This was bounced by majordomo. I am only forwarding it. Please do NOT send any e-mail to me (Jim Gilley). Also, please keep in mind that you can ONLY post messages from the same account to which you receive messages. I know this is lame, but there's no easy way around it. Your cooperation is appreciated, as I generally do NOT have time to check for bounces and forward them. Thanks!
------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- ------------- Begin Forwarded Message ------------- >>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Sep 21 18:47:51 1997 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sun, 21 Sep 1997 18:56:28 -0500 (CDT) X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Todd Clark) Subject: Why do we take pictures? content-length: 4015 > Thing is, about all of these, they are historical and not designed > to give some "magnificent new insight" to the viewing of the > contemporary scene... I think something that we should consider is the railroad culture has changed. I'm only 26 and all I remember when I was child was new SD45's and these ugly weird looking rectangle things (SD9's). While many remember the Streamlined trains such as the California Zephyr with it's immaculate interiors and first class server all I remember is the ugly rundown Amtrak Starlight I saw come into Oxnard every Saturday. My father worked for the SP during college installing CTC up in the Cascades. He told me many stories about life on the railroad, but I never really understood the culture until I started watching Virgil's film and listening to him talk of the old days. Back then the railroads were part of the nation's culture and photographers and film makers captured it in this regard. It was use to be that when someone worked in the industry they didn't say they worked for Southern Pacific, but instead said: I work for "the railroad." Today much has changed, there no longer appears to be a railroad culture, just a faceless corporation. Back then railroads were proud of their heritage and had historians to document company history. Virgil even had his own office at the WP, I don't think that would happen today. Today what has emerged is a completely different railfan community. I'm amazed at how many fans are obsessed at getting that one shot of a certain locomotive. It's a mystery what guides people to become so obsessed with railroad photography. Sometimes when I'm trackside in a high volume railfan area such as Tehachapi, I will ask a camera toting railfan if cameras didn't exist, would he be out here today? The answer is usually "no, what's the point." This new type of railfan is attracted to the hobby for different reasons, most likely an obsession with photographing large moving objects in the middle of nowhere. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against railroad photography, I just like images that tell a story. So the question I ask is how many of you if you suddenly became allergic to film would you give up chasing trains or would you do it without taking pictures. The point to all this is back in the old days I think most fans were photographing the railroads because they admired the way of life. Look at some of the great photographers such as Richard Steinheimer and Ted Benson, their material has life. Today most of the images capture the power of the diesel engine. Virgil didn't just take film of trains but also of the people who worked and rode the trains. It's the little details that make the images come to life. I don't have the senses to capture images like the old timers do. They have an understanding of the way things use to be. As for the scalding I received for cutting Virgil's material up and adding sound I would like to add that I had the full consent of Virgil. I have worked very closely with him and have made several visits to his home in Berkeley. He approves of all I have done with his footage. Although I would like to release some of his material silent as he shot them, I think he would be disappointed. He is amazed at how I have taken his old sound recordings and synchronized them with the images. This is the way he wanted to have them when he shot them but didn't have the money to do it. As for cutting the girls out, he recognizes that some may get offended. (he found this out when he showed one of his films to a church group) Although the majority of these films are purchased by male railfans some copies do end up in public grade schools. I know that some of you may want to flame me, go ahead. But if you got personal attacks send them to me privately, there is no need to torture the entire group. ************************************************************************** Todd Clark Icon Video Productions Visit the amazing Tehachapi RailCam http://trainorders.com ------------- End Forwarded Message ------------- --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects
