Photographer David Plowden

Photographer David Plowden, on riding the last regular-service steam engine in New England:

“When I watched the gauge drop to zero, I realized that the era was over, and I realized very quickly that I had not only been photographing the end of the locomotive but I’d been photographing the profound change that was occurring in America. And I thought to myself, Plowden, you better get out there and photograph the other things that you remember so well as a young person, because they’re not gonna be here. And that’s what I’ve spent my life doing.”

Plowden and his photographs are the focus of an episode of The Story, Disappearing America (American Public Media). There’s a website devoted to his work.

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October 16, 2013: I just discovered that this episode of The Story is no longer available.

[Thanks, Elaine, for pointing me to this podcast.]