Self-portrait by Kelly Lynch.
Iconic Railroad Imagery in Film
View Kelly’s work at lynchpinpictures.com.
Photo by Steve Crise.Has the American consciousness moved so far from these elements so as to not recognize their meaning or want to invest in their mythology any further? There are still stories to tell, moments that can exist 23 times more a second; true, unwashed, compelling railroad images to invigorate the masses with. That’s why we’re here today. The train can’t speak for itself. The train cannot go 60 miles an hour unless the still image shows it at speed, or if the motion picture does not enthrall us with its passing. We are the image-makers and storytellers and we have the ability to create new icons for the masses as much as we can reinforce the old for the same.
— Kelly Lynch, April 18, 2009
Kelly Lynch is an accomplished filmmaker whose award winning projects often feature aspects of railroading as metaphor, backdrop, or character. Educated at Columbia College, Chicago, the New York Film Academy, and Universal Studios in Los Angeles, Kelly currently acts as the railroad transportation coordinator for the Indiana Film Commission and writes, directs, and produces his own character driven features. He was named one of the under-35 leaders in railroad preservation by Trains magazine in 2005, for his work in helping to preserve, operate, and promote historic steam locomotives as well as modern day railroading via cinematic means. The Center has said that his work carries “a strong feeling of a timeless man-machine relationship.” For this year’s conference, he hopes to explore that relationship as showcased through the motion picture, and study the use of iconic railroad imagery in film.