A week in pictures (on the subway)...

I love this project... These days I've been quite busy with another personal project of mine that still needs a lot of post production... But whenever I leave home I take my little camera with me and try my best to get some new images in the subway... This is my selection of last weeks efforts... Above was taken on Saturday morning on my trip to aikido class...

Love this... I don't think they traveled together, but I'm just intrigued by the stories that come up in my mind when looking at this....

Going through time square... Through the smudged train window...

Last week still was warmer...

So stylish!

I think I tend to like the black and white treatment better for most these people images... This one needed to be in color though! 

I wasn't sure about the treatment in this one... The shoes and lipstick were VERY red... But BW won out in the end!

I think this was on the number 7 train...

Times Square seems to become my favorite spot for this series... There's always something interesting happening there... 

He looks like a French inspector to me...

With a purpose!

Sometimes I like out of focus images even better than the ones that are in focus... Almost as if they appeal right to the mind without being filtered by the brain too much... 

Someone asking for directions and smart phone to the rescue?

 I don't know why, but this is a sailor image for me...

 I love this city! :)

Man waiting and eating... (Maybe sunflower seeds, I've come to love sunflower kernels... Just wish Whole Foods would carry the unsalted kind more regularly!)

Warms my heart to see this interaction!

 This of course too! Happy or super excited people are fun to watch...

On the train...

In front a New Yorker being amused about the visiting group who just missed their stop, but didn't think that was a problem...

 Woman in patterned coat studying magazine covers...

Not sure what to say about this one... I still like it!

Auto focus with a mind of its own! In this case this leads to a neat image though!

I still haven't mastered this camera yet... When best to use the auto focus and when to pre-focus... This one I like though...   

It turned out that these two were traveling together... 

Love his face! Too bad he didn't face me after I sat down...

 Cold weather makes everyone look bulky... Or like a captain ready for sea...

Red haired woman looking at her (new?) golden tarot deck on the subway platform... Reminds me of the time when I bought CDs and couldn't wait to get home to read the notes and look at the artwork...

On the last leg home...

Man with red bags and other pictures

I hope this doesn't get boring for you, but I'm on a roll here... I just love taking the little camera out for a spin in the subway... It allows me to do what I love to best: Look at people and show their humanity... Of course I still have not completely resolved if it's ethically OK to take portraits without people knowing... I hope that I add something by doing this... I hope so at least... A friend told me today about the German photographer Heinrich Riebesehl (1939-2010) and his series "Menschen im Aufzug" (People in in a lift)... What a lovely series shot using a hidden camera... You can check it out here: "People in a lift"
The first one is my first one of musicians & performers on the train... It happens quite often, but I've never been able to get good shots of it before... Quite happy with this one... Some weeks ago a performer came into the car and said "Got bad news: I gotta play!" He got a good laugh out of the people there...
The other situation that I want to catch are subway preachers... I mean I'm quite impressed by the kind of conviction that allows you to go out there and basically try to show the world that they are wrong, living in sin and only your way can save them...

I wonder how long their shifts are... Ringing that bell for hours must be quite tiring!

Love this art work... Must go back and try to get a good shot of every one of the signs...

 A little further in...

More performers... Gathering actually quite a crowd...

Actually love the juxtaposition of the beautiful woman exiting the train with style and the man in the back just plainly staring at camera...

Man withe red bags.

Always the exciting moment when trying to squeeze into a packed train... Especially coming in late and being by the door... A lot more relaxing when the door is finally closed and the train starts to move...

I think he figured me out after this one... I'm so glad I managed to get this one though!

Love the scarf!

With a lot of people I see on the subway I'm really impressed by the way they carry themselves... He is just there.

Waiting and not...

Today's post is the result of three extended "trips"... I sometimes have trouble figuring out how to organize my entries once there are images from more than one date... I guess I need some kind of order... I'm German after all! ;) So, what is this post about, other than "people in the subway"?

I think I'm trying to get closer to what it is that people do in the subway system... Waiting, passing time, sleeping and of course traveling from A to B... This is as well about my path: Trying to figure out how to portray my subjects in this very impersonal space in a personal way... Again: If you find yourself in one of the images, please drop me a line and I'll send you a print!

 Tired.

Hungry.

Still tired.

Stylish.

Shades are cool.

Contemplating...

He reminds me of someone... Mmmh...

I love how people dress in NYC... Always fun to look at!

He reminds me of Morrissey...

Subway as shared space for traveling and sleeping...

Man browsing magazine covers...

Great hair cut!

Here too! :D

Love when this happens: The signage makes the picture!

Have I already said that shades are cool?

Waiting! Again!

Grumpy? Suspicious?

Love this! "My" entrance at 127 Street...

Creating privacy through closed eyes and music... (Maybe even noise cancelling head phones?)

I had plenty of good frames to chose from... But this is my favorite... Didn't seem to be too successful to make money right then... He packed up very soon after...

I hope this one doesn't need any explanation.

Running to catch the S(huttle) to Grand Central... (Successfully!)

Stuffed train, ready to go...

Not quite Tokyo's people pusher, but still! ;)

Rush hour is great: People stacked very deep, lots of stuff to shoot!!!

I literally followed this older man around to take his picture... Then lost him before I could get any closer... Still like it... The distance tells a story too...

Love how the incoming train tugs on her hair...