Link was a iconic photographer - a standout in the field of rail photography.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Balt, I hope you don't get yelled at for digging up an old thread.
But since you did: To me, Link is the greatest. Right up there after him are Jim Shaugnessy and Phil Hastings. In the modern, diesel, color category, I think Gary Benson was perhaps in a class of his own.
Timeless.
Why are we leaving Steinheimer out?
Overmod Why are we leaving Steinheimer out?
Don't forget Bob Malinowski, who specialized in Northeast railroad photography in color, and was an absolute master of not just capturing the train itself but the train in the context of its surroundings.
Needless to say, the OWL was a master of that as well, probably THE master.
And there was Bob Collins, who got so many good shots at the Erie's S-curve in Waldwick NJ it's known to this day to Northeast railfans and photographers as "Collins Curve."
Lithonia OperatorBalt, I hope you don't get yelled at for digging up an old thread. But since you did: To me, Link is the greatest. Right up there after him are Jim Shaugnessy and Phil Hastings. In the modern, diesel, color category, I think Gary Benson was perhaps in a class of his own.
There are old threads that should be forgotten.....
There are old threads that should never be forgotten.
Never forget O. Winston Link and the images he created.
BaltACDNever forget O. Winston Link and the images he created.
Not much chance of that wherever N&W fans gather. Or the well-informed railfans gather as well.
Hot Shot eastbound at the Iaeger Drive-in hangs above my desk.
Just a general question: How much other railroading photos did O Winston Link shoot besides N&W steam??
I certainly think Steinheimer was an excellent photographer. But IMO he's not quite in the same league as the three I mentioned.
CSSHEGEWISCH Just a general question: How much other railroading photos did O Winston Link shoot besides N&W steam??
Link's work was chiefly industrial - he stumbled into photographing N&W steam by chance during an assignment in Virginia. In the process, he was able to use something he was interested in - synchronized flash.
As I recall, he was given carte blanche on the railroad - most of his shots were staged and involved multiple takes.
A good read is "The Last Steam Railroad in America," which contains much of his work, including some color plates.
I don't know that he shot many other railroads (if any). The book I mentioned is really more about his documentation of the last days of steam on the N&W than it is his over-all works.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Hot Shot eastbound at the Iaeger Drive-in will alway reman in my mind. Mr. Limk had to work to merge multiple shots for proper exposures but it is still one of the most memorable photos I have seen. For those who saw the N&W before it ended steam, it recalls so many memories. J's, A's, and Y's were magnificent machines that did their jobs well. R.I.P O. Winston Link. Thanks for the memories.
Electroliner 1935Hot Shot eastbound at the Iaeger Drive-in will alway reman in my mind. Mr. Limk had to work to merge multiple shots for proper exposures but it is still one of the most memorable photos I have seen. For those who saw the N&W before it ended steam, it recalls so many memories. J's, A's, and Y's were magnificent machines that did their jobs well. R.I.P O. Winston Link. Thanks for the memories.
Print available https://fineart.ha.com/itm/photographs/o-winston-link-american-1914-2001-hot-shot-eastbound-at-the-iaeger-drive-in-west-virginia-1956gelatin-silver-/a/5153-74080.s $15,500 or more
To each their own, of course - but I always liked more natural photography. OWL's stuff (and as a result - a lot of photo charters) always look too "staged" for my tastes.
Fir example: the classic cleaning the headlight shot.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
zugmann To each their own, of course - but I always liked more natural photography. OWL's stuff (and as a result - a lot of photo charters) always look too "staged" for my tastes. Fir example: the classic cleaning the headlight shot.
Certainly, that would be a valid criticism. And this is all totally subjective of course, anyway.
To me, his genius was incorporating the surroundings (buildings, people, etc.) with the railroad. Since he loved shooting at night, to show the whole scene, and still freeze the action, he had to use a LOT of flash lighting. And yes, you can tell he did, because your brain knows that only a certain few things will be illuminated at night normally.
He and his assistant would work for hours to get ready for (literally) a single shot. They were using all these flashbulbs. One and done. Now, ole Winston, keep in mind, is witnessing the event with only the actual available light. So in the relative darkness, he has to, based on his pre-concieved mental image, time exactly the instant to make that whole lightshow go POP.
Despite this, his compositions are perfect. A fast-moving train is exactly where it should be to best make the image work.
(Then you start unscrewing and throwing away the spent bulbs, packing up all those flash-heads and stands and cables. Pack them up in heavy cases, ... Then go try to find a drink in rural Virginia at that time.)
No one else would have had the vision and determination to make, say, the famous drive-in image. Link is one of a kind.
Many years ago, I knew an art photography curator who put up a Link show in Portland. She said she'd give me a much lower price than the general public had to pay. I could have bought a giant, exquisitely-printed, framed/matted/signed print of the drive-in shot, or any of the other really iconic ones, for $750. At that time, it was just too out-of-reach for us, for one piece of art.
And I've been regretting almost every day of my life since, that I didn't just bite the bullet and buy one. My wife would have let me.
(That's not a typo. It's not supposed to be "my wife would have left me.)
But I get your point. If you look closely, you can actually see five lights/stands right there in the photo, and those are only the ones lighting the train. There are many more off-camera, or hidden behind objects in the photo.
The fact that in the movie that airplane is right there ... I dunno, maybe somehow he set that up too.
But, as Joe Biden would say, here's the deal: without that massive production, we wouldn't have that image. And who will ever forget that image?
Yes, I'm a fan!
Poor guy; his beautiful, much-younger wife screwed him out of most of his money, and physically stole many original prints and negs. Hid them in a storage facility for years. Finally she was caught, convicted, and put in jail. But I think maybe Winston was dead by then.
Look at these prices:
https://www.phillips.com/artist/10794/o-winston-link
If you scroll down you can see a shot of him and his assistant and his equipment. Not exactly feather-weight gear.
If you are ever near Roanoke, go to the Link Museum! It's beyond awesome. And there are a lot of shots that are more natural, many with no lighting at all. Daytime shots. Railroader portraits. Giant collection. And not just photos. His gear is there.
Lithonia OperatorLook at these prices: https://www.phillips.com/artist/10794/o-winston-link If you scroll down you can see a shot of him and his assistant and his equipment. Not exactly feather-weight gear. If you are ever near Roanoke, go to the Link Museum! It's beyond awesome. And there are a lot of shots that are more natural, many with no lighting at all. Daytime shots. Railroader portraits. Giant collection. And not just photos. His gear is there.
I presume those prices are for pints that Link printed himself?
BaltACDpresume those princes are for pints that Link printed himself?
The drive-in image is actually a composite - the airplane on the screen was added in post processing. I don't recall the details.
Inasmuch as OWL had the run of the railroad, he could set up the shots. This allowed him to do hot run-bys, often several times. Of course, that meant replacing numerous flash bulbs each time as well. I've gotten the impression that the trains in question were the real deal.
I will second a visit to the Link museum - well worth your time, and only a short distance from the Virginia Museum of Transportation. When I was there, even the walk from VMT to the Link museum was entertaining, with several interactive displays enroute.
And you're not far from the NS shops, and plenty of action.
That makes sense that the airplane was added in the darkroom. The timing would have had to be so perfect, and amazingly lucky.
Balt, I don't know if those prints were all done by Link. I kind of doubt it, some may have been done by an assistant. You'll notice that in some cases, the "cheaper" ones are lousy prints. Maybe some of those were done by some cheap lab the wife turned to while she was fleecing him. Some of those surely were not done by Link or by a sanctioned, supervised assistant of his. Link would not have let them get out there, I don't think.
Link, BTW, was from NYC. Not from them parts down yonder.
I bought a book about OWL that had smaller images of the "drive-in" scene. It was obvious that he had multiple cameras setup (the people in the covertable in the foreground obscure different objects in the background in different prints). There were at least 2 cameras recording that 1 flash.
I have read lots of comments about that photo, about how he timed the movie to show that scene at just the right moment, or held the train some miles away until the right moment for it to come speeding past... but those are way too fantastic to be what happened. Others have said that he had the movie stopped until the right moment to have that scene on screen when the train was present and his flash equipment went off. Again, to difficult to time it to be the way the print shows it.
In that book (wish I could remember the title, but I gave it to my photographer brother for his inspiration. It was a relatively recent publication.) there is also a small print where the movie screen was blank.
Considering the lighting and the relative brightness of the flash and the brightness of a drive-in movie theater screen in general, I don't think the scene on the screen could be registered on film or it would have been blurred beyond recognition.
I deduce that the image on the screen was added to the final print in the darkroom. The scene may have been captured directy from a frame of the movie at some other time, maybe that night in the projection room of the drive-in, or maybe lifted from a poster about the movie.
Yes, a totally contrived photo, but I think it is the best of the best ever made. O. Winston Link was not just a "great photographer", but a wonderful story teller in photos. His best photos give the viewer a whole story in their mind. The people in the photos have lives outside the image and you know them, they might even be you.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Well said, SV.
My brother says the book is:
I recommend it!
I'll check it out. Thanks.
Semper,
It has indeed been very well documented that Mr. Link masked the print and put what he wanted on the movie screen. There are at least two different copies and there may have been a third.
Link was a master of the darkroom and could expose the print in any way he wanted! So, not only did he paint with light, he painted in the darkroom as well!
.
Amazing responses to a 19 year old thread.
I bet if Link were still alive, he would have made (or had made) the absolutely-best, highest-possible-res digital scan of his best negatives. Or possible scan the best print he had of each.
Then he would have gone into that drive-in shot, and gotten rid of those pesky lights and stands. That would be dead simple.
Lithonia OperatorI bet if Link were still alive, he would have made (or had made) the absolutely-best, highest-possible-res digital scan of his best negatives. Or possible scan the best print he had of each.
To me, leaving the light heads in the picture adds, rather than detracts, to the interest of the image. In addition to showing the steam technology it's showing some of the image-capture technology as well.
I'd be surprised if any of these 'nighttime' synchronized-flash shots were made with only one camera -- it's not as if even long-persistence bulbs would allow motor-drive bracketing of exposure, let alone 'insurance' that some of the equipment, or processing, might encounter problems that couldn't be fixed in post.
Do we know how many cameras were used for the various angles in the famous Horse Shoe Curve centenary shot?
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.