Conveyance: 2024 John E. Gruber Creative Photography Awards – Center for Railroad Photography & Art

Introduction

1st Prize, Color: Ewan McLean. The Victorian Goldfields Railway (VGR) is a preservation group that operates trains between Maldon & Castlemaine in the north-western part of Victoria. The photographer and his wife were riding the VGR’s 14:00 service ex Maldon and were going through the gum tree forest on the outskirts of Castlemaine. He stood on the observation deck of the Tambo and captured this shot of stream locomotive J541’s smoke illuminated by the sun’s rays.

1st Prize, Black-and-White: Dafydd Whytes. A single car passenger unit arrives at Worksop station in Nottinghamshire with a lone passenger waiting.

THE 2024 JOHN E. GRUBER Creative Photography Awards Program received three hundred eighty-three submissions from one hundred forty-three photographers representing thirty-two states and eight countries. The judges were fascinated by the range of interpretations for this year’s contest theme: Conveyance.

The rotating panel of judges narrowed the submissions to the selected winners based on how well the photographs effectively and creatively represented the contest’s theme while displaying fine photographic skill and compositional storytelling.

The Center congratulates the winners and we extend our appreciation for all of those who entered the 2024 John E. Gruber Creative Photography Awards. Those who placed in this year’s program will have their photographs displayed at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden till summer 2025. The first-, second-, and third-prize winners in each category will receive prizes of $750, $500, and $250, respectively. Each photographer recognized in the “Judges Also Liked” category will receive a one-year subscription to Railroad Heritage.

The judges also selected ten more photographs in their “Also Liked” category.

Black-and-White Winners:

First Place: Dafydd Whyles, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
Second Place: James Duval
Third Place: Philip Martin, Victoria, Australia

Color Winners:

First Place: Ewan McLean, Victoria, Australia
Second Place: Ryan Gaynor, Calgary, Canada
Third Place: Daryl Bond, Omaru, New Zealand

B&W: 1st

Black-and-White, First Prize: Dafydd Whyles

A single car passenger unit arrives at Worksop station in Nottinghamshire with a lone passenger waiting.

Judges’ comments: This image immediately resonated with the jurors with its palpable sense of anticipation. This classic station shot perfectly depicts conveyance as a passenger prepares for a journey. The judges also liked how this image transports the viewer into another place at another time with the single DMU, signal box and gingerbread station trim. This image masterfully encapsulates railroad’s ability to take us places and beckon us to a world of possibilities.

2nd

Black-and-White, Second Prize: James Duval

Structural angularity. Moving shapes across stationary geometry transport what the flowing water below moved before steel in Columbia, South Carolina.

Judges’ comments:The judges really liked this image’s use of beautifully composed overlaid patterning to define the theme of conveyance. The subtle discussion of the foreground bridge trusses to the background empty center beam lumber cars literally and metaphorically speak to both the bridging of space and distance while both connect products with markets that support our daily, interconnected lives.

3rd

Black-and-White, Third Prize: Philip Martin

Conveyance in railways is the movement that takes us from point A to B. It is the world streaking past as we seem to be still. My good friend, sits and watches, as we pass through the suburbs of Sydney.

Judges’ comments: The judge’s really liked this stark and dynamic image that celebrates the exhilaration of rail travel providing the viewer with a literal window between places, perfectly framing the still face against the blurring track and passing scenery.

Color: 1st

Color, First Prize: Ewan McLean

The Victorian Goldfields Railway (VGR) is a preservation group that operates trains between Maldon & Castlemaine in the north-western part of Victoria. My wife and I are riding on the VGRs 14:00 service ex Maldon and are going through the gum tree forest on the outskirts of Castlemaine. I am standing on the observation deck of the ‘Tambo’ and captured this shot of stream locomotive J541s smoke illuminated by the sun’s rays.

Judges’ comments: In this hauntingly beautiful image the judges were struck by the emotive power of the trailing steam engine’s smoke layering the scene in a mysterious and memorable composition. The judges appreciated the photographer’s abstract interpretation of the theme of the smoke’s layered movement through the cathedral-like forest scene from left to right, while brilliantly encapsulating the familiar story for those that have ridden on the rear of a train, watching the smoke from a steam locomotive trail off into the distance.

2nd

Color, Second Prize: Ryan Gaynor

The conductor of an eastbound grain train keeps a watchful eye during a roll-by inspection at Gap, AB., as a priority intermodal train rushes by on CPKC’s transcontinental mainline on October 15th, 2023

Judges’ comments: The judge’s loved this image for its elegant composition of silhouettes providing depth and perspective while the motion blur bring home the contest theme. This image’s story-telling nature of the conveyance of freight through any and all conditions is punctuated by its bold use of color to frame a conductor performing a roll-by inspection, a scene universal to modern railroading, in this case in the dark of night, deep within the Canadian Rockies.

3rd

Color, Third Prize: Darryl Bond

A necessary pause in conveyance as crews swap between trains in the last minute before the sunset. 31 August 2023. Studholme, New Zealand.

Judges’ comments: A masterpiece of high contrast, lighting and composition, the judges were struck by the extreme low-angle sun painting only the players on the stage, providing the viewer as witness to a creative new take by drone of a scene as old as railroading itself; the crew change.

Winners Gallery

The Victorian Goldfields Railway (VGR) is a preservation group that operates trains between Maldon & Castlemaine in the northwestern part of Victoria, Australia. My wife & I are riding on the VGR’s 14:00 service and are going through the gum tree forest on the outskirts of Castlemaine. I was standing on the observation deck of the ‘Tambo’ and captured this shot of steam locomotive J541’s smoke illuminated by the sun’s rays, on April 18, 2011. Judges' comments: In this hauntingly beautiful image the judges were struck by the emotive power of the trailing steam engine’s smoke layering the scene in a mysterious and memorable composition. The judges appreciated the photographer’s abstract interpretation of the theme of the smoke’s layered movement through the cathedral-like forest scene from left to right, while brilliantly encapsulating the familiar story for those that have ridden on the rear of a train, watching the smoke from a steam locomotive trail off into the distance.

A single-car passenger unit arrives at Worksop station in Nottinghamshire, UK, with a lone passenger waiting. The train is passing the 1880-built signal box (cabin). Judges' comments: This image immediately resonated with the jurors with its palpable sense of anticipation. The classic station shot perfectly depicts conveyance as a passenger prepares for a journey. The judges also liked how this image transports the viewer into another place at another time with the single DMU, signal box and gingerbread station trim. This image masterfully encapsulates the railroad’s ability to take us places and beckon us to a world of possibilities.

Roll-by at the Gap: The conductor of an eastbound grain train keeps a watchful eye during a roll-by inspection at Gap, Alberta, Canada, as a priority intermodal train rushes by on CPKC’s transcontinental main line on October 15, 2023. Judges’ comments: The judges loved this image for its elegant composition of silhouettes providing depth and perspective, while the motion blur brings home the contest theme. This image’s storytelling nature of the conveyance of freight through any and all conditions is punctuated by its bold use of color to frame a conductor performing a roll-by inspection, a scene universal to modern railroading -- in this case in the dark of night, deep within the Canadian Rockies.

Structural angularity: moving shapes across the stationary geometric transport, on August 31, 2018, which the flowing water below moved before steel. Judges' comments: The judges really liked this image’s use of beautifully composed overlaid patterning to define the theme of conveyance. The subtle discussion of the foreground bridge trusses to the background empty center-beam lumber cars literally and metaphorically speak to both the bridging of space and distance while both connect products with markets that support our daily, interconnected lives.

A necessary pause in conveyance as crews swap between trains in the last minutes before sunset on August 31, 2023, in Studholme, New Zealand. Judges' comments: A masterpiece of high contrast, lighting and composition, the judges were struck by the extreme low-angle sun painting only the players on the stage, providing the viewer as witness to a creative new take by drone of a scene as old as railroading itself: the crew change.

Conveyance in railways is the movement that takes us from point A to B. It is the world streaking past as we seem to be still. A good friend sits and watches, as we pass through the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, on June 9, 2012. Judges' comments: The judges really liked this stark and dynamic image that celebrates the exhilaration of rail travel, providing the viewer with a literal window between places, perfectly framing the still face against the blurring track and passing scenery.

Judges Also Liked

“Eye of the Zephyr” —Amtrak’s California Zephyr returns to Denver during an early evening snowstorm, on November 17, 2022. Judges' comments: The judges loved this image’s fantastic use of light and technique to capture both motion and depth. Framed like an eye into a chilled world the foreground branches hold the viewer’s gaze with its delicate back-lit branches as the train moves through the scene while the block signal stands guard.

The Rio Grande Zephyr, in Utah, with a girl in a Dutch door, on September 1, 1978. Judges' comments: The judges were taken by this image’s unique interpretation of the theme of the woman’s gaze forward and hair flowing from the train’s motion, capturing the joy and freedom of traveling by rail and the excitement of discovery across a diverse landscape.

A punishing drought in Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2002 created an acute shortage of feed for livestock and many farms reluctantly considered selling their herds. In response, farmers in Ontario organized the Hay West initiative to send donated hay and feed to their western colleagues. In all, more than 1,800 farmers pledged up to 110,000 bales of hay to the program. The Orangeville-Brampton Railway played a role in Hay West’s success, with operator Cando Contracting shipping 35 carloads from the former Snelgrove station grounds in Brampton, Ontario, and another 51 from Utopia on the Barrie-Collingwood Railway. In this September 20, 2002 scene, local farmers have taken over the Snelgrove property to load their second batch of boxcars. The cars will be fumigated against the cereal leaf beetle before making the journey west. Judges' comments: The judges liked this image for its delightfully chaotic scene showing both innovative and non-traditional use of tractors and a skid steer loading hay at harvest time. The open box car draws the viewer further into the scene while the ballet of loading unfolds in the foreground.

Locals watch with their phones as steam locomotives 3526 and 3642 emerge through a winter fog, approaching the Rocket Street Bridge, on their way to Wimbledon with a Transport Heritage NSW special in Bathurst, NSW, Australia, on June 20, 2023. Judges' comments: The judges loved this image’s conveyance of time: If it weren’t for smartphones this could be any rail yard from last mid-century. But the phones tip the viewer off that this is the 21st century and steam railroading is still just as fascinating as it always was. It’s a spectacle that transcends time and captures the fundamental appeal of railroading.

“Knuckle Night” on, January 18th, 2021. A conductor makes his way to the lead motor of his train after replacing the first of many knuckles this stormy night. Judges' comments: The judges liked this image’s storytelling of the theme at multiple layers. The symmetrical engine noses and their headlights define and frame the moving crewmen, moments before departure, beautifully composed against the dark night sky and swirling snow.

In Mexico at this time (January 14, 1961), trains not only conveyed passengers and freight, but steam engines also provided hot water, which women would convey home with them to wash clothes. This was often a social occasion, and this picture shows women getting water for their homes and chatting with the engineer. The sad thing was that when steam engines stopped running, not only did the steam engines go away, so did the free hot water for laundry, as well as that social custom. Judges' comments: The judges loved this image’s layered storytelling of the railroad’s role uniting community and humanity. This image also represents the broader world with its implication of travel and freedom and its role in domestic life, delivering water to towns along the line.

I see three forms of conveyance here: First, the SDP40F locomotive, which has provided the horsepower to roll Amtrak’s San Francisco Zephyr, its crew members and passengers, west across several states before making a brief stop in Sacramento, California, on June 13, 1974; Second, SP caboose 1745 affords a riding place as it conveys the conductor and rear brakeman of an eastbound freight from the Bay Area to Roseville yard; third, the oldest form of conveyance, the bicycle, invented in 1817 by Karl von Drais. Named the “swiftwalker” by the German inventor, his machine had no pedals and its frame was a wooden beam supporting two wooden wheels with iron rims and leather-covered tires. The pair of bicycles being pedaled across the double-track mainline in 1974 were a bit more sophisticated. Judges' comments: The judges liked this image’s use of a convergence of conveyances in this candid and beautiful image of an everyday railroad scene. The judges also liked how this image pulls the viewer into the scene at multiple entry points.

Some days everything just comes together with light, skies, clouds, shadows, leading lines, and dramatic warm light! This day was on December 18, 2023, as I was on the last leg of a trip to chase Pere Marquette 1225, where I captured this shot of CSX I028’s mid-train DPU, as they headed down the viaduct into Howell Yard, at Evansville, Indiana, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision. The only thing that would have made it better is if it was a train coming out of Evansville, but I’ll take it! Judges' comments: The judges liked this image for its capture of modern-day containerized freight traversing the Midwest at sunset approaching the Ohio River. The dramatic interplay between the brilliant low-angle lighting and long shadows masterfully explores drone photography technology and creativity.

Along the Burlington Northern, just north of Trinidad, Colorado, on June 16,1994. Delicate, even fragile-looking when compared to the heavy steel rail and concrete ties, the code lines of old and the signal information they conveyed were nonetheless just as important for safe passage of people, machines, and cargo. Judges' comments: The judges liked this abstract image for its use of non-traditional lighting that moves beyond simple transportation and shows how railroads and communications are part of the larger theme of conveyance. A backlit masterful image that speaks to conveyance on multiple levels.

Yes, this happens every day: a December sunrise meets the oldest MBTA PCC 3087 passing through Cedar Grove Cemetery in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) remaining World War II-era Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) cars carry passengers in daily service between Ashmont and Mattapan, in Boston, on a former New Haven right of way. Judges' comments: The judges liked this image’s use of strong vertical lines to draw the viewer to the streetcar and setting sun, all rendered in silhouette through a beautiful use of back lighting, intersecting the organic with the man-made and drawing a connection between railroading and its surrounding environment.