O. Winston Link Presentation in Charlottesville

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

For N&W Historical Society list members in the area who may find this of 
interest...VISITORS ARE WELCOME:

WHAT:     NRHS Rivanna Chapter Meeting
DATE:      Monday, May 9, 2005
TIME:       6:00 PM - Social Hour and Pay-As-You-Go Buffet Dinner
               7:00 PM - Meeting and Program
PLACE:     Golden Corral Buffet and Grill, 1185 Seminole Trail (US-29 
North), Charlottesville, Virginia
INFO:       Web: http://avenue.org/nrhs        Email: nrhs at avenue.org

The program will feature a special guest speaker, Ms. Kim Parker, Operating 
Manager
of the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke. Kim will present an audio/visual
program on the life and works of O. Winston Link, focusing on his 5 year
project to photograph the last years of steam power on the Norfolk and
Western Railway. A description of some of Link's unique photographic
techniques and an overview of the O.Winston Link Museum, located in the
former N&W passenger station in Roanoke, will also be included in her
presentation. A selection of Link books and posters will be available for
purchase following the program.

O. Winston Link photographed the Norfolk & Western Railway's steam
locomotives as they passed through the towns of Virginia, West Virginia,
North Carolina and Maryland from 1955 until 1960, when steam operations
were terminated. Besides creating technically perfect images through the
use of a complex synchronized flash system (many of his photos were night
scenes), Link's work captured the end of an American way of life. His work
became widely recognized in the 1980s with the publication of Steam, Steel
& Stars, a compilation of his photographs, and he was named one of
"Photography's Grand Masters" by Vanity Fair in 2001.

Link declined numerous offers of exclusive exhibits by several notable
museums because he wanted a permanent collection of his photographs to be
displayed in a place that provided context for his work. He requested
before his death in 2001 that a museum bearing his name be located in the
old N&W Railway passenger station in Roanoke, where he took some of his
photographs.  This dream was finally realized with the opening of the O.
Winston Link Museum in January 2004.

For a quick look at some of O. Winston Links works, we invite you to visit
the museum website at: http://www.linkmuseum.org/

Please join us for this facinating look at the O. Winston Link legacy,
which promisses to be one of our best programs of the year. We look
forward to seeing you all at the May meeting!

All Aboard!

Sincerely,

Ken Moss
President, Rivanna Chapter
National Railway Historical Society
Charlottesville, Virginia