2009 Awards | Center for Railroad Photography & Art

2009 Awards Program Announcement

Visitors at the California State Railroad Museum view photos from the Center's 2008 contest. Photo by Scott Lothes.

The theme for the Center's 2009 Awards Program is "Light Impressions," which is open to broad interpretation. Light itself should be a fundamental element of submitted photographs, but equally important is the impression the photographer makes with the light. To quote the British photojournalist Donald McCullin, "There is no such thing as bad light, just misunderstood light." Photographers are encouraged to explore and understand all forms of light found along railroads, from golden sunlight to blue twilight, from harsh midday light to soft overcast light, from the celestial light of moon and stars to the artificial light of headlights and signals. The French Impressionist painters emphasized the changing quality of light in their work; railroads operate around the clock, through every kind of weather and in every quality of light.

Prizes totaling more than $2000, along with gallery exhibition and magazine publication, will be awarded to those photographers who make the best impressions. The total number of awards will be based upon the quality of the work received.

Gold Award (one photographer) - Canon EOS 40D digital camera body ($1099 suggested retail price)
Silver Awards (two photographers) - $300
Bronze Awards (multiple) - $100

The Center will exhibit all of the winning photographs at the California State Railroad Museum and publish a selection in a special issue of Railroad Heritage. Additionally, Railfan & Railroad magazine will publish all of the Gold and Silver Award photographs, along with a selection from the Bronze Award. Photographers whose work is published will receive additional compensation from Railfan & Railroad at the magazine's regular rate.

The deadline for submissions is March 10, 2009. As in the past, photographers may submit up to five photos. New for 2009 is an all-electronic format, see the entry form below for more details.

Download entry form (112 KB PDF file).