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InspirationPhotography

Photographer spends 10 years documenting the same New Yorkers on their way to work

Between 8.30am and 9.30am, from 2007 to 2016, at the southern corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue in New York City, Danish photographer Peter Funch stood with his camera, capturing people on their commute to work. You might think this quite mundane, but the resulting images are truly astonishing.

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A woman in a striped top and green skirt walks among other commuters on a busy street corner in New York City

Through categorical editing of nearly a decade's worth of work, Funch discovered the same characters, walking the same route and decided to piece them together to create this special project, comparing people both then and now.

Some, as you'd expect, look worn from the challenges and daily grind of city life. While others look better with age. What's surprising is how they often wear the same clothes or perhaps hold themselves the same way. Funch certainly brings to the surface the minutiae contained within a fragment of our daily routine, the short walk from A to B, reminding us that the practice of photography in general, and street photography specifically, has only scratched the surface of possibility.

This simple and effective mechanism employed by Funch permeates the ordinary with the extraordinary. The fact that our own unknown tendencies, together with the rhythms and denizens of our surrounding ecosystem, can endure and replay over a path travelled thousands of times, becoming akin to a performance, is nothing short of a revelation.

The series, From 42nd to Vanderbilt, is now available as a book of the same name. Discover more at peterfunch.com.

All images courtesy of Peter Funch / V1 Gallery / TBW Books

A woman in a striped sleeveless top walks past yellow taxis and a parking sign on a New York City street
Man in white shirt and Yankees cap walking past yellow taxis on a New York City street
A man wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap and white shirt with black undershirt looks directly at the camera on a city street
Man wearing dark sunglasses and red gingham shirt standing on a New York City street from photographer Peter Funch's decade-long commute documentation project
Man wearing sunglasses and red gingham shirt walks past urban buildings during morning commute, part of photographer Peter Funch's decade-long documentation project
A man in a beige blazer and burgundy tie walks among other commuters on a city street in Peter Funch's decade-long documentation project
A group of men in business attire walking together on a New York City street during morning commute hours
Man in beige blazer and sunglasses walking on a New York City street during morning commute
Man wearing sunglasses and tan blazer over striped shirt standing on a New York City street with blurred signage behind him
Woman in black coat holding a magazine walking on a New York City street with yellow taxi in background
Woman in black jacket holding a newspaper, photographed on her commute to work in Peter Funch's decade-long street photography project on 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue in New York City
Woman with dark hair and bangs wearing a beige cardigan over a white top, photographed on a New York street with a coach bus in the background
Woman with dark bob hair and cardigan standing on a New York City street with a parking meter and bus visible behind her
Woman in coral pink t-shirt smiling on a busy New York street with yellow taxis and pedestrians in the background
Woman in a red shirt smiling whilst walking on a busy New York City street with yellow taxis and pedestrians in the background
Two men walking on a New York City street with yellow taxis in the background, captured a decade apart as part of Peter Funch's commute photography project
A man in a dark blazer and patterned shirt speaks with a woman in a white jacket near a wall with red and blue signage
Woman in light blue shirt carrying a black bag walking on a New York City street among other pedestrians and cars
Woman with reddish-blonde hair in a patterned sleeveless blouse walking on a busy New York City street corner, part of photographer Peter Funch's decade-long commute documentation project
Woman in polka dot shirt and sunglasses walking on a New York City street, holding earbuds and a mobile phone
Young man wearing glasses and a checked shirt with earbuds, photographed at a New York street corner as part of Peter Funch's decade-long commute documentation project
A man wearing glasses and a black t-shirt holds a cold drink while walking on a New York City street, captured as part of Peter Funch's 10-year commute documentation project
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