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In the summer of 2023, photographer Katie Edwards embarked on an extraordinary 10,000-mile journey across the United States. The trip, which spanned 180 days, was not just an exploration of the American landscape but a personal artistic odyssey. Traveling with her father, Edwards photographed the ever-changing views from the windows of the train, creating a unique and breathtaking collection of images that capture the diverse beauty of the American countryside.
The “Portrait of America” project has already been showcased in an exhibition in London, with plans for a book release in 2025. It’s a stunning representation of life on the move, with Edwards capturing fleeting moments that many might overlook as they travel through the country.
Edwards’ fascination with photographing landscapes from train windows started long before this journey. “I went to stand by the door before my stop on a train trip to the Lake District in the UK,” she recalls. “The contrast between the dark vestibule and the bright outside world caught my eye.” Pulling out her camera, Edwards took a shot of the misty lanes and rolling hills beyond. The result was a perfectly captured image. From that moment on, she made it a point to bring her camera on every train journey, learning the best techniques to capture the world outside.
The idea for this epic U.S. train journey came about when Edwards and her father were planning a trip to America. “My father realized I was becoming obsessed with trains and suggested we take a trip from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon,” Edwards explains. “We started talking about it, and before we knew it, we had mapped out a cross-country route.”
Planning the trip, however, was no small feat. Amtrak, the U.S. train service, isn’t designed for people to travel on multiple long-haul trains. Edwards and her father had to carefully plan their route to avoid long stops in certain cities and to ensure they wouldn’t miss any trains. The logistics were complicated further by her father’s wheelchair, which required additional planning to ensure accessibility. “We spent two days just figuring out the route,” she says. “It was a bit tricky, but we managed to make it work.”
Once the journey began, Edwards’ father acted as her lookout, stationed further down the train and communicating with her via walkie-talkie. His role was crucial in helping her decide which moments to photograph. “I didn’t always know what I’d captured until I was editing the images later,” Edwards admits. “Sometimes I’d spot something like a blackbird flying or a figure sitting on a bench, and it would only become apparent when I reviewed the photo.”
One of the biggest challenges Edwards faced during the trip was dealing with the reflections from the train windows. To solve this, she initially used a bin liner to block the light, but it wasn’t a perfect solution. Eventually, she crafted a light blocker out of cardboard. “It worked much better, and we attached it with Velcro, so I could adjust it if I needed to,” she says.
Shooting from a moving train presented other technical challenges, especially when it came to capturing sharp, clear images. Edwards used a long lens and shot hand-held, often pressing her face up against the window to get the best possible frame. “I didn’t want to attract attention, so I chose not to use a tripod or monopod,” she explains. “That meant my arm muscles were definitely getting a workout.”
Despite the difficulties, Edwards focused on producing sharp images. “It was all about compromises,” she says. “I wanted the pictures to be crisp, so I used an aperture of f/2.8, which helped create that nice soft frame edge. But it also made focusing harder.” Edwards was meticulous about capturing the details—often rejecting photos that were out of focus, even if they were nearly perfect in every other way.
Train windows were often dirty, especially near the rubber seals, but Edwards found that this added a layer of artistry to the photos. “The dirt looked good when it was softened by the wide-open aperture,” she explains. “When the light hit it, it almost looked like a painting. That turned out to be one of the reasons why I decided to shoot wide-open.”
Another unique aspect of the project was Edwards’ ability to predict what was coming up, thanks to her father’s communication. “He’d tell me if something interesting was coming up, whether it was in the foreground or the distance,” she says. “I had only a few seconds to focus and take the shot, so it was often a bit of a guessing game.”
One of the standout achievements of the project was a mosaic created from 20,000 individual images captured throughout the journey. “Because the train was so bumpy, every image had a lot of black space around it,” Edwards says. “The images were all slightly warped, and I wanted to crop them perfectly. My dad, who’s a computer programmer, helped create a program that could automatically crop the images and assemble them into the mosaic. It was a real family project.”
When asked about her favorite images, Edwards reflects on the “mountain ladder” shot, which was an accident. “The ladder was part of an electrical post, and it created this beautiful juxtaposition with the mountain behind it,” she explains. “It made me feel like I could climb the mountain in just a few steps.”
Although Edwards was inspired by other photographers, such as Paul Fusco and John Schabel, she believes her project stands apart. “People have taken pictures out of train windows before, but not in such a systematic way,” she notes. “It’s been really rewarding to document these moments of American life and landscape in such a direct, formulaic manner.”
After 180 days and nearly 10,000 miles on the train, Edwards was exhausted but exhilarated. “Editing the photos is one of my favorite parts of the process,” she admits. “It’s like discovering a hidden treasure. Each shot feels like a little piece of chocolate.”
Now, as she prepares to publish a book in 2025, Edwards is excited to share her journey with a broader audience. “I hope people will find something beautiful in these images, just as I did during the trip. It’s about seeing the world in a different way—through a small window on a train.”
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