New York Subway

Underground (2013)

Narrow Ends (2013)

     For this post, I wanted to share a few photos of the  New York subway. The New York subway was first opened on October 27th, 1904 and is run by New York City Transit Authority. It is one of the most expensive public transportation systems in the world with over 460 stations and provided over 1 billion rides in just 2012 alone. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and has a reasonably low prices to ride. The New York subway is the largest subway in the US and the 7th largest in the world. It is extremely convenient and easy to use. For these photographs, I wanted to capture the underground feel of the subway. It feels enclosed and when there aren't many people around kind of spooky. The lights are hazy, the tracks are endless and the colors are faded. The first thing that I wanted to capture for these photos is walking down into the subway. Underground depicts this. As you can tell, it is very narrow and dirty. It is also spooky with there being no people. You do not know where the stairs stop, or where the stairs lead. Narrow Ends, gives off this tight, and endless feeling also. As you walk down the walkways, it seems as though, the tracks never end. You once again do not know where the track ends or where it begins. Looking down the lines, it is impossible to see where it begins and where it ends. For Endless, the feeling of aloneness is present. There is a hazy yellow filtering the air, and a smell of rusted metal mixes in the air. The track is curved and there is several different textures: a grim solid concrete platform, a sharp poignant metallic track, a beat up ground below the track, and a silky smooth white, purple, and black title. I like how this shot, captures all the textures and contrasts. There is also a good sense of colors here, the subway may be grim and dirty looking here and there but it is not black and white. You feel as though you have been left behind and left in the dust. For Still Lines, I wanted to capture that sense of stillness that the subway is without the people and trains. In this shoot, the lines seem so defined and perfected. Everything is straight looking and the lighting is white. Compare to Endless, the subway seems organized and no longer spooky. It is a more optimistic view of the subway. Instead of wondering where the train went like in Endless or feeling left behind, you now feel the anticipation for getting on and arriving at your destination. Putting all this together, the subway can be viewed as both spooky and exciting.            

Endless (2013)

 

Still Lines (2013)