Creative Photography Awards

Scott Lothes (top) and Misko Kranjec tied for first place in the 2006 contest.

2007 Deadline Extended to March 10

Canon has added a Powershot G7 digigal camera to the prizes for the creative photography awards, and joins us as a co-sponsor of the program. For 2007, the contest deadline has been extended to March 10. If you have mailed an entry, and want to make revisions, let us know. The 2007 theme, fascination with railroad machines, is wide ranging. It can include machines in the environment, machines at work, railroaders working with machines, or anything as simple as a tie or switch stand or as complex a high horse-power locomotive. Photographers will be judged on their ability to demonstrate creative, technical, and interpretative excellence in new and unusual ways. We want to encourage the caliber of work that is suitable for gallery and museum display. Railfan & Railroad magazine will publish the top winners in the contest.

Two photographers with creative views of railroaders at work tied for first place in the Center's 2006 awards program. They are Scott Lothes, Cleveland, Ohio, and Hokkaido, Japan, and Misko Kranjec, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Third place awards went to Jeffrey Mast, Canton, Michigan, and Kevin Scanlon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since there was a tie for first place, there was no second place award.

Honorable mention awards went to Howard Ande, Bartlett, Ill.; Patrick J. Cashin, New York, N.Y.; Steve Crise, Pomona, Ca.; Ken Fitzgerald, Benbrook, Texas; Joe Greenstein, Brooklyn, NY; George W. Hamlin, Fairfax, Va.; Robert Jordan, Marengo, Ill.; Mark W. Jones, Walnut Creek, Ca.; George Kollar, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Trever Miller, Tarentum, Pa.; Michael Rosenthal, Newark, N.J.; and Gene P. Schaeffer, Pittsburgh, Pa.

The winning photographs are on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento beginning. The exhibit is another component of "Representations of Railroad Work," a three-year program funded by the North American Railway Foundation.

Awards were announced March 25 at the Center's fourth "Conversations about Photography" conference at Marquette University, Milwaukee. Of the winners, three used digital images, one a transparency.

All entrants submitted a vast array of images, many of them quite stunning, which made the competition a challenge to judge. In selecting the winning photographs, the judges had these comments:

"Lothes' photos were not only technically very challenging to execute, but were extremely creative and surrealistic in appearance, and were far different from others that were submitted. They captured the beauty of contemporary steam railroading in China at night, in a way that has not been done before.

"Misko Kranjec' s images were submitted five photos that not only individually were very strong images, as a group were equally strong. His photos turned mundane, everyday events to extraordinary photos that put the viewer right in the scene. These images captured the life of the railroader in various settings, anyone who has ever worked on a railroad can easily identify with Misko's images.

"Kevin Scanlon's image at a steel mill, showed the interesting relationship between man and industry, in a creative manner.

"Jeff Mast's image of an engineer cleaning the headlight on a steam locomotive at twilight was a classic image that was executed nicely, and had strong aesthetic appeal."

For 2007, the contest deadline is February 20. The 2007 theme, fascination with railroad machines, is wide ranging. It can include machines in the environment, machines at work, railroaders working with machines, or anything as simple as a tie or switch stand or as complex a high horse-power locomotive. Photographers will be judged on their ability to demonstrate creative, technical, and interpretative excellence in new and unusual ways. We want to encourage the caliber of work that is suitable for gallery and museum display. Enter now.

2002-2005 Awards Programs