Expand your creativity: Apply for a scholarship at Conversations 2024!


Conversations, the Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s annual conference, is coming back to Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, on the weekend of June 14-16, 2024. Explore past conferences here.

Conference scholarships are available to younger and/or emerging photographers and visual artists. They are available to individuals creating photography or other visual art focusing on rail-related subjects, who meet at least one of the following requirements:

  • Under the age of 30 at the time of application
  • Enrolled in an institution of higher learning, in a program relating to fine arts
  • Have less than five years of experience in the field of visual arts

The conference scholarship is designed to support artists who would otherwise be unable to attend. Even better, you’ll have the opportunity to show your work to fellow photographers, artists, editors, and rail community leaders … and get inspired yourself! Details below.

Scholarship recipient Steven Chen presents his photography at Conversations 2023. Photograph by Elrond Lawrence

An ideal applicant will demonstrate:

  • Thoughtful, creative work in photography or other visual arts with rail-related subject matter
  • How attending the conference will support their development as a visual artist
  • Financial need
  • Volunteer experience

Successful applicants will receive:

  • Up to $400 in travel reimbursements
  • Free admission to the conference
  • Meals provided at the conference venue
  • Two nights of lodging at the conference hotel
  • A platform to present your work in a short presentation
  • The opportunity to meet and learn from industry greats

 


Application process

Applications will only be accepted electronically.

Please submit the following to info@railphoto-art.org

  • A short (500 words max) introductory statement that describes:
    • The artist’s medium (i.e. photography, oil painting, etc.)
    • Any training, experience, or influences that have contributed to the applicant’s development
    • A description of the applicant’s past projects and/or special achievements
    • How the applicant feels they would benefit from attendance
    • Contact information including, name, phone number, and email address
  • Up to 10 sample images
    • In an email attachment, or
    • In a linked social media account where the applicant’s work can be viewed

 

Conference attendees at the Friday reception at Conversations 2023. Photograph by Elrond Lawrence

About the Center:

The Center for Railroad Photography & Art (www.railphoto-art.org | @railphotoart) is America’s foremost organization for interpreting the intersection of railroad art and culture with America’s history and culture. The Center has achieved that status through successful publications (especially its quarterly journal, Railroad Heritage), exhibitions, conferences, and an awards program, all of which showcase the best of railroad photography and art in ways that enhance understanding of railroad history, technology, and artistry.

Founded in 1997, the Center works with photographers, artists, writers, and historians across the country, although its home is in Madison, Wisconsin. The Center does not maintain its museum or archive space, but instead collaborates with other institutions.

About the Conference:

The conference is the nation’s premier venue for presentations on railroad art and photography. The three-day event is held on the picturesque campus of Lake Forest College, just thirty miles north of Chicago. Attendees include active railroad photographers and artists, magazine editors, industry leaders, and scholars from wide backgrounds. Past presenters include photographers David Plowden and Lina Bertucci, railroad executive Henry Posner III, writers such as novelist Linda Niemann and Washington Post transportation columnist Don Phillips, and curators Ian Kennedy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Anne M. Lyden of the J. Paul Getty Museum, and Ashlee Whitaker of the Brigham Young University Museum of Art.

Parallel Tracks: Steinheimer, Silicon Valley, and Steel Rails


Tuesday, November 14, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

Register HERE

Join Ken Rehor and Elrond Lawrence for a special program that examines the untold story of Richard Steinheimer and his professional photography. While his groundbreaking approach to railroad photography influenced generations of railfans and artists, what is less well-known is Steinheimer’s prolific professional career.

His railfan and professional photographic experiences heavily influenced one another throughout his life. As a teenager, Steinheimer’s train-watching led him to train photography, which in turn led him to photojournalism school. Stein’s initial career as a newspaper photojournalist inspired him to capture the human side of railroading. His transition into the nascent world of high-tech corporate photography opened a new universe of creativity. He not only photographed the emerging science of semiconductors but also invented many new photographic techniques and equipment. While he was documenting the formation of Silicon Valley and the birth of microprocessors, he was also capturing the end of a railroad era with articles in Trains magazine and his seminal book, “Backwoods Railroads of the West.”

In the third phase of his career, Stein merged his lifelong experiences in photography and trains to focus on the commercial side of railroading, fully embracing color slide film and an adventurous new style that nonetheless remained inherently Steinheimer. Lifelong devotees Rehor and Lawrence will explore Stein’s parallel tracks of his passions for railroads and creative photography.

 

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

Early Gallium Arsenide LED, April 1969
 
Stein on assignment for Southern Pacific, Donner Pass 1990
 

Virtual Launch Party: Preview of Rio Grande Steam Finale


Tuesday, October 3, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

Registration Closed

Join us for a virtual launch of our upcoming book Rio Grande Steam Finale! Step aboard the D&RGW’s spectacular narrow-gauge railway of the 1950s and 1960s through the lens of some of the nation’s most renowned railroad photographers. The Center for Railroad Photography & Art invites you to embark on an unforgettable visual odyssey as we unveil a breathtaking collection of images meticulously curated from our extensive archives. Co-editors Scott Lothes and Elrond Lawrence will delve into the creative process behind compiling Rio Grande Steam Finale and offer unique insights into the journey of bringing this magnificent collection to life.

 

Scott Lothes, editor, has been the Center’s executive director since 2011 and editor of its journal, Railroad Heritage, since 2013. His photographs and articles appear frequently in magazines such as Trains, Classic Trains, and Railfan & Railroad. This is the fourth book he has edited or co-edited.

Elrond Lawrence, co-editor, joined the Center in 2022 as its acquisitions and marketing coordinator. His love for railroads and vintage highways led him to write the book Route 66 Railway, and his work has appeared in a wide range of magazines, news and corporate publications, books, and advertising.

Pre-order the book now: https://railphoto-art.org/rio-grande-steam-finale/  

 

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

Flashbulbs illuminate engines 484 and 487 as they simmer night away in Chama, New Mexico, on October 7, 1965. They’d made two turns up the four-percent grade to Cumbres and back that day. In the morning, they’d make another run up the grade and then continue east to Alamosa, Colorado. Photograph by Victor Hand, collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, Hand-DRGW-C08-23

CRP&A Member Exclusive: Inside the David Mainey Collection

Tuesday, September 19, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom
Registration closes at 4 pm CT on Monday, September 18

Registration Closed
CRP&A members can request the recording link at info@railphoto-art.org 

Step into the world of David Mainey as we take you on a journey through his life and work in our fall members-only program. Join Erin Rose as she sits down with David for an insightful interview, giving you a glimpse into the person behind the art. Explore decades of creativity, from his very first photograph in 1947 to his more recent works in the 1980s. The presentation concludes with a Q&A session, inviting all attendees to join the conversation and learn more about David’s unique experiences and artistic endeavors.

David Mainey has been photographing trains for as long as he’s had a camera. As a youth, he became friends with photographers such as Donald Furler and Bob Collins, where he really began to learn the ropes of rail photography. Inspired and encouraged by these legends, David not only mastered the standard “roster shot,” but he went on to define his own work with a variety of styles – from a classic wedge shot to a stunning landscape, his work spans decades and reflects his views of United States east coast rail history in a spectacular fashion.

Erin Rose joined the Center in 2017 as an intern, and she returned in 2021 to the new role of reference and digital projects archivist. She answers image requests, processes collections, and has managed the migration of files for the Center’s adoption of a new collections management system.

Join us on Tuesday, September 19, at 7 pm Central (5 pm PT / 6 pm MT / 8 pm ET) for this exciting program! This program will be recorded and will be made available to members by request.

 

This event is open to members of the CRP&A

Join Today! Become a member here

 

 

 

DH 1529 on Cascade Wye at Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, on November 9, 1951. Photograph by David Mainey

An Evening with the Winners of the 2023 John E. Gruber Creative Photography Awards


Tuesday, August 22, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

YouTube Link

The 2023 John E. Gruber Creative Photography Awards Program brought in contestants from across the globe. With this year’s theme “The Role of Technology,” the judges reviewed and selected six winning photographs in a fascinating and interpretive competition.  In “An Evening with the Winners…” you’ll hear the insights and artistic approaches of the photographers behind this year’s winning images.

 

First Prize
Chris Walters, black-and-white
Blair Kooistra, color

Second Prize
Richard Koenig, black-and-white
John Troxler, color

Third Prize
Frank Barry, black-and-white
George Hiotis, color

 

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

 

Chris Walters, First Prize, black-and-white
Taken with a drone, this view looks straight down upon precise lines of Alstom Metropolis EMU sets – driverless passenger trains awaiting a turn in service on the Northwest Metro line between Tallawong, where this scene was captured, and Chatswood in New South Wales, Australia, on February 5, 2022.

 

Blair Kooistra, First Prize, color
Paul “Piglet” Middleton enjoys a tea break after running a London North Eastern Railway B-1 Thompson Class 4-6-0 locomotive at North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s Grosmont Motive Power Depot in North Yorkshire, England. The same law of thermodynamics that made it possible for the locomotive to move also help Paul heat his tea.