Conference presenter and renowned photographer J. Parker Lamb has donated a 16×20 print of the above photograph to be raffled on Saturday at Conversations 2015. Another print from David Plowden will be raffled on Friday, and Plowden plans to attend both the Friday dinner and the Saturday reception with his wife, Sandra. Tickets for both raffles are available on the 2015 conference page and will also be for sale at the door.

Two new prints are available through the Center’s Print Program. The 2015 offerings come from Ted Benson and Jeff Mast. Benson’s “Blossoms come to the Tidewater Southern” is an 11×14 silver gelatin print made by the photographer. Mast’s “Cumbres & Toltec” is a 10×15 archival pigment print made by program coordinator Jeff Brouws. Both are available in limited editions of ten, signed by the photographer. Pre-order for pickup at the conference to save ten percent.

We are excited to welcome five docents to Conversations 2015. They are photographers Brandon Townley, Davidson Ward, and John Sanderson, and archivists Jim Cascino and Andy Meyer. Townley, of Toledo, Ohio, is a talented professional photographer and first-time attendee. Ward comes from Nashville, Tennessee, and is attending his third conference—his first as a docent. He is a photographer, transportation consultant, and steam preservationist. Sanderson is returning for his second tour as a docent and brings a wealth of photography exhibition knowledge from his work in New York City galleries. Cascino and Meyer are both first-time attendees and currently working on the Center’s photography collections at Lake Forest College. We thank the conference patrons, whose generosity makes the docent program possible.

Just a few tickets remain for Conversations 2015. Get them while they last!

Reserve your spot for the Center’s annual conference, Conversations about Photography, April 10-12 on the campus of Lake Forest College, 30 miles north of Chicago. Headliners include J. Parker Lamb, Ted Benson, Dale Sanders, and Axel Zwingenberger. Peter Mosse will share selections from his extensive art collection, one of the largest private collections of railroad paintings in country. James Swensen, a BYU professor, will look at the railroad photography of Russell Lee. See the full line-up and purchase tickets on the conference page. Last year’s conference sold-out, so make your reservations now.

Scholarships, funded by conference patrons, are available for young and/or emerging photographers and other visual artists. The deadline for applications is February 1; recipients will be announced by February 13.

The fall issue of Railroad Heritage is now available for purchase through our online book store. Examining the future of railroad photography, writer David Lester answers the question of whether the younger generation is losing interest in railroad photography with, “Not a chance.” Lester interviews six photographers ranging in age from 18 to 30 in his cover feature, which assesses their interests and priorities, and displays the great passion they bring to the field. Incidentally, the cover photograph by Amanda Oakes is only the second time the work of a woman photographer has been featured on the cover of Railroad Heritage. Shirley Burman was the first. In conjunction with the 2014 annual meeting of the Lexington Group in Transportation History in St. Louis, there is an eight-page gallery of St. Louis railroad photographs by Center member Dick Neumiller, highlighting the Gateway City’s colorful railroads and especially its pre-Amtrak passenger trains. Three short features round out the issue. As part of our ongoing coverage of railroads and World War II in conjunction with our Railroaders exhibition at the Chicago History Museum, Center editorial consultant Jack Holzhueter shares his reflections on the patriotic imagery found in wartime dining car menus, which come from the collection of member John Kelly. Artist Elaine Wilson describes her project Charting the Wolverine of watercolors and maps highlighting Amtrak’s route across Michigan. Finally, as a follow-up to the spring issue profile on photographer Blair Kooistra, one of his former traveling and photography companions, Scott Bontz, shares his memories and photographs of their time together. Bontz has been never considered himself a railfan, and he brings an interesting perspective of an “outsider” to the pursuit of railroad photography.