During this project, I performed some activities that I never thought I would. I never thought I would be taking pictures of people without them having knowledge about what was going on. The idea for this concept was inspired by the in class presentation we had on the photographer Walker Evans. During the presentation, we learned about how he discreetly took pictures on NYC Subways, without letting people know what he was doing. I decided that for my project I would “go underground” just like Mr. Evans, both literally and figuratively. I wanted to capture the typical people we see everyday on subway rides. These are the people we have seen so often that we do not give them a second thought, such as the businessmen in suits listening to music, or the people heaving suitcases to get to their vacation destinations.
As Walker Evans wanted to show the true sadness of the Great Depression through his photography, I wanted to capture average New Yorkers going about their daily activities. My goal was not to expose anything sinister but rather to show many types of people that are always in our sights but often overlooked. The feeling of realism is very important to me, which is why all photos except for one are completely natural and not staged. Consequentially, there was not much professional technique in my photographs, as demonstrated by many other photographers we studied. My goal became to make each photograph as natural as possible.
What someone does during a subway ride can tell a lot about them. There are those who close their eyes and listen to music, wanting to relax and drown out the rest of the world (this is the category I belong to). Then there are those who like to read or study to make the most of their time, or the ones who simply stare into space, deep in their own thoughts. No matter what people are doing, there are certain activities that are going on in nearly every subway car.
This was the first time I would be photographing people without their consent or knowledge. I found it to be extremely awkward at first. I had to maneuver my phone so that no one would see that I was taking the picture, but expose it just enough so that there would still be a chance of me getting a decent shot. The week before Thanksgiving basically consisted of me riding the 6 train up and down for an hour, then walking across central park to get some fresh air, and trying the 1, 2, or 3. I even ventured onto the LIRR between Penn Station and Jamaica Station to get a broader perspective. In the beginning of these adventures, many awkward situations arose as a result of my attempts to photograph people. At one point I was trying to take a photo of a man reading a Korean newspaper heading downtown on the 1 train. Standing in front of the doors, I pulled out my weapon of choice (the mighty iPhone) and started the camera. The lady standing to my right noticed this and stared relentlessly, as if daring me to take the shot. Petrified and not wanting to attract any more attention, I got off at the next stop and waited for the following train. The one lesson I took away from this venture was that in order to get what one wants, one needs to be relentless. If one person catches you, you stay calm and wait for the next train. Hopping trains has its thrills, and I can now say I have been deep into all boroughs but Staten Island.
I took nearly forty photographs, and it was difficult deciding which ones to keep. In the end, it was not the perfect photographs that stayed, but the perfect moments. In most of the photographs kept, my brown jacket is seen in the corner. The downside of using this technique when photographing is that one is not always in control of the quality of the end product. However, I tried to find the right balance of aesthetics and realism.
Throughout this project, I was in awkward situations, frustrated by blurry photographs, and angry about missed opportunities. However, I believe that I was able to capture the images of typical New Yorkers that are overlooked by the hustle and bustle of the busiest city in the world.
http://prezi.com/lrowrp5xox7u/everyone-sees-them/?kw=view-lrowrp5xox7u&rc=ref-3028451
