NJ Transit Photog Wins Railway Photo Contest

Three years ago, Michael Rosenthal gave up fashion photography to become the first and only staff photographer of New Jersey Transit, the nation's largest state-wide public transit system.

"When I first got here I never imagined they could keep a photographer busy," Rosenthal says. But because he has to cover such a large territory and such a wide variety of scenarios ? everything from executive portraits to pictures of new trains and buses ? he's barely had time to relax.

But his hard work is paying off. Rosenthal's nighttime pictures of trains recently won him the top prize in the Center For Railroad Photography & Art's national contest.

"Rather than settling for derivative work, Rosenthal's photographs show he's looking for a new way to make a very old subject come alive," Center officials wrote of the organization's Web site, www.railphoto-art.org. "We particularly like his willingness to explore railroads in a dense urban setting, using existing lighting and electronic flash to capture the brilliant colors, sharp contrast and geometric forms of modernity."

With his train photographs, Rosenthal says he looks to create a story and spark a reaction, mainly through attention to detail and creative use of composition. "My eye is always scanning the entire frame," Rosenthal says. "I know what's in the center of the frame, but it's the little details on the fringes that make the difference."

Rosenthal says his aim, which is to show his subject in the best possible light, is no different than fashion or landscape photography. But the challenge, he says, is creating romantic images with such a modern system.

Rosenthal's pictures have appeared in NJ Transit's annual report and its in-house publication, En Route, as well as transportation trade magazines such as Metro. The photographer works alone, often carrying 40 to 50 lbs of equipment along the rails. Because the work can be dangerous, he had to undergo safety training through the transit authority. Flagmen and supervisors look out for him while he's peering through the lens, and hard hats, special boots and reflective vests are his standard protective gear. He shoots with both a Nikon D1X and a 6 x 7 Mamiya RZ.

www.railphoto-art.org