ThirstyFish

No this is not the Life Underground (14th St. 8th Ave.) station. This is the more moody 14th St. 6th Ave., Subway Station. The 14th St. and 6th Ave. subway station was opened in 1940 and is definitely showing its age. New York's infrastructure is crumbling. Although urban decay makes great photographs, it is not pleasant waiting on this platform.

I presume that every photographer who has ever ridden the New York City Subway has at least one subway platform photo. This one is my contribution.

Someone asked what my all time favorite photo from other artists was; Not an easy question to answer. The photo on the left has an interesting story. I first saw it at an exhibit in MOMA few years ago and thought it was brilliant. If you read into it as I did, you will notice royalty, clergy, military and common people captured in a single frame. The smoke coming out of the altar boy's thurible intertwined all these classes of people - under God! If you haven't guessed yet, this photo is by Henri Cartier-Bresson. It was taken in Madrid, Spain (1953).

I guess I was suffering from apophenia, finding meaningful patterns in meaningless data. Surely Cartier-Bresson could not have intended to capture all social classes interacting in a single frame. Maybe it was as simple as a priest stepping up to bring the Blessed Sacrament to an ill person during a procession, accompanied by military music. I find this less known photo to be one of Henri Cartier-Bresson's most brilliant shots. It is perfectly composed, historic, and it has captured "everyday life" timelessly from a bygone era.

Song of the Day: Take The "A" Train - Duke Ellington (1967)