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Railroad Photographer Richard Steinheimer's Legacy, Part 1 of 2Five photographers share how master rail photographer Steinheimer influenced their own work in this heartfelt tribute
Published: May 16, 2011  Richard Steinheimer
Photo by TRAINS collection
Below, five members of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art show a photo in their own collections and share their stories of how Stein shaped their view of photography. Next week, six more Center members will share photos and stories. — Scott Lothes, Trains contributor, writer, and photographer from Oregon City, Ore. He is project director for the Center for Railroad Photography & Art
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 Two Union Pacific “Centennial” locomotives lead a westbound freight train through Meadow Valley Wash in Nevada.
Photo by Mel Patrick
Mel Patrick, Denver, Colo.
Richard Steinheimer casts a very long shadow. It wasn't his 6-foot 6-inch frame, mind you, rather it was his eye-grabbing photography combined with insightful writing, illustrating the excitement of railroading. Open an issue of Trains anywhere from the 1960s through today, and one of Steinheimer's photos — no matter the railroad, subject, location, or year — is so easily recognized that a photo credit seems redundant. I was but one of an untold number of rail photographers to be influenced by his work, picking up a second copy of "Backwoods Railroads of the West" while on a tour of Kalmbach Publishing Co. in Milwaukee in 1968. I kept that copy with me on all of my early travels, each night opening the book and asking myself what had I seen that day, what had I shot that day, and why weren't my photos as striking as Mr. Steinheimer's? I did not want to copy him; I only wanted to avoid complacent imagery, challenging myself to do better in my own style.
Steinheimer's work is only part of the story of his influence. For those lucky enough to have spent a little time with him, almost all would say the same thing. Dick wanted to know about your photography, he wanted to hear what you were doing, quite often commenting on something of yours that he had seen published, and encouraging you to do more.
To this day, the greatest compliment of my own work came in 1972 from Trains' reader Richard Spelshouse of San Francisco. He wrote to the editor describing my center spread photo in the July issue as "pure Steinheimer." A great compliment indeed.
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 Pere Marquette 2-8-4 No. 1225 pulls a “Polar Express” train at the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Mich., in December 2007.
Photo by Keith Burgess
Steinheimer’s tremendous influence solidified a few years ago when I met a photographer traveling along U.S. 163 north of Monument Valley. He was passionate about old roads and talked for some time about his travels and his work. He said that after looking through Steinheimer’s "A Passion for Trains" at his local book store, it inspired him to photograph the highways the way Steinheimer photographed railroads. As I think back, Steinheimer's work inspired me, as well. His ability to photograph the landscape with the railroad harmoniously twisting through it as if the two belonged together, and his use of a lone railroader walking through the frame adding a touch of mystery, opened my eyes to things I normally would overlook. Even his night work, using a stark locomotive with only its number boards and headlight peering into the darkness, has etched its way into my memory.
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 The flat, overcast skies in the Columbia Gorge on Oct. 25, 2009, pushed me to try something besides my normal predilection for epic grandeur. Stein’s "Passion" had been out for long enough that I had recently re-studied it, finding a new appreciation for the expert craftsmanship in photos like plates 22, 26, 39, and 88. I drew upon their influence while framing a westbound BNSF freight with the wooden overpass at Home Valley, Wash.
Photo by Scott Lothes
The longer I look at Stein’s photographs, what impresses me the most is the richness and depth of their intrigue. Steinheimer could “wow” you with light and move you with mood, and I understood these aspects quickly. Yet the more I come back to his work, the more I see within each image. Steinheimer had a great understanding of the scene and every element within it, and a meticulous, almost loving care to each composition. He didn’t need dramatic conditions to create compelling photographs. The man knew how to do so much more than merely “take” a picture. He knew how to put one together.
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 A Union Pacific freight train approaches the Harlem Avenue commuter platform in Berwyn, Ill., summer 1981.
Photo by Ken Rehor
Steinheimer always searched for new ways to capture the dynamic nature of railroading. When I was a teenager just learning photography, Dick's images inspired me to look at the world in a whole new way. I spent countless hours poring over his pictures in magazines and books, trying to glean new techniques of composition and lighting. Dick's use of a slow shutter speed to emphasize the speed of a Santa Fe freight eastbound up Cajon Pass (Trains, September 1974, page 24) and a pan shot of the Southern Pacific’s Coast Daylight from atop his Palo Alto, Calif., home on page 63 of in "Wheels Rolling - West: A Photographic Salon of Western Railroading," (by Ted Benson and David Styffe, Westrail Publications, 1978) urged me to try this technique.
Having not yet mastered the ability to drive while taking pictures, nor the opportunity to climb on a roof overlooking the nearby Burlington Northern "racetrack" in my hometown of Berwyn, Ill., I did the next best thing. I paced a westbound freight while riding my Schwinn 10-speed bike! Nikon FM with 28mm f/3.5 lens in hand, I crazily sped up along the sidewalk parallel to the tracks, leading to the Harlem Avenue commuter platform. Click ... click ... click ... It's a wonder I didn't kill myself. The joy of capturing that moment encouraged me to always keep learning, experimenting, and discovering. |
 Richard Steinheimer shares his work in the March 1984 issue of Trains magazine with Southern Pacific workers in February 1984.
Photo by Shirley Burman
Dick came late into my life in March 1983, and by then, I had been a professional photographer for some time, so I didn't think there was much left to learn. But, I did like to slip into his darkroom to watch him make his beautiful prints. This giant of a man would be dodging and burning the image, waving his hands and arms around like he was conducting a symphony and explaining “this is where creativity begins, not in the camera.” I never forgot that and apply those same lessons now to my digital printing.
But, as extraordinary as his talent was, he most impressed me with his kindness and generosity. He took an interest in all the people he met, whether it was a guy sweeping the depot platform or the bosses barking out orders. I learned from him that it was important to give back to those that helped us and allowed us to photograph. Dick seemed to always travel with a folder of prints under his arm, taken on a previous photo trip, to pass out to the railroaders. If he was not likely to return soon, he would get their home addresses and mail the prints. He also loved to share stories he wrote about the railroaders and carried around copies of publications. As wonderful an influence as he was on others, I was the biggest beneficiary, his wife of 27 years.
Next week, six more Center members will share their photos and how Richard Steinheimer influenced their photography.
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