I’ve written in the past about some failed photo projects of mine. This post almost qualifies, but I did sell some prints AND I shot it when I was just out of college, so I don’t think it quite fits in with the others.
I went to college in Brooklyn and like many college students, was broke all the time. I worked checking IDs at the school gym and strangely this did not make me rich. I was in art school, so most of my money seemed to go towards buying one box of Color Aid paper. Because of this, my friends and I were always looking for cheap stuff to do. One of the few free things in New York City is a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, so on summer nights my friends and I would buy *Grolsch Beers from the bodega and head to the Terminal. Back then they did not make you get off (and then back on) in Staten Island, so we would stake out a nice bench and take a free harbor cruise for a few hours. It was cooler on the water, it was great for people-watching, and the views were incredible (I was still new enough to the city to appreciate the views. Not anymore! Screw your views!). It was on those rides that I decided to start taking photographs on the ferry.
What is it about the ferry that made me like shooting on there so much? There is something about the repetitive rows of seating and lights, the people washed in unobstructed window light, and the water of course. It’s a lot of things that make for photos I like and it can be really magical. People are usually still and a bit distracted. Sometimes they just stare out the windows. These days most people are looking at their phones, but the scenery is visible and nice enough to sometimes pull them away from the screens. It’s also a good combination of bored commuters and excited tourists that makes for interesting interactions and juxtapositions.
Here are some of the photos I took back then:
Looking through these old photos made me consider heading back out to Staten Island to pick up where I left off. What is keeping me from doing so is just how many great ferry photos I see on the internet these days. It’s possible that just as many people were taking photos like these back then, but I didn’t know about it. In the past year or so, I've noticed how many great photos I see from ferrys on Instagram, etc. It would feel like chasing photographs that are being done so well by so many already. I know that that isn’t a good reason to not do something, and yet, it is the reason I’m not doing something.
If you are looking for ferry photographs beyond my little old collection above, Seattle-based photographer Kristopher Shinn is posting so many great ones on his Instagram. I recommend checking them out.
I’d love to see someone pull together a collection of photographs from ferries all over the world. Why don’t you do it you ask? Because I’m an ideas man and I don’t feel like it, BUT if it has not already been done, it should be, and if someone does do it, consider this post my submission.
Travis
*We were under the impression that because we could “close” a bottle of Grolsh Beer we could avoid an open container ticket for drinking on the subway (we just had to close it up before the police saw us). We were wrong and the police told us that they “did not give a shit” that we closed them and then they issued us tickets for about half the cost of one box of Color Aid paper.
While writing this I was listening to:
We can do photography pretty everywhere and this is the magic here! Really impressive photo series. Great compo, colors and atmosphere! Thanks for sharing this project Travis
Love your ferry series, also Rival Schools, actually most of the all the same things, maybe except sports. Don't stop being an ideas man.