Mikado's Farewell: China's Last Steam Railroad, by Travis Dewitz and Todd Halamka

Photographers Travis Dewitz and Todd Halamka made a two-week winter visit in 2018 to photograph steam locomotives at a remote coal mine railroad in China, located 2,700 kilometers northwest of Beijing. They were able to arrange for extensive access to create an in-depth portrait of the place and its people. In this presentation for the Center for Railroad Photography & Art's Virtual Conversations conference, Scott Lothes moderates a discussion between them about their trip, photography, and experiences.

Halamka is a practicing architect and founder of Todd Halamka + Partners in downtown Chicago. His focus on railroad photography began in 2011, combining his lifelong love of trains and the outdoors with his fascination for image making.

Dewitz is a photographer based out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He has been published or featured in National Geographic, Trains magazine, Bakken Business Journal, Un-Sung Magazine, Vogue Italia, Cinamagic, Child Model Magazine, International Contemporary Artists Vol. XII, Amtrak brochures, Volume One, and Railfan & Railroad magazine. He is also the author of Blaze Orange: Whitetail Deer Hunting in Wisconsin.

Photographs © 2020 by Travis Dewitz and Todd Halamka

Produced by Scott Lothes, Center for Railroad Photography & Art, www.railphoto-art.org

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