Subway Series I 2006

Since I was a kid I've always loved trains, train travel and subway stations. Basically, anything that had to do with trains I loved. Two of my fondest memories of trains are when I was a young child, when (Santa) brought me a Lionel Train Set. I was hooked from then! The second being my fourteen hour train trip from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. I did that trip twice, in 2003 with my best friend Bill and in 2004 with my other good friend GiGi.

Here in New York obviously, I take the train everywhere so it gives me an opportunity to take some snaps of the trains, in the trains and around the trains. In the 1930's, world renowned photographer Walker Evans photographed passengers in the New Yorker Subway using a 35mm camera hidden under his coat. This is the sort of method I use to photograph in the subway, except I don't really hide my camera in my coat, though I never put the camera to my eye. I shoot low, oftentimes from the hip (or my crotch) and at obscure angles.

Can you believe that in 2004 the Mass Transit Authority (MTA) has tried (unsucessfully, I might add) to make taking photographs on the subway, whether on an amateur level or professional level, ILLEGAL??!! So while I risk being hassled for taking photos on the subway (I haven't yet) by the NYPD, I still have to be careful when photographing on the trains. I make a point of carrying my small NIKON Coolpix point-and-shoot, especially for subway photography. It's quiet and small. My only issue with this camera is shutter lag and it's sensitiviy to motion. I have to stand perfectly still for a sharp shot. But I do love the enegry of the photos with slow-shutter, blurred effect. I use this to my advantage.

I see so much and oftentimes, the subleties of subway culture that I have the compelling need to make photos invlolving the subway. Below are some examples of snaps taken thoughout my daily travels. There are others that appear all over this blog, and there will be other photos posted from the growing series in the future. Enjoy!

Subway cruisin'. (Those hips don't lie)

Station detail. Linclon Road Station, Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Train Tracks.

Arriving train

Building detail from the platform.

Prospect Park Station-Q train to Manhattan.

Subway feet

Subway stares into nowhere.

Subway oddity

Subway drama and trauma

Capturing my braided locks on the Utica Avenue Station Platform. Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn

Wet Paint. 96 Street Station. Downtown B and C platform.

Subway acrobat

Train Station Interior. High Street, Brooklyn Heights

Subway group

Subway reader.

A.M. Rush Hour

Lorimer Station, Williamsburgh Brooklyn- L train line

Subway Station Lamp Post

Bill Playing the double flute (also known as his third arm ;-))

Atlantic Avenue

Yours truly striking a pose for a subway portrait. (Photograph by Bill Harmon)