I photographed ‘The Passengers’ in the 1970’s on New York City subway. I took out a student loan and bought my first Leica (M3) which I was very eager to use. In those days, the search for subject matter was a little ephemeral, like a clue scattered into the streets like fairy dust. It seemed I did more commuting than wandering around the streets, so using my camera while on the subway made sense. I looked to the old masters, to see if any of them had done this before. How could they not have! I found Walker Evans’s photographs and while I loved them, they were not the kind of pictures I wanted to make. I admired Evans’s stealth approach and it was obvious that I too needed to be discreet, although my camera would not be invisible. I suppose I had my reasons for concentrating on families and friends, caught in moments of tenderness or alienation.

 

The Kiss

The Kiss