Richard Steinheimer, the acknowledged “Dean” of western railroad photography, passed away quietly on May 4, 2011, in Sacramento, California, after a long illness. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 23, 1929, he migrated to Southern California at the age of six with his mother and sister, where an early love of the desert and wide western geographies bloomed — landscapes that would later become integral to his photography.
Steinheimer broke new aesthetic and technical ground within the field of railroad photography starting in 1946 by moving away from the favored “3/4 wedgie” school pioneered by predecessors like Lucius Beebe. Instead he instigated an interpretive style that encompassed the entire railroad scene and environment in novel fashion, with human interest a major focus. Utilizing a range of cameras from 4 × 5 Speed Graphics to 2 1/4 Rolleicords to 35mm Nikons over the course of his career, he also pioneered the use of synchronized and open-flash when shooting railroad subjects years prior to such better-known contemporaries as O.Winston Link. Not content to merely make the pictures, he also became a master darkroom craftsman with a print quality often rivaling the tonalities of those made by Ansel Adams.
Beyond the photography, “Stein’s” humble demeanor, sense of fellowship, stamina in the field, and generosity in sharing his knowledge of railroading, history and photography — not to mention his talent and creativity — enamored him to, and inspired a younger generation of railroad photographers, who rightfully have conferred upon him heroic status. The passion with which he photographed trains and railroading was infectious. He will be deeply missed as he and his work touched many.
Jeff Brouws
Robert Mann Gallery
210 Eleventh Avenue
New York NY 10001
