Richard Steinheimer dies at 81; pre-eminent railroad photographer

Los Angeles Times / latimes.com ^ | May 22, 2011 | By Valerie J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times

[thecodont]

Richard Steinheimer, a master of railroad photography whose poetic images documented a half-century of trains and the landscape of the American West, has died. He was 81.

Steinheimer died May 4 at his Sacramento home of Alzheimer's disease, said his wife, Shirley Burman.

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Photos: Richard Steinheimer, 1929-2011

"He was certainly one of the greats," said John Gruber, founder and president of the Center for Railroad Photography and Art in Madison, Wis. "He did very unusual and creative work and inspired a lot of other photographers."

From the early 1950s until he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2000, Steinheimer was regarded as a pre-eminent railroad photographer.

"He's been called the Ansel Adams of the railroad photography world," said Phil Hammond, director of the California State Railroad Museum. "He brought an artistic side to a field that is often associated with technology."

[thecodont]

I think the comparison with Ansel Adams is appropriate. This man started his photo work with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera!

Enjoy the photos at the link.

[ComputerGuy]

If you’ve got talent, B&W film and a Brownie are all you need.

[Roccus]

If you’ve got talent, B&W film and a Brownie are all you need.

[Roccus]

If you’ve got talent, B&W film and a Brownie are all you need.

Good darkroom skills help.

[ComputerGuy]

Good darkroom skills help.
With four daughters, I never had enough bathroom space for myself, much less a darkroom :)

[meatloaf]

O. Wilson was another great photographer.

[Little Bill]

The Passion Pit, what no fogged up windows.

[WellyP]

The change over from bench seats to bucket seats killed the drive-ins!

[troy McClure]

RFD TV has a great Train show on Mondays.

Trains & Locomotives I never miss a show.

http://www.rfdtv.com/Latest/this-week-on-rfdtv.html

[Little Bill]

My then GF wanted me to buy an American Motors car, fold back seats if you remember. I had a Falcon Cobra, wish I still had it, with a bench seat in back.

[Little Bill]

.My GGrandfather worked and then contracted on the Cross Continental RR I wish I has asked my Grandfather about it, he was full of lore about the Inter mountain West.

[BigBobber]

That is O. Winston Link.

Yes he was one of the greats, as was Steinheimer.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[GATOR NAVY]

I really like his work.

[Roccus]

The change over from bench seats to bucket seats killed the drive-ins!

Floor shift console...AKA "chastity hump"

[Pelham]

Those particular photos are by O. Winston Link, another great steam era photographer. Link’s subjects included night shots and the massive locomotives of the Norfolk & Western.

http://www.linkmuseum.org/collection.html