
Behind the Lens in Washington: The Making of Train Dreams
A Spokane photographer and IATSE stills artist, Daniel Schaefer, documented the production of Train Dreams—an Oscar-nominated Pacific Northwest epic—using era-appropriate lenses to authentically match multiple time periods, filming on Eastern Washington locations, including a forest-fire sequence tied to a real nearby blaze; the film premiered at Sundance 2025 and later earned four Academy Award nominations, highlighting Washington’s growing film industry.













