O. Winston Link Exhibition at Robert Mann (NYC) Feb 3

[johnmsanderson]

Suffice to say I won't be missing this, and will probably be there opening night... Possibly my favorite large format photographer and I think he was incredibly influential, as the press release states.

The only other place, to my knowledge, where one can see a gallery of his work is in Roanoke at the Link Museum.

http://www.robertmann.com/exhibitions/upcoming.html

[36cm2]

This looks great. Definitely going.

Leo

[Sanjay Sen]

Wonderful! I will definitely go to this one. He is one of my favorites too. Thank you for posting this.

[William McEwen]

Is Link's ex-wife still in jail? Man, that was an amazing story. BTW, I read an old article about him, and he said the reason he shot the trains at night was because he could control the lighting. That the sun is never where you need it!

[Two23]

BTW, I read an old article about him, and he said the reason he shot the trains at night was because he could control the lighting. That the sun is never where you need it!

The other reason he stated was that if he didn't want something in the shot, he simply left it unlit. There's a lot of junk around railyards etc. Link started out just wanting to capture the small rural towns that were rapidly disappearing during the 1950s, more than the trains. He became entranced by the way the trains were interwoven into the towns. I talked to a guy named David Plowden and another guy in WI named Garvin who were his former assistants. They believe Link shot ISO 100 film and f8, sometimes f11. He shot two or three 4x5 Graphics at once, partly as a back up, and sometimes with a different lens. Link had a letter from the president of N&W RR giving him permission to photo where & what he wanted. I talked to Plowden last year about him. He said Link was very secretive and really wouldn't tell him much about how he did his photography. Few people know it, but Link also recorded the sounds of the steamers at night and release a couple of LP records. Those came out before the photos.

For the past four years the main thrust of my own photography has been trains at night. Almost all are diesels, of course, but I've also shot the Union Pacific 3985 three times moving at night. Also shot a few other steamers moving at night as well. They are harder to light than the diesels because the new engines have reflective paint. I have been shooting a Nikon D300 with f2.8 lenses. For lighting I have 12 CyberSync and x2 PW triggers. My main lights are x6 White Lighting X3200 (1340ws each), and x8 Nikon SB-28 flash. I have a Vagabond battery pack for each monolight and am replacing them with the new Vagabond lithium packs. I mostly photo trains at night in winter, when it can be as cold as 32 below zero. I like the stark feel of winter, and a BIG plus is the wall to wall snow cover doubles the power of my lights. I shoot at ISO 800 and f5.6 or f8. I have a ton of flash power, but Link's bulbs had to have put out three times as much yet! This is nearly inconceivable to me, and I am now fairly experienced. My goal is to shoot some 4x5 b&w of trains at night. My Copal shutters will work with the CyberSyncs--I've already tested. My method will be f5.6 and ISO 400 film pushed to 800, I think. I will also try f8 if the trains are close enough to my lights to nail that. I have now photo'd five different railroads and have plans for two more yet this winter. I've had the cover on Trains Magazine once, which was fun. THere are a handfull of us who regularly photo trains at night with flash, maybe 6 or so. Link would go crazy with the equipment I have (no cables!), and I would go crazy with a letter of authorization from a Class I railroad. I have received cooperation from BNSF, UP, CP, D&I, DME, NENE, and a couple of other small railroads in the past.

I really want to get to see one of the Link exhibitions, but it's difficult for me. I am planning on visiting NYC this year. I very rarely have been further east of Chicago. I am a Northern guy, definitely not an Easterner. I could be tempted East for the right shot. I too am entranced by trains in the night. The sound of a steam engine blowing the crossings sends chills down my spine. :)

I'll add a little more. N&W was the last Class I to switch from steam engines to diesel. One of the main reasons for that was their biggest customer was Peabody Coal. Steam engines require a lot of maintainance, water every 20 miles or so, and so on. They needed a lot of labor. When N&W converted to diesels about 1960, a LOT of jobs were lost in those small towns. Some of the rail lines themselves didn't survive either. There is another photographer of that period who was about as good as Link, up in New England. His name is Shaughnessy. He's still around, BTW, and has a nice book out now.
http://www.amazon.com/Call-Trains-Railroad-Photographs-Shaughnessy/dp/0393065928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296267036&sr=1-1


Kent in SD

[Jim Edmond]

Here's a photo of Link and Thomas Garver with some of the gear he used:
http://www.carolinaarts.com/owlink1-999.jpeg

[Dan Henderson]

I am a huge OWL fan also. If you ever find yourself near Roanoke, Virginia do not miss the Link museum downtown. They have a large collection of Link's photographs, along with some of his cameras and elaborate lighting equipment.

I was interested to read Two23's post about David Plowdon. I have met and taken a seminar with him, and am a semi-fan of his documentary photography, but never heard or made the connection between him and Link. Given his subject matter though, I am not surprised.

[al olson]

Here's a photo of Link and Thomas Garver with some of the gear he used:
http://www.carolinaarts.com/owlink1-999.jpeg

An awesome amount of equipment for that era. Note the three cartons of Sylvania No. 2 bulbs. It took a lot of them to feed those reflectors. This was not a cheap hobby.

Kent, I'd like to see some of your photos. Do you have a web site, or could you post a few? If they are digitals you could put them in the lounge. You have an impressive investment in flash gear as well.

[Mark Sampson]

Well, Winston Link was a successful industrial/annual report photographer in NYC so he was used to lighting big scenes. Using massive numbers of huge flashbulbs was standard practice in those days. George Eastman House had a Link show a couple of years ago with some of his cameras and lighting gear on display. I've done a fair amount of location lighting myself, and I'm in awe of what he accomplished and how much work it really was.

[johnmsanderson]

The other reason he stated was that if he didn't want something in the shot, he simply left it unlit. There's a lot of junk around railyards etc. Link started out just wanting to capture the small rural towns that were rapidly disappearing during the 1950s, more than the trains. He became entranced by the way the trains were interwoven into the towns. I talked to a guy named David Plowden and another guy in WI named Garvin who were his former assistants. They believe Link shot ISO 100 film and f8, sometimes f11. He shot two or three 4x5 Graphics at once, partly as a back up, and sometimes with a different lens. Link had a letter from the president of N&W RR giving him permission to photo where & what he wanted. I talked to Plowden last year about him. He said Link was very secretive and really wouldn't tell him much about how he did his photography. Few people know it, but Link also recorded the sounds of the steamers at night and release a couple of LP records. Those came out before the photos.

http://www.amazon.com/Call-Trains-Railroad-Photographs-Shaughnessy/dp/0393065928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296267036&sr=1-1


Kent in SD

I think Link's assistant was Thomas Garver, not Garvin. He wrote the text to "Last Steam Railroad in America". There's some deets in it about his process. He states Link used Kodak Super Panchro Press Type B 100 ISO film and Ektachrome for color, and primarily two lenses, a 5 1/4 and 3 5/8.

There's a 6 CD box set of Link's sound recordings. Some of which are in National Recording Registry.

http://shop.linkmuseum.org/_store/Display_Buy.asp?prodID=8_8015

Shaughnessy is great, too. But Link's images are more contextually aware. They stand not only as artistic and technical achievements but anthropological documents of how cities/towns were intertwined with the railroad. Prior to the interstate and automobile, this is a lot what the American landscape looked like for a good hundred years.

[Bob Kerner]

There's some good stuff available through the Link Museum store. I just ordered a DVD with interviews and background of his work.

Link keeps coming into and out of my life. As a boy I marveled at his photos because they were of trains! Who doesn't like trains? Years later, when I first tried LF, I bought his book and stared with wonder at how he was able to produce such wonderful images. Now, I have have a young son to introduce to trains and I'm trying to learn how to light stuff with strobes for LF...so once again Mr Link is in my life.

Thanks for posting this, John.

[bob carnie]

My father in law Al Paterson is a Steam Locomotion photographer, he has an amazing collection of images.

He photographed mainly in South Western Ontario and he was a Bell Telephone outdoor guy so he would climb the poles to do his phone work and carry a 3x4 camera with him and get some amazing vantage points. He knew the train schedules and funny enough would pace his working day around the trains.
I think he has over 20 thousand images all in Agfa boxes, He did all his own darkroom work till lately, my wife would sit by him as a child and help him, I really hope she is able to continue his work.

He is not doing so well lately , or I would bring him to New York to see this exhibit. I know he would love it.

[Two23]

I'm trying to learn how to light stuff with strobes for LF...so once again Mr Link is in my life.


I've taken some test shots of stationary trains with my 4x5 and lights, and have some thoughts. It seems to take a LOT of light. I assume you are talking about lighting modern diesels, not steamers. Steamers are a whole different level. The paint on modern trains is highly reflective and while that causes problems with flash balls, it also means less light is needed. The main problem with using LF is how to get exposure levels up high enough and do it affordably. I've now flashed something like 200 trains over the past four years, and have a little experience with it. My basic exposure with my Nikon D300 is ISO 800 and f2.8 to f4. On the small DX sensor f4 gives plenty of DOF, and ISO 800 is very easy and looks great. I can hit that exposure just using NIkon SB-28 flash units set to full power pretty easily, especially in winter. (Snow doubles the power of the flash.) When I use my monolights I usually shoot ISO 800 and maybe f8. I am usually lighting up about 200 ft. of train, and space the lights about 50 ft. apart, using 8.5 inch reflectors on 1340ws monolights. Lights are about 50 ft. off the rail. The distance is very critical: too close and you don't get enough spread, too far and the lighting is uneven or too low. To shoot my 4x5 I'm thinking of using five or six White Lightning X3200 monolights at full power with 8.5 inch reflectors. Film will be TMax 400 pushed to ISO 800. I'll set sync at 1/250. Sync actually does matter to some degree as the headlights and marker lights will streak if you set it too low. The illuminated numbers on the headboard aren't as crisp either. I'm pretty sure I can get f8, maybe even f11 with the snowcover on the ground. I'll likely just shoot f8 and cut power to half instead of shooting f11 though. Too much light could annoy a train crew that didn't know I was out there. Most of the time, crews don't know I'm there but are used to me. It is possible to set things up in advance, and I sometimes do. Anyway, this should give you an idea of what it's going to take. It takes about 1,000ws to hit ISO 800 & f5.6, and that will light up one engine. (Modern 6-axle locos are about 70 ft. long, 13 ft. high.) If you want more engines, add more lights. Speed of train seems to makes no difference at all. I've "frozen" an Amtrak train doing 70 mph. Remember, the whole thing is flash duration. I'll post some photos in the lounge later and link (pardon the pun) them here. You're always welcome to come out here and chase around with me some night if you want to learn.


Kent in SD

[johnmsanderson]

I always considered your technique but the high ISO/grain always dissuaded me. I might eventually try something along the lines of what Crewdson did, multiple exposures for different parts of the scene + compositing them together in photoshop but that gives a real artificial appearance...

[Two23]

I always considered your technique but the high ISO/grain always dissuaded me. I might eventually try something along the lines of what Crewdson did, multiple exposures for different parts of the scene + compositing them together in photoshop but that gives a real artificial appearance...


If you are working with stationary trains, you can simply pop the flash as many times as you want with the shutter open to get the exposure you want. My problem is I'm only after trains "on the hoof." To do that takes a lot of light, all at once. I could go with an uber-fast lens such as one of my f1.4, but DoF does suffer. (Gary Knapp uses this technique.) I could go with more flash, but to get one more stop I'd have to have twice as many monolights ($5,000+.) Or double them up and shoot half as much of the subject. That last one is the most affordable option that would work, but I'd only do it with a train crew that was expecting me. Exposure value of ISO 400, f8 (or ISO 200, f5.6) is LOT of light on a dark night. Keep in mind I'm talking about shooting where there is solid snow on the ground. Double the amount of light again if there is no snow. To replicate Link's ISO 100 & f8 would be very difficult and quite expensive. I'm not even sure it's needed because modern film has much better grain charecteristics. Link had to shoot what he had available in the late 1950s, long sync cords and all. I have all of the books with Link's shots and have carefully studied each photo. I've come to think that most all of his shots could be replicated with a large duffel bag full of gear assuming you use something like a Nikon D3s, Nikon 45mm f2.8 PCE, CyberSync triggers, and a small pile of Quantum X5DR flash & packs. All at high ISO, of course.


Kent in SD

[Bob Kerner]

I saw the exhibit today. Very nicely presented. A couple of thoughts:
1) the compositions are very thoughtful. I didn't appreciate this solely by looking at his books. But viewing enlarged images, you can see he occasionally liked to hide the train.
2) everything is not in focus. A lot of people expect deep focus from LF where everything is razor sharp. No so in Link's pictures.
3) it's amazing he had such access to the point he could stop trains to get he composition he wanted.

Median 11 x 14 print price was $10k. if you're in NYC check it out.

[R Mann]

I saw the exhibit today. Very nicely presented. A couple of thoughts:
1) the compositions are very thoughtful. I didn't appreciate this solely by looking at his books. But viewing enlarged images, you can see he occasionally liked to hide the train.
2) everything is not in focus. A lot of people expect deep focus from LF where everything is razor sharp. No so in Link's pictures.
3) it's amazing he had such access to the point he could stop trains to get he composition he wanted.

Median 11 x 14 print price was $10k. if you're in NYC check it out.


I had a chance to visit the gallery today, I would agree with what Bob said. I also found the two color images in the collection very interesting. I was not aware that he did color.

There was also a self portrait with some of his equipment. He was standing among a few cases of flash bulbs with some bulb holders (I think home made from the way they looked) that must have been close to daylight when they went off.

[Bob Kerner]

I wasn't too impressed by the color pieces. They looked "colorized" compared to the B&W pieces.

I was surprised by the price the pictures were fetching. I went in thinking " ok, I'd be willing to spend $xxx" on a framed print. I was off by an order of ten!

[johnmsanderson]

He did a lot of color work, my favorite color shot of his was a night.

There is so much more work of his that is not shown at the Robert Mann show. The amount of images he captured during that time is really astonishing.

Highball for the Doubleheader, April 23, 1959.

http://jmsanderson.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/linksteamzenith2.jpg

[Two23]

2) everything is not in focus. A lot of people expect deep focus from LF where everything is razor sharp. No so in Link's pictures.


In practice, this is difficult to do. For starters, the trains stick up through the vertical plane, making tilt a bit harder. It's sort of like trees in a landscape. Second problem is you are focussing on something that isn't there. You set everything up and the train comes along at high speed. Third problem is to shoot at a small aperture, it takes a TON of light. I have nearly 9,000ws of flash power and struggle to get exposure of ISO 800 f8. Just timing the shot so the train is where you want it is tough enough. In most RR photography, as long as you get the number boards in sharp focus, it's considered a success. BTW, in the shot above, the conductor's lantern has a flash bulb in it. A regular lantern bulb would be too dim.


Kent in SD

[johnmsanderson]

+1

My jaw still drops when I think about how Link lit scenes on the scale of Crewdson with ONE assistant and flashbulbs.

[Marco Polo]

I wasn't aware that David Plowden was O. Winston Link's assistant. Plowden published a well-reviewed book on trains last year. He's also a pretty amazing photographer.

[8x20_Pano_Shooter]

Suffice to say I won't be missing this, and will probably be there opening night... Possibly my favorite large format photographer and I think he was incredibly influential, as the press release states.

The only other place, to my knowledge, where one can see a gallery of his work is in Roanoke at the Link Museum.

http://www.robertmann.com/exhibitions/upcoming.html

JB and I were at the O. Winston Link Museum back in 2005. Books are nice but it's no substitute for seeing the real thing. The prints are just phenomenal.

[Phil]

I was at a 'vendor site' on Monday for a presentation. On break, I noticed some black and white photos in the hallway - O. Winston Link photographs - Hotshot Eastbound, Hawksbill Creek Swimming Hole, Main Line on Main Street, and Montgomery Tunnel. Very impressive images indeed.