Produce Excellent Work!

“Johnnie, you will love the photos on the 2014 Norfolk Southern calendar," a friend said. “I want you to stop by here and pick it up and take it home with you for a while so you can read about the photographers who took the photos and the stories of how they took the winning images.”

(Note: To see the front cover of the calendar, visit http://www.nscorp.com/content/dam/nscorp/ns-store/2014_calendar_ad.pdf) 

Oh, was I ever impressed with the beauty of the images—and the size (approximately 11x16 inches) of each one, as well as the efforts the photographers made to create the image. For example, Lance Myers, who took the March photo, said he photographed the train at Fostoria [Pennsylvania] and then decided to go to Horseshoe Curve to photograph it again. His extra effort enabled him to get a “winner.”

Likewise, Roger Durfee put extra effort into his image that was chosen for April. “I knew this train was coming so I decided to make a stop [at the McKees Rocks Bridge near Pittsburg] on my way back from a photography shoot I had in Altoona the night before.”

Mark Shull, photographer of the June image, had to stand in a soybean field to get his shot—in between thunderstorms.

Rich Borkowski knew the train he wanted to photograph was coming and would be changing crews. So, he drove to the site. “I was really lucky that the flag was unfurled. It’s about a 40-foot flag, so it takes a good bit of wind to see it flying. It’s a great shot for July.”

Willie Brown says his winning photo (on the December page) of a coal train moving on the rails in the midst of a winter wonderland was taken quite by accident. He was simply going to the grocery store when he noticed the headlights of the train, hurried back home, grabbed his camera, and went to the overpass about a block from his house. Voila!

Despite the variety of photographers—and their stories and locations—they have much in common (or so I surmised).  All the photographers are employees of Norfolk Southern and, thus, all have access to and knowledge of trains. All are passionate about photography. All look for creative viewpoints and angles, a beautiful landscape, and an opportunity (planned or spur of the moment) to create the images they’ve visualized. All desire to produce an image that will stand out when the judging is being done.

 As I reflected on that, I thought about Bible verses (and there are lots of them!) that speak of the importance of excelling in whatever we do. For example, we are to excel not only in our work, but also in our relationships and in all aspects of the Christian life. After all, we are made in the image of God, who certainly excels in His work!

California coastline in the Fort Bragg/Mendocino area.