Benji's page

Who says you have to be a pro to have fun shooting train pictures? Certainly not our son Benjamin, who at the tender age of 3-1/2 and armed with an inexpensive box camera took his very first railroad photo of some boxcars sitting in the yard at Sando. Since then he has taken many more, with varying degrees of success. Sure, we have had our share of fingers over the lens, poor composition and light-leaked film, but we have also witnessed the enthusiasm of a budding young photographer and the excitement that comes with getting a package of developed prints back from the one-hour photo. If you have small children who like trains, we highly recommend getting them a camera of their own. A basic outfit costs under $15 and rolls of film are relatively cheap to buy and process. The experience your child will gain and the memories you will obtain are priceless.

(Click on any of the thumbnail photos to download a larger image...)

An Amtrak engineer converses with a Maintenance of Way worker during a scheduled passenger stop at the Amtrak depot in Stockton. Glenn cropped the image in Photoshop. Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.

A long look down the plaza shows the construction work taking place on the passenger platform at the Stockton Amtrak depot. This photo and the one above were taken sometime in August 1998. Glenn retouched the photo, cropping it and adjusting the exposure in Photoshop. Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.

We have made several trips to Stockton with Benji. On Dec. 29, 1998, we visited Stockton Tower with several other railfans. This shot of our friend John Manter watching a stack train on the Canyon Subdivision was severely cock-eyed in its original form, but Glenn did some extensive editing in Photoshop to produce a pleasing image. Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.

This poignant image of an unidentified railfan was taken on the same day as the one above. Benji was very impressed by this fellow's van, which had been painted up to look like a Santa Fe Warbonnet locomotive. This one also required some work in Photoshop, but most of the magic was in the cropping. Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.

We know, this doesn't really count as railfan photography, unless you count the fact that it is a portrait of two railfans. We were on a chilly picnic at the Antioch Marina in March 1998 when Benji decided to take our photo. The real beauty of this image — aside from the subject matter — is that it required no modifications by Dad! Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please send e-mail to Glenn or Roni Gehlke.

Proceed to Milepost 1147.2 on main track. Hold main track at last named point. Over.

This page was last updated Wednesday, August 4, 1999 at 00:15 hrs.

	An Amtrak engineer converses with a Maintenance of Way worker during a scheduled passenger stop at the Amtrak depot in Stockton. Glenn cropped the image in Photoshop. Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.
	A long look down the plaza shows the construction work taking place on the passenger platform at the Stockton Amtrak depot. This photo and the one above were taken sometime in August 1998. Glenn retouched the photo, cropping it and adjusting the exposure in Photoshop. Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.
	We have made several trips to Stockton with Benji. On Dec. 29, 1998, we visited Stockton Tower with several other railfans. This shot of our friend John Manter watching a stack train on the Canyon Subdivision was severely cock-eyed in its original form, but Glenn did some extensive editing in Photoshop to produce a pleasing image. Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.
	This poignant image of an unidentified railfan was taken on the same day as the one above. Benji was very impressed by this fellow's van, which had been painted up to look like a Santa Fe Warbonnet locomotive. This one also required some work in Photoshop, but most of the magic was in the cropping. Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.
	We know, this doesn't really count as railfan photography, unless you count the fact that it is a portrait of two railfans. We were on a chilly picnic at the Antioch Marina in March 1998 when Benji decided to take our photo. The real beauty of this image — aside from the subject matter — is that it required no modifications by Dad! Photo by Benjamin Gehlke.