Railway Photographs By Ben Wheeler

Welcome

Thanks for visiting Railway Photographs By Ben Wheeler.

I have been doing railway photography for around 15 years now, starting at the tender age of about 5 with no more than a compact camera and some print film. I didn't take it seriously until I got hooked up with the internet about 6 years ago, where I discovered and admired the work of several railway photographers which I'm now good friends with and often chat to at the lineside. It inspired me to make a real effort and to start practicing my hobby properly. I didn't come into contact with an SLR camera until 2002, when a Minolta 404 SI Dynax found it's way to me. I used this camera for a few years with print film, before moving on to a Nikon F65 SLR camera. Initially I spent a year or so using slide film with my Nikon F65, but it wasn't really my cup of tea and at the end of 2005 I purchased a Nikon D50 digital SLR. For it's price and fairly low megapixels, this was a surprisingly good camera. It was after I'd got the D50 that I really started to see some potential in my pictures.

In time, I managed to get several images published in magazines such as Rail Express and The Railway Magazine. I still get images published in these magazines from time to time. In 2007, I landed a Nikon D200 digital SLR. I'm still using this camera today and it can be excellent when you find the right "glass" for it! With this, I use several lenses but have now stuck to mainly using prime ones, these being either a Nikon 35mm F1.8 or the Nikon 50mm F1.8 (have not used the latter for a long while now though).

Hope you enjoy viewing my pictures and notice improvements with them as time progresses. I don't consider myself to be an absolutely excellent photographer --- I take awful shots sometimes, just as everyone does, but try my best most of the time and aim to use this gallery to illustrate that. If you wish to use any of my pictures for publication in any form, then please don't hesitate to contact me, either using the "contact me" box on the opposite side of this page or via e-mail at: benwheeler03 (at) yahoo.co.uk.

Alternatively, I can be contacted using Microsoft's "MSN" messenger program at benwheeler03 (at) hotmail.co.uk.

Finally, thanks to all the gen contributers (including the chaps who privately send gen which I post myself, you know who you are!), without whom this hobby would be considerably more difficult.

Regards,
BW, August 2009.

Top Photographs of All Time

1	37425 passes the gallery at Crownthorpe on 29/3/09 during the MNR diesel gala.	Class 37's	(506)
2	66718, Asfordby, 29/4/09 (6Z27 Peterborough VQ to Rotherham Booth's Scrap Yard).	Class 66's / 67's	(323)
3	47727 + 47739, Burton upon Trent, 26/3/09 (6Z48 Burton to Dollands Moor empty IHA's).	Class 47's / 57's	(295)
4	9701, Cossington, 21/4/09 (1Q12 Derby RTC to Selhurst). Anyone else getting sick of these things now?	Units / HST's etc	(274)
5	37425 + 60059 + 66144 + 67008 (!), Dereham, 29/3/09 (MNR diesel gala, final working for the guest locos).	Class 37's	(222)
6	60011, Cossington, 25/4/09 (6E38 Colnbrook to Lindsey tanks).	Class 60's	(218)
7	92001 "Victor Hugo", Beacon Hill Road bridge (Newark), 13/6/09 (4E32 Dollands Moor to Scunthorpe via Doncaster).	Class 92's	(182)
8	31459 propells some test coaches and DBSO 9702 through Thurmaston (near Syston) on 18/4/09 with 4Z10 Selhurst to Derby RTC.	Class 31's	(177)
9	56040 is seen on the outskirts of Dereham on 29/3/09 with the final working of the Spring 2009 diesel gala.	Class 56's	(174)
10	56303, Gonerby Moor (between Allington and Barkston Junction), 9/9/09 (6Z56 0700 Washwood Heath to Boston Docks).	At last, some new phots!	(165)

Most Recent Collections

	Mon 12th Oct 09	0. Green Goyle
	Mon 19th Oct 09	A couple I should have uploaded last month...
	Fri 2nd Oct 09	A Random Tug
	Tue 3rd Nov 09	A Red Shed
	Tue 15th Sep 09	At last, some new phots!
	Sun 24th May 09	Class 25's / 26's / 27's
	Fri 10th Apr 09	Class 31's
	Sun 24th May 09	Class 33's
	Fri 10th Apr 09	Class 37's
	Tue 30th Jun 09	Class 40's
	Sun 24th May 09	Class 44's / 45's / 46's
	Fri 10th Apr 09	Class 47's / 57's
	Sun 5th Jul 09	Class 52's
	Fri 8th May 09	Class 55's
	Fri 10th Apr 09	Class 56's
	Sun 5th Apr 09	Class 60's
	Fri 10th Apr 09	Class 66's / 67's
	Fri 10th Apr 09	Class 73's
	Tue 15th Sep 09	Class 87's
	Sat 13th Jun 09	Class 92's
	Sat 25th Jul 09	Steam
	Fri 10th Apr 09	Units / HST's etc