF-S), Continuous-servo AF (AF-C), Auto-area AF, Dynamic-area AF and 3D-Tracking. If you're shooting birds in trees, I'd maybe start with Single-servo AF (AF-S).

Today is Veterans Day in the U.S.. In 2012 Norfolk Southern specially painted SD-60E 6920 to honor their service. Here it is at Columbia, SC, 01/12/2014. [D5100]

Thank you Chuck. It's somewhat unnerving for me to think that I shot that almost 50 years ago, just a teenager crazy about trains. Even beautiful North Western station is gone, replaced by a modern glass box train station.

From 1976 at North Western Station in Chicago, taken with my Nikkormat FTn and Plus-X film. I sat on the platform and rested the camera on my knees so as to be able to shoot at a slow shutter speed without blurring the image. The 510 was retired in 1989 and it resides today at the Southern...

I've done the same with trains @Clovishound, looking to see at what time a train passed by the last time I visited an area. It helps me better the odds of finding a train. (y) Checked my D5100 last night. It tends to slip several minutes in six months, so I always correct the clock while I'm...

Thank you once again Marilynne. I mentioned this task on a railroad forum a year of two ago and some guy thought it was dumb. I disagreed. Most of us who enjoy photography shoot with care and precision. Why wouldn't we also want to take a moment two times a year to be sure our date and time...

April 1995 at Asheville, NC [Nikon N2020, Kodachrome]

Someone has suggested that with UP running the show, NS's much diminished steam program might be reenergized. It'd be great to see 611 and 1218 back on the mainlines.

Thank you Chuck. Looking at the picture again, I need to go back when autumn colors are present. Those trees would look great then.

Coal train 786 from today at Blythewood, SC. A third locomotive was pushing at the rear. [D5100]