Railway Junction

Close to my home is the McNeil railway junction. This is right where the Austin White Lime Company processing facility exists, and is the intersection of the MOPAC and Austin Siding lines. Despite it being a small junction with a few sidings, it still makes for an interesting area to photograph. Photos from this morning's adventure are below...

Bits and Bobs:
















Crossing:
















13:























Locomotives:
















Locomotives 2:















Sleepers:























Switch:























Old Mill:

















Red Nose:

New Flash: Nikon Speedflash SB-400

A nice birthday present from my parents!

While the standard flash on the Nikon D40 does just fine, an external flash has been on the cards for a while, especially since I may be taking some photos inside some dark places in Israel when I go there. I've also needed one for portraits. So, I received a Nikon Sb-400 Speedflash for my birthday.










This flash sits atop the camera just like the typical flash, and has a flexible flash section that moves at different angles (as opposed to the entire flash body itself moving). It can only move up and down and not left to right, but I can deal with that.

I tested it out on my daughter below. I really like the results...

With the built-in flash:

















With the Speedflash:

















There is noticeably more natural-looking light when using the Speedflash.

I tested it out on our cat, Nelson, as well.

















Excellent light here, and you can see the lovely colors of his eyes without redeye or serious reflection. Nice!

I'm really happy with this and can't wait to put it through its paces...

Interesting Photo Opportunity Coming Up - Israel

I'll be headed to Israel for a week in late September. I'll be going alone, and will be around Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Jerusalem for about a week. I can't wait to take photos there - talk about interesting photo opportunities!