A New York Taxi Driver Took 20 Years 30 Years Ago To Photograph His Passengers

A lot of things happen in the back seat of a taxi - people fall asleep after a long day at work, they make out after a date, or throw up after a wild night. Ryan Weiderman got to see it all and much more. The photographer moved to the New York City in the 80's to fulfill his artistic dreams but was forced to take up driving a cab in order to pay his bills. Yet even then he didn't give up on his dream. He attached his camera on the taxi meter with some rubber bands and started taking pictures of his passengers. He chose to drive around from 5pm to 5am on weekends because of the easy traffic, but it also allowed him to take pictures of the most colorful New York crowd of the 80's and 90's. He started by taking pictures of each passenger that got into his taxi, but soon he started to understand what he's looking for exactly - "something awkward. powerful, idiosyncratic or bizarre" that inspires his vision. "I encounter people from all over the world, the ones battered by life in New York, others who exude the City's aura," said the photographer in the book In My Taxi: New York After Hours he released after the first 10 years of photographing his passengers. Take a look at his work that captured the essence of the 80's and 90's New York down below. more info: Bruce Silverstein gallery | amazon  (h/t ufunk)

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