Eastern Railroad Discussion > O. Winston Link research paper

I have a research paper due on Thursday, and the photographer that I am choosing for this is O. Winson Link. Below is what I have to do for this 800-1000 word research paper:

Name of the photographer.
The period or era to which the photographer belongs.
Why did you choose this photographer for your research?

Information on:
When the image examples you've selected were made.
What are the titles of these images?
In what sizes are these images printed?
Does any of the above information change the reading of these images?
Do you see any similarities between this photographer's works and your own photographic works?
Choose one of the three examples you have selected and answer the following questions:
Try to interpret the image. What do you feel the photographer was trying to communicate or achieve with this image? Identify the main subject of this image. What is the mood of this artwork? Look for emotion, expression, or implied ideas. Do you feel that the idea or concept behind this image is clear? How do you feel about
it—how do you react to it? Why did you choose this image over the other two images?
Make a decision about the work's success or failure. Give reasons to support your opinion.
Do you think this image is visually successful? Does it make good use of compositional and design choices? Why or why not?
If the selected image is a color image, does the color have an impact on the visual reading? If the selected image is not a color image, how does that have an impact on the visual reading?
Ask a friend to interpret this image for you; did your friend have a different interpretation than your own? If yes, why do you think the interpretation is different?
Does this image work well with the other three images that you chose? Why or why not? Are these images unified? If yes, how?
Which do you think was more important in this work—the process of creating it or the finished product itself? What makes you think so?
Do you think the work is an important work of art? Why or why not?
Which design elements and principles are used in these images?
Any other thoughts you would like to include about these images.

All this is for the research paper, however I want to include some personal experiences that anyone here in Trainorders land has had with O. Winston Link into this research paper. You will get proper credit in the MLA format for your experiences, as I will include them into the report.

Any help you can give on this will be helpful to this report.

There's an article in a very old copy of Railfan (perhaps by Bob Mohowski) about how Mr Link engineered a night shot in NJ. The Lehigh & Hudson River was about to disappear into Conrail.

The Railfan cover shot was quite impressive, but the article added a lot of depth. Knowing where the light bulbs were placed, and which failed to fire, etc added additional interest for me. Took away some of the magic, though. He left little to chance in his pictures.

Winston Link was described as a "genius and a nut." His technique may have been nutty, but his composition...his storytelling...was pure genius.

It was not "photojournalism." Every picture was carefully staged...except for the trains themselves. Yet he carefully recorded names of people, dates, train numbers, etc. In that sense, he was a journalist...the caption information adds a rech texture to the story told by each image.

It was not "traditional railfan photography." He did not shoot roster shots or 3/4 "wedge" shots simply to record machinery in action. His photographs generally revealed the relationship of trains to the region they served.

And, keep in mind that he was doing all this work on his own time at considerable personal expense. That alone demonstrates a passion for the subjecet matter, and, in that respect, should serve as an inspiration to all railfans who take their avocation of rail photography as a serious matter. Just do it!

Perhaps researching the topic on your own at your college library or on the internet and finding source material would be a more applicable way to do a research paper? Far better and more pertinent than second, third or fifteenth hand information on a message board.

Don't forget to mention his participation in the movie "October Sky".

MagnumForce Wrote:
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> Perhaps researching the topic on your own at your
> college library or on the internet and finding
> source material would be a more applicable way to
> do a research paper? Far better and more
> pertinent than second, third or fifteenth hand
> information on a message board.

But Professor, I verified the facts on Trainorders.com!!!

MagnumForce Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Perhaps researching the topic on your own at your
> college library or on the internet and finding
> source material would be a more applicable way to
> do a research paper? Far better and more
> pertinent than second, third or fifteenth hand
> information on a message board.


There is a ton of information online about O. Winston Link. What I want to include in this are the voices of the PEOPLE who accually had the chance to either meet or work with O. Winston Link. The one thing you cannot beat is personal experience, and that is one part of what I am looking for to make this report a home run right out of the park. Something I dont think you would understand.

Mike--

It looks like you have a tough project with very little time to finish it up like you want. Don't pay any attention to the guys who are getting their jollies off pulling your chain. These guys see a picture on the nostalgia board that is ten years old and they start breathing hard.

Remember that Winston Link took almost all of his N&W photos between 1955 and early 1960. That was over fifty years ago and most of the people he associated with have passed away. If he were alive today, he would be 98 years old. For what it is worth, there is a third book out on his N&W photos. "Life Along the Line" just came out. It is a large format book, 240 pages, with a fair amount of images never seen before. There is a reference to his son, who lives in Shreveport, LA, and he had a nephew who was a teenager who was an assistant on many of his trips. From information in the book, locating at least his son (Conway Link in Shreveport, LA) by phone should not be a big problem.

In 1958, I was staying with relatives in Williamson, WV--I saw Mr. Link, but I was a sixteen year old kid with a Kodak Retina 3C (enough said), so I never met him. The book has references to his family members, both of whom would be about my age (I am 70 now.).

As for the book, you can get it with a good discount from Edward R. Hamilton, Bookseller, PO Box 15, Falls Village, CT 06031-0015 for $27.95 and $3.50 shipping, if he still has them in stock. I have a copy and it is well done.

Good luck with your report.

Al Chione