Small details from a large train yard

Every day, I watch the trains roll through the nearby city yard. Most of the cars are tagged with graffiti. It's stunning work, really, some of it covering most of the car. When I first headed out on this shoot, I thought I would photograph slices of graffiti; but once on-site, I realized that the work didn't really translate close-up. Besides, the artists who painted these pieces should be allowed to have their work stand as is and not be subsumed into the raw material of someone else's art. As I stood observing the cars my vision shifted from the bright aerosol murals to a pallet of rust and cracking paint that no one usually sees. It felt exhilarating to discover these hidden abstracts.












I highly recommend sneaking into off-limits areas and getting close to large hulking machines in order to get a few shots: just be sure to listen for on-coming trains and yard managers–that's thrilling, too.