As part of a special display, the California State Railroad Museum is proud to showcase award-winning photographs recently given prestigious honors as part of an annual Creative Photography Awards Program competition organized by the Center for Railroad Photography & Art.  With a compelling “Beyond the Locomotive” theme, a record-setting 700 photographs were submitted as entries this year by more than 200 photographers around the world. 

A first time entrant, Brandon Robert Smith of Norman, Oklahoma, received the Center's 2010 top prize for Creative Photography.  A California-based photographer named Steve Crise was also honored in the annual competition, which has international appeal.

Judged by Kimberly Parker, Director of the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke, Virginia, the competition this year was extremely competitive due to the sheer number of entries. “Those that combined the human element with the industrial setting called out and yet some of the strongest are those where we feel the peace and tranquility of a tree falling in the forest,” explained Parker. “Does the train make a sound if no one is there to hear it pass? I found my interests drawn to the photos that had more to the story.”
This special photography exhibit will remain on display at the California State Railroad Museum through June 30, 2011, joining the Museum’s regular lineup of permanent and changing exhibitions, along with special events.  In addition to being showcased in the special exhibit at the Railroad Museum, the award-winning photographs will be featured in an upcoming issue of Railfan & Railroad magazine.
More information about the competition and the Center for Railroad Photography & Art can be found at www.railphoto-art.org.

Operated by California State Parks with financial assistance from the non-profit California State Railroad Museum Foundation, the California State Railroad Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Widely regarded as North America’s finest and most popular railroad museum, the complex of facilities includes the 100,000-square foot Railroad History Museum plus the reconstructed Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station and Freight Depot, 1849 Eagle Theatre, and Big Four and Dingley Spice Mill commercial buildings in Old Sacramento. For 24-hour information, (916) 445-6645.