Richard Steinheimer

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Richard Steinheimer (born 1929) is considered to be one of the greatest American railroad photographers, often called the "Ansel Adams of railroad photography". His work has been published in Trains Magazine, Railfan, Locomotive and Railway Preservation, and Vintage Rail, and more than seventy books. He lives in Sacramento, California. A pioneer in railroad photography, Steinheimer lived through and documented the railroad's heyday and its decline. He is one of very few photographers who appreciate the aesthetics of all locomotives, from steam engines to the latest diesel-powered behemoths. He has a particular fondness for the landscape of the American West, and many of his images situate trains in the larger geography and culture of the time. Known for taking pictures at night, in bad weather, and from risky perches on top of moving train platforms, Steinheimer had an enormous creativity and productivity. His photograph "Southern Pacific steam helper at Saugus, California, 1947" was included in the Center for Railroad Photography and Art 20 Memorable Railroad Photographs of the 20th Century.

1 Early life and career
2 See also
3 References
4 Online references

[edit] Early life and career

Richard Steinheimer was born in Chicago in 1929. His parents divorced in 1935, with his mother and sister they moved to Phoenix Arizona. it was this trip that was his first exposure to trains. His family then in 1939 moved to Glendale, California, Southern Pacific main line was adjacent to his home. In 1945 he start with a Kodak Baby Brownie shooting wartime traffic, in the common ¾ "wedgies" style. Also in 1945 he received two books of Lucius Beebe, Highball and High Iron, from which he drew inspiration. By 1946 his photos evolved in to more of an experimentation style. In 1946 he was using an Argus A-2 camera and in 1947 he had start to uses a 3¼×4¼ Speed Graphic. With the Speed Graphic now in hand the flood gates were opened to some of the best night photos of railroads ever taken. He used yard lights, flashbulbs or what ever lights were available. His night work predates O. Winston Link's by almost seven years. By 1949 he was going to San Francisco City College and one of his teacher was Joe Rosenthal. From 1956 through 1962 he worked for the Marin-Independent Journal as a photojournalist. Kalmbach Publishing produced in 1963 his Backwoods Railroad of the West though it failed commercially at the time. It would become one of the most sought after railroad books of all time. From 1948 through 2001 Trains Magazine published over 400 of his photographs.