Hot Shot Eastbound 

"WilliamsSW" (williamssw) 08/16/2017 at 22:34 • Filed to: trainlopnik

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Iaeger, WV

One of my all time favorite photos, by O. Winston Link. Ttyymmnn’s post reminded me of it somehow -

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW 08/16/2017 at 22:41

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Now THAT is cool. Talk about encapsulating an era. Wow. Looks like an F-86 on the screen. I wonder what they were watching.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 08/16/2017 at 22:48

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“Battle Taxi” is the movie, I believe.

I’m pretty sure it’s a composite, with the plane added later, because the flashes washed it out.

He did a lot of great night photography.

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW 08/16/2017 at 23:13

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I was wondering about that.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 08/16/2017 at 23:32

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I’ve read conflicting stories about it, but I think it was added after the fact. The rest of it is one shot, at least.

I have a framed version here at home - he did a fantastic job of documenting the end of the steam era in the 1950s on the N&W, and in a lot of ways, it was also the end of the era for the small towns he took the photos in, too.

Back when I was in the rail industry, I visited many of the towns he took photos in, including Iaeger. They were pretty depressed, and that was 20 years ago.

lone_liberal > WilliamsSW 08/16/2017 at 23:38

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That’s a TINY drive in! The ones we used to go to had much larger screens and a lot more cars. It must have been a pretty small town.

WilliamsSW > lone_liberal 08/16/2017 at 23:43

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Iaeger had around 1,200 residents at the time (1956) according to Wikipedia, so yeah.

I grew up near a big drive in, too - they had 3 screens and tons of parking. Place was a madhouse on summer weekends —

lone_liberal > WilliamsSW 08/16/2017 at 23:50

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Ours didn’t have multiple screens but there were 3 different ones within a couple of miles of each other and since it was the 70s they had wide screens that were much larger. Complete zoos on summer weekends for sure.

WilliamsSW > lone_liberal 08/16/2017 at 23:59

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Brings back many fond memories, for sure! Once I started driving, I went there a lot with friends. We’d get a few carloads of people amd have a great time. Don’t think I ever actually watched a movie there, though—

CaptDale - is secretly British > WilliamsSW 08/17/2017 at 12:37

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This is an amazing photograph.

WilliamsSW > CaptDale - is secretly British 08/17/2017 at 12:49

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It really is - and much better viewed in a larger format. I have a print that’s ~18x24 or so and that highlights the details much better than a computer screen can.

O. Winston Link spent a lot of time photographing on the Norfolk & Western in the 1950's - they were the last holdout running steam engines (they were pretty self-reliant from mining the coal to building the engines). A lot of his photographs are nighttime black and white shots that are just incredible. Above is probably his second most famous photo - Hawksbill Creek Swimming Hole.

CaptDale - is secretly British > WilliamsSW 08/17/2017 at 12:54

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These are amazing and really make me want to get back into film photography.

WilliamsSW > CaptDale - is secretly British 08/17/2017 at 12:58

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Do it! Google him for a lot more— I’m not a photographer at all (I lack the patience), but I love these classic photos.

CaptDale - is secretly British > WilliamsSW 08/17/2017 at 13:09

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I think my favorite part about photography (especially film) besides the act of finding a good shot is the dark room. Developing your own film and then printing it. I just love it so much. Maybe someday I will have my own darkroom at home. It is amazing watching it all come to life.

This one is cool

And some Oppo

bubblestheturtle > WilliamsSW 08/17/2017 at 21:50

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Concept, exposure, framing, focus, and all of the equipment needed to do these back in the 50's. More than a little impressive.

WilliamsSW > bubblestheturtle 08/17/2017 at 23:02

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I think this is his best, but he did a lot of great work besides this, too.