After a brief hiatus from the Observation Tower, we are back in the hot seat and happy to feature the work of Kentucky-based Gage O'Dell in the November segment of Next Generation. O'Dell is a 20-year University of Kentucky student currently pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism. A lifelong railfan and one of the biggest supporters of UK sports, O'Dell shares a little with us in this month's blog.
Q: When and how did you get involved in railroad photography? Have you always had an interest in trains?
A: To be honest, it started right from birth. My grandfather passed the interest of trains onto my father and consequently, it was passed down to me. I remember watching my father's old VHS tapes from around Danville and you can hear me in the background at one year old. It was not until 12 years old that I received my first camera, a small Kodak Point and Shoot. Three years ago for Christmas, I received a Canon Rebel and that was all she wrote. Since then, I've been off and running on my own.
Q: What is your favorite place to visit?
A: That's a loaded question! Personally, I would have to say the West Slope. I'm a sucker for old signals and EMDs. So, when I had the chance to visit last year, I really enjoyed seeing all the old school PRR position lights and being able to photograph them, plus the massive amount of trains. It pales in comparison to what I regularly see on the CNO&TP. Not to mention you have the shops in Altoona with all the rebuilds, Cresson with all the SD40E's, and South Fork with all the MACs.
Q: Any chance that your interest in photography could steer your career choice? If not photography, could you envision a railroad related career?
A: For now, I would like to keep photography as a hobby. But perhaps in the future, maybe do some freelance work or get a job with the school newspaper if time permits. And as of this time, I'll probably not do anything rail related. I already have a career path towards the sports broadcasting area, but the door will always be open if I ever wanted to change direction.
Q: What's on your railfan bucket list?
A: I would love to go out west. There's just so much out that I would love to explore. I think the first place I would want to go is Montana.
Q: Any role models or photographers that inspire you?
A: Growing up, Emmett Bell and Ron Flanary inspired me. Emmett was local to me, so I saw his pictures on my dad's JREB account all the time. When I first started photography, I really didn't know where to begin or how to start. So I looked at his photos and tried to jumpstart my style on his. I still kind of do that to this day. If I go to a new location and I know he's shot it before, I'll see how he shot it beforehand so when I get there, I already know what to look for and go on from there. With Mr. Flanary, I just admire his photos, new and old. Some, if not most, of his older photos leave me in awe. In my opinion, he is one of the masters at what we all do.
Q: What other general interests and hobbies do you enjoy?
A: My other interests would be sports first and foremost. You can always catch me somewhere on UK's campus checking out any sporting events that are happening. As mentioned before, I would love to be a sports broadcaster for a living. I already dipped in that realm all throughout high school and fell in love with it. So it is definitely something I want to continue in the future, which is why I'm studying it in college.
Left: Gage stands along the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg, Pa. during a visit to the old PRR in 2014. Right: Southern 630 leads a 21st Century steam excursion through Burnside, Ky.
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