A few a you have privately asked me why I seem to have such an issue with both Jim Boyd and Mark Hemphill. I do think both are very good photographers and writers; I give them that. And I apologize to both men and to David for going over the deep end in the previous thread (I blame the cheap red wine I drank. No beer involved).

With that said I'll state what I heard from other railfan's concerning each person prior to running into them on separate railfan trips or chase's; that, unless you were in their clique, you were an outsider and would be either shunned, ignored or told not to get in the way in harsh terms. When you hear things like this immediate impressions are formed. In this case some not so good ones.

I ran into Mark in Utah in the early 1990's. The nicest thing I can say would be this: he seemed pissed off that I was in the area doing the same thing he was, which was photographing DRGW trains west off Helper, UT. After saying "Hi" I asked him a general question, in a calm manner, and all I got in return was a cold stare. Then it hit me: what I had heard about him must be true. Talk about a terrible first impression! The whole rest of the day was the same. It was like we were both using body language to tell each other "you stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours".

Concerning Jim Boyd, I'll never forget how he snarled at a friend of mine scrambling to find a decent photo location after Jim and his crew had "claimed" their territory. This friend was close enough to Boyd to envoke his anger. Boyd's tone of voice would have scared a bear back into hibernation. Was that necessary? Absolutely not. Now some will claim it was due to one of the biggest unwritten rules in photography: the "I'm here first, you're not, so go somewhere else" rule. Your perfect shot is somehow ruined by someone else having the same idea; you have to wonder where this type of mentality came from. Another terrible first impression.

I will not comment on Ted Benson, a photographer I have long admired, but never met (believe it or not). Yes, there are some rather unflattering stories about him photographing trains in Feather River Canyon from some other fans who claim to have been there. There are probably some not so good stories about me too.


Ernie