We all owe a lot to photographers like Kindig, Richardson , Perry, Linwood Moody, Krause and many others for the legacy of a vast historic record of American railroading. Indeed, I base many of my paintings on these standard 3/4 views. I enhance them by changing locations, weather, consist, etc. to make a stronger painting ,and so does Jan Rons, Gil Bennett and other artists. The photographers of historic record used rebuilt reflex cameras, shot photos on their days off and vacations, exchanged postcard-sized photos and propagated the railfan fellowship by doing so. Link took it all a giant step further by showing something more- how a railroad interacted with its environment. Link took one railroad in a specific region and covered it a very unique way. A fine legacy of a specific historic record was elevated to an art form in Link's work, and art critics agree. As an artist, I would find it difficult to improve on an O.Winston Link photograph.
www.rrart.com