Western Railroad Discussion > Gary J. Benson / Photographer

Could someone please confirm if Gary Benson, noted railroad photographer passed away in the last several years? His book, "The Art of Railroad Photography", is an outstanding book for the novice and professional photographer. I highly recommend it.

Kent in Carmel Valley

Yes, sadly he did pass away. Not sure exactly how long ago. I have "Rolling Thunder" (photos by Gary and written by Fred Frailey) and it's one of my favorite books.

yes strange you mentioned it,i was reading some old Trains magazines last week and came across the obiturary the date i do not remember but it was some time back,i think they mentioned he was 42 and passed away due to complications after surgery..i could be wrong but i think that is what happened.....

Unfortunately Gary Benson is no longer with us, he died from complications of a kidney transplant on December 15, 1997. I have both his RR Photography books and value them highly.

Don Bowen
Exeter, CA

Thanks everyone for the sad confirmation. Gary will be missed. I like how he was so willing to share his knowledge of the subject at hand, i.e. exposure setting, speed, film, etc. Anyone out there have any experiences trackside with Gary?

Kent

No experiences, personally, with Gary but I'd also like to share that his book with Frailey, "Rolling Thunder" is indeed a great inspiration and should be in every rail photographer's library.
I think what separated him from a lot of RR photographers was his ability to work railroaders so effectively into his images, and also place the train into the context of the landscape it ran through.
Hopefully, we'll all hear from someone on T.O.'s who knew him personally and can recollect a tale or two to share with us.

DynamicBrake Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks everyone for the sad confirmation. Gary
> will be missed. I like how he was so willing to
> share his knowledge of the subject at hand, i.e.
> exposure setting, speed, film, etc. Anyone out
> there have any experiences trackside with Gary?
>
> Kent

Yes. I ran into him once at Shawmut,AZ. He was accompanied by his wife Susan, a cute gal with a strong NJ accent.

Gary was an affable guy. An unconventional-looking dude, to say the least. He had an unfortunate struggle with kidney disease.

I never quite agreed with Gary's approach to rail photography. He liked to shoot a train at a distance rather than waiting for the subject to fill the 3/4 view as we were taught in photo class. He was also an early advocate of Fuji slide films at a time when Fuji color balance left a lot to be desired. Nonetheless, he left an impressive legacy for rail photographers.

Bob