Under Construction

Yesterday's trip was traveling into the past... Starting from a station that I used to travel to on a very regular basis: 14 St station on the F (and now M) line. The MTA seems to be true to their slogan about improving the system: There sure is a lot of construction going on...



I bet a lot of New Yorkers know this sign... Not to be ignored! I once ruined a perfectly fine jacket because I didn't see the sign as it was taped to the reverse side of the column I had chosen to rest against... :P



One of the entrances to that station. Honestly I had never fully realized how ugly it is... But I guess it is in a "so ugly it's interesting" kind of way...



Underground again.



A bump in the wall? No problem, let's just tile around it! ;)



I love when people interact with ads and posters...



Signal detail...



I don't know, but I guess I'm deeply fascinated by the weird shapes walls can have... And how neatly tiled up it can be...



On my way to another old home station... Changing trains at Broadway - Lafayette station...



A few days before I had managed to take a great iPhone image of this station... So I wanted to go back there trying to replicate or improve on that to document the changes being made... And if the shape of renovations done to many outdoor stations in Brooklyn are any indication of what is to come I really have to conserve what was here...



It feels that outdoor stations seem to be harder to keep in shape due to the more direct weather influence...



Love the mirrors! I didn't get the shot of that impressive 3 escalator bank though... All of them were working... I guess I have to recheck as I need the middle one out of order for my intended shot to work... That shouldn't take too long in my experience though... Escalators in the city don't seem to be too sturdy for some reason...



Real signs of construction.



Love, love this!



What's not to like: Rusted steel and a cloudy sky!
Well, I remember the roof was super leaky...



Playing with shapes...



Still Smith - 9 St...



I hardly ever exited at this station... It's under construction now as well, but it must have been beautiful when it was originally built... This metal arc is great... Unfortunately there was no way to show the complete shape...



Second part of arc...



Underpass at 4 Ave station (F & G line): Looks almost like a hospital to me...



Not too fond of the brick color, but love the curved beam!



Arriving at 7 Ave station.



Construction here as well... I saw several people hesitate before entering this quite narrow hallway... Understandably so!



Symmetry is to be found in the strangest places!



Here as well! Apparently it was just the end of the school day... Had to wait quite a while to get this one...



End of trip... Well not really, but end of the photo taking part of the trip! ;)

The image that was not.

I went out today to find people in the subway to take pictures of... But you can see in today's post there are no people images... That is one thing about this series... One cannot really predict what is going to happen...



I started at Columbus Circle station. Always was fascinated by circles...



No wonder people have a hard time figuring out where to go!



I had shot this before... Now with green leaves... Will most likely be back in autumn! ;)



This series was taken at the 57 St station (F line). This is to me a pretty plain, almost European looking station at least above the platform level...



Imagine a potentially homeless person just standing there... Close to the wall... Dressed completely in (faded) black... What an image! So strong! So sad! But understandably my photo request was denied... But at least I asked!



More exploring the station...



North corner of station.



Downstairs at same station... Interrogation room mirrors!



Upstairs at same station...



I think this is 50 St station (C, E line). I like the emptiness of this set up!



As I was still walking around contemplating how to continue I came across open steam pipes...
Love those... So photogenic... Almost like smoke used to be in bars... Or a gigantic fog machine...



On the same block... Love how the reflections and the steam open up the rigid structure of the beautiful building details...

Rock stars of the subway!

When I was changing trains at Times Square station I had the pleasure to see Heth and Jed perform... Wow! They are really good, they rock! Incredible for a performance in the subway! They even have a tour page going noting where they will perform next... I'm actually considering to see them again on purpose! To get an idea of what their music is like just check out their page as it has some music streaming... Sorry, if this sounds all fan boyish, but seeing them was really exciting!!!



Liked the set up at Times Square station...



Jed in the rare moment actually looking up and interacting with a member of the audience...



Heth doing his thing with audience... What was so special about this "gig" was that people actually stayed to listen... I usually experience people passing by or paying attention when waiting for the train... But this was different! According to their website stream people are actually seeking out their location to hear them play...

A strange name for great dog

Here are my images from a recent assignment for the German magazine Junger Soldat (I would love to give you a link, but they don't really have a website). In Salem we met with Geoff Ames (a veteran with PTSD) and his service dog Oprah. The dog was trained and provided to him by Puppies Behind Bars. Apparently Oprah Winfrey is supporting the cause and so the dog was named after her... Asides from this slightly strange naming practice it was an honor to invited into Mr. Ames and witness his story. Although Oprah is a service dog, she was still a lab and a young one at that...



We took a walk through their neighborhood. Love the colors. And the sense of abandonment.



Oprah is ready for her close up! Next image: Her service manual.



Oprah looking attentive while guarding Goeff. A drawer full of meds...



Here you can see that Oprah is still quite young... Details and Geoff's close up.

I liked doing this story although it was a more complex setup... But seeing the two together and how that makes a difference for both of them was really rewarding!

Unusual subject: Ground Zero vigil

When the news filtered through that there was going to be a candle light vigil at Ground Zero I made sure that I got there a soon as possible... I usually don't do breaking news coverage, but I just had been asked to potentially do a story about Ground Zero on Friday, so I thought it was a good way of easing into the topic...



For me the most iconic image of the series...



One of only two people that actually brought candles... (At least from what I saw!)



Crowd facing Ground Zero.



Kids on phone booth.



Other person with candle...



People rotated on that phone booth as they were advised to get off it, that nobody got hurt...



Tailgate performance...



Girl(s) gone wild, Ground Zero Edition! ;)



View south...



Party people!



Interesting choice of wardrobe!



Soldier in uniform joins the festivities...



Capitalism at its best!