A newsletter for picture editors and researchers
New stock photos show interior and exteriors of equipment; supplement European HS rail images
Amtrak’s new high-speed Acela Express trains will play an important role in both the future image of the national passenger rail company and its financial survival.
Amtrak began revenue service with Acela Express trains in mid December. However, even before that, a November meeting in Richmond, Va.—the Southeast High Speed Rail Conference and Expo—provided an opportunity for interior and exterior photos of an Acela Express train and a range of other equipment on display.
Sessions at the conference itself provided updates on a range of issues related to high speed rail in general and efforts to bring high speed rail to the southeastern U.S., as well as passenger transport in general.
Look for new sample images on my Web site! |
Of course, I’ve been photographing high speed passenger rail for two decades, having done cab rides on both the French TGV and German ICE trains.
So, if you need to illustrate stories about high speed passenger rail, I can provide comparative photos from the U.S. and Europe. And, I can also provide a wide range of relevant technical information to accompany those images.
Also on display at the SEHSR Expo were new double-deck passenger cars for Amtrak’s California "Surfliner" service, a rebuilt Turbotrain for New York state service, as well as a range of other passenger cars and locomotives.
Amtrak is initially offering only a single round-trip per day with the newest equipment, leaving Washington, D.C., at 5 am and arriving in Washington again shortly before midnight. These early morning and late night running times on the corridor north of Washington are unlikely to produce worthwhile images during winter months.
However, once Amtrak adds additional equipment—already in the production and testing stages—I plan to spend time on the Northeast Corridor for photos of these trains in revenue service.
For those new to my stock photography business, I’ll just mention that coverage of transportation, particularly railroads, is a major specialty. I have thousands of railroad images, both freight and passenger, from many locations in the U.S. and Europe. Need to illustrate a subject related to transportation or travel, including international trade? Give me a call. I can probably provide one or more images that will meet your needs.
My Web site includes dozens of sample railroad and general transportation images.
| Richmond,
Va.; Fayetteville and Winston-Salem, N.C., among cities
with updated stock coverage The November trip to the Southeast High Speed Rail Conference and Expo in Richmond, Va.—see the main story at right—also provided the opportunity to add a few photos of the James River waterfront to my stock file. Check out the Virginia page on my site for new images from Richmond in the Canal Walk area—including a CSX coal train traveling on the ex-Chesapeake & Ohio James River line. Among North Carolina cities with updated coverage the following stand out:
Of course, these are just highlights, with both my North Carolina and Virginia coverage being updated on a ongoing basis. On my Web site, North Carolina and Virginia have both dedicated image pages and descriptive pages. You can access these from the home page:
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| New on the Web site |
I’ve added samples of my feature and travel writing to the site. These are accessible via the "Travel features" link on the home page.
I’ve also added a chapter on safety around railroads to the site, as part of the descriptive and sample information from my most current book, The Basic Railfan Book.
The site is continually updated. Even if you’ve visited before, a look at the "What’s new" and "Recent images" pages are worth-while. The site also contains text of past newsletters and even a few essays on my philosophy of photography.
| Stock
shooting plans for 2001 include western U.S., Europe Tentative plans for major stock photo shooting trips for 2001 include at least one trip to the western part of the U.S. to update railroad and other transportation coverage and a possible trip to Europe (Austria and Germany) around Christmas time. As this newsletter was going to press, both of these projects were in the very early research and planning stages, so I cannot provide much in the way of specifics yet. However, I’m always happy to hear from clients and potential clients with specific interests—and I’ll do my best to fit those interests into my travel plans. A December trip to Austria, probably based in the Salzburg area, but ranging to other nearby cities, should provide photos of Christmas markets and other seasonal subjects. (While this trip would focus on travel subjects, it would undoubtedly also produce some transportation images as well.) If plans for this trip work out, I would probably spend Christmas Eve itself in the town of Oberndorf, near Salzburg, the location where the Christmas hymn "Silent Night" originated. The western U.S. trip would probably focus on the Pacific Northwest, but may also include locations in Montana. That trip would probably take place in late May or early June. |
| Recent publication credits |
Samples of stock photo sales during late 2000:
| Member: ASMP, ASPP, SLA, EP |
I am a member of the following professional groups: American Society of Media Photographers; American Society of Picture Professionals; Special Libraries Association (Transportation and News Divisions); Editorial Photographers.
Descriptive and policy sheets are available on my Web site at http://www.robl.w1.com.
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