Altamont Press Discussion Board :: Discussion

Re: Jim Boyd

Author: Bruce Kelly

Date: 06-01-2010 - 08:04

Having worked full-time with Jim Boyd for nearly eight years, surviving more magazine production deadlines with him than I care to remember, and having done countless road trips, night photo shoots, and pizzas with him, I can provide more real-life background on the man than most of the folks who frequent this forum. Like all of us here, Jim had his good points and bad points. Nothing different from most railfans. I'd like to clarify a couple of things that others have been saying about him.

Photo line etiquette: I've seen some ridiculous railfan behavior over the years, whether it's 4449 chasers in the West, or photo line wreckers in the East. I tend to agree with the first-on-the-scene-claims-the-shot rule, even if someone else gets to the shot before me and sets up in what I consider to be the wrong spot. I will not get in front of them in order to get my "better" version shot. But not everyone is that considerate, and in all his years of railfanning, Boyd has had to put up with way too many jerks who jump out between the photo line and the approaching train at the last minute. If he yells at someone to get out of the way, they probably deserved it.

Cliques: In my experience, Boyd has been the LAST person to put himself in a clique and make others feel less than him. He might make someone feel he knows more stuff than them, but that's about it. While some "name brand" shooters and contributors and editors may act too cool for others out in the field, Boyd was always the one guy who went out of his way to accommodate the little guys. Ordinary railfans of any age could walk up and ask him a question and he would go out of his way to tell them everything he could about the approaching steam special, where some of the better shots are down the line, etc. When others were keeping their night photo shoots a secret among friends, Boyd practically advertised his flashbulb operations for everyone to join in, free of charge, as many as could be squeezed in. He was even known to loan a tripod to complete strangers.

A lot, LOT more I could say about Boyd, but for now, I hope some of this sets some of the record straight.

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Subject	Written By	Date/Time (PST)
My apologies	Ernesto in Modesto	05-31-2010 - 17:47
Re: My apologies	Jim Quigg	05-31-2010 - 20:50
Hero Worship in the Hobby	DH	06-01-2010 - 03:34
Re: Hero Worship in the Hobby	Sam Reeves	06-01-2010 - 08:01
Re: Jim Boyd	Bruce Kelly	06-01-2010 - 08:04
Re: Jim Boyd	Ernesto in Modesto	06-01-2010 - 10:21
Re: Jim Boyd	Keith Ardinger	06-01-2010 - 10:28
Re: Jim Boyd	Ernesto in Modesto	06-01-2010 - 10:49
Re: Jim Boyd	OTN	06-01-2010 - 12:10
Re: Lost Photos	Bruce Kelly	06-01-2010 - 12:57
Re: Lost Photos	George Andrews	06-02-2010 - 17:20
Re: Jim Boyd	SLOCONDR	06-01-2010 - 19:58
Re: Jim Boyd	Captain Underpants	06-02-2010 - 02:18

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Bruce Kelly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Having worked full-time with Jim Boyd for nearly
> eight years, surviving more magazine production
> deadlines with him than I care to remember, and
> having done countless road trips, night photo
> shoots, and pizzas with him, I can provide more
> real-life background on the man than most of the
> folks who frequent this forum. Like all of us
> here, Jim had his good points and bad points.
> Nothing different from most railfans. I'd like to
> clarify a couple of things that others have been
> saying about him.
> 
> Photo line etiquette: I've seen some ridiculous
> railfan behavior over the years, whether it's 4449
> chasers in the West, or photo line wreckers in the
> East. I tend to agree with the
> first-on-the-scene-claims-the-shot rule, even if
> someone else gets to the shot before me and sets
> up in what I consider to be the wrong spot. I will
> not get in front of them in order to get my
> "better" version shot. But not everyone is that
> considerate, and in all his years of railfanning,
> Boyd has had to put up with way too many jerks who
> jump out between the photo line and the
> approaching train at the last minute. If he yells
> at someone to get out of the way, they probably
> deserved it.
> 
> Cliques: In my experience, Boyd has been the LAST
> person to put himself in a clique and make others
> feel less than him. He might make someone feel he
> knows more stuff than them, but that's about it.
> While some "name brand" shooters and contributors
> and editors may act too cool for others out in the
> field, Boyd was always the one guy who went out of
> his way to accommodate the little guys. Ordinary
> railfans of any age could walk up and ask him a
> question and he would go out of his way to tell
> them everything he could about the approaching
> steam special, where some of the better shots are
> down the line, etc. When others were keeping their
> night photo shoots a secret among friends, Boyd
> practically advertised his flashbulb operations
> for everyone to join in, free of charge, as many
> as could be squeezed in. He was even known to loan
> a tripod to complete strangers. 
> 
> A lot, LOT more I could say about Boyd, but for
> now, I hope some of this sets some of the record
> straight.

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