BETWEEN STREET AND SKYLINE

– a photo essay of elevated transience –

While studying urbanism in Chicago, I dug deep into its urban heart and became entranced by the elevated transit system known as the L. I photographed various stations and routes in a series inspired by my transient experience as a loyal commuter. 

The means of mobility for more than half a million commuters daily, the eight branches of the L provide indispensable channels of movement and intersection throughout the city. Suspended between street and skyline, this steel serpent carves itself into the urban fabric of one of America's most historic cityscapes. It offers a comprehensive intake of streets and plazas, buildings and blocks, the view from above and the translation of the space below.

When we commute we are developing a routine in a provisional space, somewhere between our origin and our destination. The sentiment of most L commuters reflects the roots of the word transit; namely, the act of passing through.

The purpose of my photographs is to encourage an alternate experience of the L, one that is enriched by an appreciation for the space itself. What is perhaps most compelling about these images is not the scene depicted, but that which is not pictured. The act of viewing itself. 

Where are you looking when you're locked in this in-between space?