Forest Railway Tranquility

To access some of the most beautiful parts of Zemplen’s forest railway you have to cross a swamp (which you can also see on my “Bigfoot” shot). Crossing was a piece of cake on the way to this place, and the light and atmosphere was as gorgeous as it gets on a midsummer morning.

Forest Railway Tranquility

Forest Railway Tranquility

On the way back, well, my rubber boot’s leg proved to be just about an inch shorter than it would be necessary to cope with the water… The moral of the story: don’t be lazy to dig out a longer boot from you car’s trunk when you cross a swamp (yes I had a longer boot in the trunk with me).

But I think this image well worth the small inconvenience of having some water in my rubber boots. And yes, Canon’s 135mm f/2L is a wonderful lens.

Canon 135mm f/2 as a Quasi-Macro

I was eager to try out my new 135/2, so I headed to a nearby arboretum to see if I can find something interesting there. I was lucky as the cacti are at the beginning of their blooming period, and I could photograph a few flowers.

The First Flower

The First Flower

I’m not a macro guy, but the 135 f/2 + 25mm extension tube combination worked pretty well, as you can see on the image above. Besides being a great lens in every aspect, the ability to use the 135 as a quasi-macro lens is a big bonus. I’ll definitely go back soon to shoot more cactus flowers.