Bruce Davidson: Subway

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I photographed the people I had known there, survivors from the war and the death camps who had clung together after the Holocaust to re-root themselves in this strange land. In 1960, he was invited to the United Kingdom by the Queen Magazine for two months, where he documented the idiosyncratic indifference of the island’s natives from the American perspective. In 1980, after living in New York City for 23 years, Davidson began Subway, his startling color essay of urban life. He spent five years photographing the civil rights movement in America, following a group of freedom riders in the south (in 1961) through dangerous situations.

After military service, in 1957, Davidson worked as a freelance photographer for Life Magazine and in 1958 became a full member of Magnum Photos.Bruce Davidson’s most successful work to date is Subway, which includes photos from his exploration of New York City.

An Introductory, How-To Guide for Beginners: Learn about the basics of street photography in this easy to digest guide.He also carried quarters in his pockets to hand out to the people in the subways who often ask for money. Also, just for precautionary measure, he wanted to be in good shape if something went wrong down there in the underground. Davidson also brought several rolls of film, a notebook, a subway map, and a wedding album containing photos of the people he had already photographed in the subway.