Joel Avery New York Street Photographer

I started making photographs on the Metro-North ten years ago. For two years, I had a two hour commute out of New York and back; I spent an additional hour on the subway each way. My life was in transition as I completed graduate studies and ended my marriage while establishing a new life for my family in the city.

Trains cut paths that show the backside of things, the neglected and overlooked. Connecticut in winter is bleak and blank then suddenly shot with scattered color. I held my phone to the window, itself a frame. I captured what I could.

At train speeds, there were often details my eye hadn’t registered which surprised me when I reviewed the photos. I’ve learned to wait for these elements to show up and to appreciate them when they do. Tap the phone to make a photo, hope to see something new. Wait for it to come in its own time.

Exiting into Grand Central, I got on the 4 for Brooklyn. The emergency intercom in each car had a red button with simple directions:

Press and Release Button
Wait for Steady Light

In a time of transit and transition, this became my mantra. Wait for the light to come. Wait for a new stability to emerge. Appreciate it when it comes. Expect something new. Open like a shutter.

Thank you for taking a look.

Joel

Inquiries: t.joel.avery@gmail.com

@wait.for.steady.light