ABOUT

The Man Behind The Camera

Joe Stroppel, creator of J Strop Photography, is a lifelong enthusiast of all things trains - the geography, the equipment, the people; the sights, the smells, and the sounds. Joe grew up in the city of Glen Cove, NY, along the Long Island Rail Road's quaint Oyster Bay Branch. On weekends, his mother would take him on train rides to and from Oyster Bay, and it's during these childhood years that he developed his fascination with the behemoths of steel. Joe received his first camera at age twelve, and he has been shooting railroads of the Tristate region ever since. 

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Joe photographs his home railroad, the LIRR, as his primary artistic project. He also makes trips to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New England, and Upstate New York when he can. There have been drastic changes to New York's railroad landscape since the end of its golden age in the mid 20th century, but make no mistake - the romance of the rails is still alive - and Joe strives to capture it to the best of his ability through his vision.

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At age thirteen, Joe was the recipient of a scholarship to Conversations 2016 - a national conference held by the Center for Railroad Photography and Art in Chicago, Illinois - at which he worked and observed as a docent. As a young artist, he had his work featured in an exhibit at the New York Transit Museum, and such companies as the Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak have used shots of Joe's for online advertising. Railfan & Railroad Magazine has published Joe's images in several issues from recent years.

Joe has since expanded his horizons to nature, landscapes and candids. He won a youth photography contest at the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery, and he was the official photographer for his high school sports program. Joe currently attends Hunter College in New York City, where he is majoring in classical voice.