PixiPort Presents: The New York City Subway Experience: A photo essay in celebration of the Centennial-by Judah S. Harris

When I heard this past fall that the NYC subway was going to be celebrating its centennial year, I decided to go out and ride the trains - a lot... Usually my subway trips have been, like for most of us in the city, a way to get somewhere - and hopefully on time. But now the train itself was that somewhere, and my destination was wherever my photographing would take me on a given day... (True, I looked at the subway map and planned a bit of my itinerary, but spontaneity and serendipity have played a big role in this project.)

(PRWEB) February 14, 2004 --On October 27th, 1904, the first subway opened in NYC, running north from City Hall to Harlem. Over the years, our city developed its neighborhoods and outer communities, to a great degree, as the train system increased its scope in different directions. Today, the subway remains a key element of our city and the urban landscape, and a topic of frequent conversation (loved and sometimes hated). In October and November, I spent about 70 hours on the trains and in the stations - usually in dry weather, but sometimes wet - trying to evoke some of the subway experience - both the humanity and the architecture. The subway is way different than it was in the 70s and 80s. My images aren't harsh portrayals, rather convey the everyday narratives, and some of the diversity present in the subways of our city. (The subway really typifies and represents New York City to a degree.)

This site shares highlights of this "work in progress." I started shooting in B&W and then added color. I've taken 25 rolls so far, and will continue once the temperature moves a drop in the right direction. At present, I'm seeking a publisher to do a book and am reaching out to some galleries and a couple of museums that might host an exhibit of the imagery. I plan on publishing a keepsake postcard booklet of some of the photographs. It will be available at select stores, museum gift shops, and from my website.

The Centennial year officially began on October 27th, 2003 and will feature special events in all five NYC boroughs, "nostalgia" train runs on older subway cars, and a culmination next October 27th with a commemoration and reenactment of the actual first ride in 1904, from City Hall to Harlem.

Original signed prints of these images are available for purchase. An introductory price is available for prints ordered by March 15th, 2004.

Judah S. Harris is a noted photojournalist and fine art photographer, and a graduate of Yeshiva University.

His vivid portrayals of people, places, and life's moments have appeared in advertising, magazines, on the Op-Ed Pages of the NY Times, and on the covers of 37 novels. His photographs are collected by individuals and corporations and his images of contemporary Jewish life have been included in exhibits in various cities, including a permanent display at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. A feature article about his work appeared in the Fall issue of American Photo.

"Emotional, poignant to our times, rich, metaphorical - these are all the things that Judah does best." (Phil Rose, CD, Hyperion Books);

"His compositional choices, arrangements, angles and use of light and shadow put a creator's stamp on everything." (Barry Tanenbaum, writing in Shutterbug Magazine).

*Examples of my narrative B&W work: Click Here

I was 13 when my mom and I drove one afternoon to a New Jersey camera store a half-hour from our home. With some of my bar mitzvah money, I made my first serious photography purchase: a Minolta Super 8 movie camera...used, and costing just over $100.

Soon after, I began my subscription to Super 8 Filmmaker (even ordered all the back issues available!) and over the next few years immersed myself in Super 8. I recorded family vacations, attempted animation with hand-drawn characters in my bedroom studio (no unions, just some colored felt-tip markers), and actually made a rocketship fly through the air by stringing a small tin-like canister from a hot water urn to a plastic thread tied between a treebranch in the backyard and the side of my house. The incline was slight, but there, allowing the metal spool to slowly move from the branch towards the house, as I shot from below, watching my rocketship fly across the blue sky... gaining at the same time, from ground level, an important first lesson in perspective.

During college and in the years right after, my interests turned to still photography, as I began to travel with camera in hand to places I'd never been to before, in the United States and abroad, learning to see, and then to see better.

The story doesn't stop there and the exploration continues...but for now, I'll let the pictures have their say....

So here, then, are some of my favorites!- Pictures of people I've met, places I've been to, and some of life's little moments that we've probably all experienced in one way or another.

Visit Judah S Harris Gallery http://www.pixiport.com/gallery-C56.htm
Pixiport.com
Fine Art Photography Gallery
http://www.pixiport.com