The Daily Commute is a collection of 8 color photographs (from a total of 44 images) that represent the actions of people in commuting through Glagow Central Station in the urban environment of Glasgow, Scotland.
In creating this series, I borrowed influence from multiple photographers who are well known for their modernism images. I drew inspiration from Robert Doisneau (1912-1994) and his images of kissing in Paris. The idea was a single action performed in different settings. From this, I took various people performing a similar actions in the same setting. Rodchenko (1891-1956) was another inspiration for my series. He was well known for shadows in his works, and action in images where living beings are present. Though he was more known for how a subject looks with a shadow imposed on them, I was more inspired by shadows and reflections caused by what was present.
In my work I have captured various subjects moving about their morning commute in a major thoroughfare in the city of Glasgow. Many different representations of the urban environment move through the station every day, and I aspired to show this variety in the various eras present within the station itself. The people are my constant subject, but they are photographed from different view points at a lower angle and with different zoom.
My work pays attention to not just the environment, but what is happening in the environment. My images are composed of partial people who have been cut off at different points for emphasis and breaking. I believe that my different angle that was not directly focused on the people can show a different view that most people do not see, as well as allow one to focus on the action of the image and how most people overlook the architecture.
My project also reflects a sense of awareness and authenticity. The subjects were not always aware that they were being photographed and moved about as normal, not aware of the photographer or changing environment. Just as the population in the station changed, the station itself has experience much change in its history that most are not aware of. My work is aimed to realize the differences in the urban environment, and challenge the viewer to discover the difference in time across the images.
