O. Winston Link

Link's given names honor ancestors Alexander Ogle and John Winston Jones, who had served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 19th century.

[4] Al Link, who taught woodworking in the New York City public school system, encouraged his children's interest in arts and crafts and introduced Winston to photography.

[citation needed] Link's early photography was created with a borrowed medium format Autographic Kodak camera.

[5] After completing high school, Link attended the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, receiving a degree in civil engineering.

An executive from Carl Byoir's public relations firm was present and was impressed by Link's speaking ability.

There, he met his future first wife, a former Ark-La-Tex, now an actress/model/body double, Vanda Marteal Oglesby, who stood-in for lead actress Franciska Gaal.

Some of Link's photographs from this time included an image of a man aiming a gun at a pig wearing a bulletproof vest, and one eventually known as "What Is This Girl Selling?"

"[8] When World War II reached the United States, Link found himself unable to join the military due to mumps-induced hearing loss.

[10] While in Staunton, Virginia, for an industrial photography job in 1955, Link's longstanding love of railroads became focused on the nearby Norfolk and Western Railway line.

"[12] Although others, including Philip R. Hastings and Jim Shaughnessy, had photographed locomotives at night before, Link's vision required him to develop new techniques for flash photography of such large subjects.

For instance, the drive-in image Hotshot Eastbound (Iaeger, West Virginia), photographed on August 2, 1956 [negative NW1103], used 42 #2 flashbulbs and one #0 fired simultaneously.

[13] Link, with an assistant such as George Thom, had to lug all his equipment into position and wire it up: this was done in series so any failure would prevent a picture being taken.

Among notable pictures taken during this period are those recording construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and other views of New York Harbor including the great ocean liners.

[citation needed] The story of Winston and Conchita became the subject of the documentary The Photographer, His Wife, Her Lover (2005) made by Paul Yule.