Through the Glass: America by Rail documents a cross-country journey through the United States aboard the national rail service Amtrak.
Founded in 1971, Amtrak connects hundreds of cities across the country, offering a slower and more observational alternative to travel by air or automobile.
The project emerged from a four-day journey from New York City to Seattle, a route that travels north and west toward Chicago before continuing across the vast plains of the American Midwest. Much of the trip unfolds within the enclosed space of the train itself. Passengers live, sleep, and observe the landscape from the railcar, stepping briefly onto platforms only during short scheduled stops before the train departs again.
The photographs are made almost entirely through the train’s laminated safety windows, which are designed to meet federal safety standards for impact resistance. These thick panes of glass are tinted and heat-absorbing, often filtering ultraviolet light and subtly altering the colors and clarity of the landscape beyond them.
Rather than attempting to overcome these conditions, the project embraces them. The glass becomes part of the visual language of the series, shaping the atmosphere of the images and reflecting the perspective of the passenger. Light shifts throughout the day and night, transforming industrial rail corridors near New York and Chicago into wide-open views of the American heartland.
Through the Glass: America by Rail ultimately captures the experience of travel itself. The images record a moving viewpoint where landscape, time, and distance unfold through the frame of a train window, revealing the immense scale and quiet rhythm of the American landscape as it passes by.
About Stephen J. Rauch
Stephen J. Rauch is a photographer based in Washington State whose work spans landscape, wildlife, documentary, and street photography. His interest in exploring the world began in childhood, inspired by flipping through issues of National Geographic and traveling across the United States with his family.
Photography became an important part of his travels after he purchased his first camera during work-related trips. Journeys throughout Europe and Asia further deepened his curiosity about different cultures and landscapes, and photography evolved into a way of preserving the experiences of people and places encountered along the way.
Today, Rauch develops photographic projects that focus on specific themes or locations, seeking to capture the character and atmosphere of a place. Through these series, he aims to reveal quiet moments, human presence, and the subtle beauty found within everyday environments. [Official Website]
