Expo Line Fan is revealed and says bye-bye

The Expo Line extension to Santa Monica today received what should be its final regulatory clearance, from the California Public Utilities Commission. But the project won't be chronicled anymore by photographer "Expo Line Fan." It turns out that he is Dwight Sturtevant, and he is leaving Los Angeles for a new job. From ZevWeb:

After nearly three years of chronicling the second, final phase of the Expo Line light rail project down to the last rivet and rebar, Sturtevant is leaving town for a new job in Ohio—and leaving behind a project he has documented in thousands of images and nearly three dozen videos since 2010.

Through it all, Sturtevant has worked anonymously and without compensation, with public credit for his photos going simply to “Expo Line Fan,” if it was given at all. But now, at last, his story can be told.

“I am just a rail fan who has been unofficially the project photographer,” the prolific volunteer said recently as he took a break from packing for the move. “I’ve had a free hand.”

Using his own photo equipment and wearing a Metro safety vest and a hard hat he purchased himself, Sturtevant has become a familiar figure on construction sites all along the 6.6-mile stretch where work is now underway to extend Expo from Culver City to Santa Monica.

His photos have appeared on Metro’s blog The Source, on the project’s website, on Supervisor Yaroslavsky’s website, in construction trade journals and on his own voluminous photo-sharing site.

“We use his pictures even in our office. It’s just built so much enthusiasm,” said Skanska USA Civil Executive Vice President Mike Aparicio, who added that Sturtevant’s outlook on the project has rubbed off on the whole Expo team. “When they see that kind of enthusiasm, they just feed on it.”

Sturtevant's site is here.