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Photographer Spends 9 Years Shooting Same People On Their Way To Work, Shows How They Change Over Time
Ah, the daily grind. Love it or hate it, it's an unavoidable part of life for most of us - especially New Yorkers. Danish photographer Peter Funch spent nearly 10 years stationed outside of Grand Central Station shooting the morning commuters rushing by, and ended up capturing more than just yawns and iced coffees when it was said and done.
The impressive catalog of photos that now make up Funch's latest book, 42nd and Vanderbilt, span from 2007 to 2016, and were each taken between the tender hours of 8:30 to 9:30 AM. During the editing process, Funch realized that sticking to the same spot and same times every day had produced an amazing effect; he ended up catching the same people 2 or 3 times, sometimes years apart. "You could hardly believe it, that you’d find the same people having the same ritual over 10 years," Funch told Fast Co Design. "It’s such a New York thing, the idea that people just do the same thing over and over again."
Scroll down to see how Funch's recurring subjects changed - or didn't - over time, and tell us some of your morning rituals in the comments at the end.
More info: Official Site, Instagram, Twitter
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Elaine Van Zon 8 years ago
This is my favourite- a ray of sunshine among all the glum and anxious faces
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#6
#11
Evgeniya Khon 8 years ago
So nine years late he is still trying to finish that Starbucks americano lol
#20
#21
Bridgette Blumenthal 8 years ago
No, most of them don't change over time... lots of sad looking people..
#22
Denise Knight 8 years ago
Some of these are never, ever 9 years apart. Maybe 1 week apart. Some look like they are photographed on the very next day.
#25
Kara Witham 8 years ago
"It's a bird, it's a plane..." 9 yrs later: Superman vs Batman sucked.
#26
#28
Marty BlackEagle-Carl 8 years ago
nope different tie, top is orange with squares, other is red with circles and squares.
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Neeraj Jha 8 years ago
Most of them seem to be days or hours or minutes apart each other. Surely not a year.
TMSullivan 8 years ago
Topic headline is definitely inaccurate and misleading. Many of these are clearly taken on the same day, probably even within minutes of each other. Thumbs down. No inspiration.
Mr. Bojangles 8 years ago
BOOOO!! This post is bogus! Some of the images appear to be photo shopped, some images the subject is wearing the same clothing/accessories/etc, hell even the people in the background are even the same for some of the pictures
Full Name 8 years ago
"spent nearly 10 years stationed outside of Grand Central Station shooting the morning commuters rushing by, " That implies this guy was stationed there most mornings. Very doubtful, and there's no way that you'd recognize someone or be able to find their pic after years and thousands of photos of different people in between. "It’s such a New York thing, the idea that people just do the same thing over and over again." Regular patterns of behaviour is a NY exclusive? This post was written in a very unclear manner.
Vaida Kuodytė 8 years ago
Should've dated ALL the pictures. Those with no timeframe specified are clearly not 9 years apart - maybe as little as DAYS...
AJ Reader 8 years ago
Title is misleading - if you take two minutes to actually go on the linked website of the photographer and browse the gallery, he puts the dates and times of the photos underneath. Most are a week or two apart, some only a few days. The odd few will be over a few year period, but most not. So really.
Patrick Lopez 8 years ago
Good grief, folks. Reading is important. Yes, some people he photographed several years apart, but not all. If anyone had actually read past the headline, they would know this. "The impressive catalog of photos that now make up Funch's latest book, 42nd and Vanderbilt, span from 2007 to 2016, and were each taken between the tender hours of 8:30 to 9:30 AM. During the editing process, Funch realized that sticking to the same spot and same times every day had produced an amazing effect; he ended up catching the same people 2 or 3 times, sometimes years apart."
Dydy Dyah 8 years ago
People wearing the same clothes on different photos or 'same bus' etc doesn't necessarily mean it's on the same day. The photographer spot was near Grand Central station, where the CoachUSA bus often stop and park, people wearing the same clothes on different days sometimes months or years apart. What's interesting for me is how the photographer remember those people...from the thousands passing him on that spot. If you know Grand Central, you know what I mean...
Kikka io 8 years ago
what really bother me is that in almost all of these photos there are no smiles. as if smiling was too tiring. I understand it's matine and they're going to work, but if they smiled they could have improvements for their health, because a smile improves the day to yourself and to those around you. and costs so little.
Liani Aziz 8 years ago
You think people don't research the truth behind the hot title? It'was not 9 years time!
Jason Homrighaus 8 years ago
Went to the photographers page. Most of these photos are days or weeks apart. A couple are more than a year one is actually 9 years.
Mungtsa Naga 8 years ago
I wonder what the lady in pic no 7 must be feeling about the injustice of assumptions created in people minds... That she has been wearing the same watch over the decade's 😂😂
Madelene Öholm 8 years ago
The topic of the article got me interested, but it got me disappointed when I realized that it just was clickbait! Most of the pictures are taken on the same day, or even some days apart. Misleading...
Nicholas Yu 8 years ago
This is garbage. Doesn’t take any skill to shoot these photos. There’s zero composition. Just some guy pressing the shutter.
Ammar Abbasi 8 years ago
People are getting sad , sad and sadder around now a days , no one seemed happy even after years have passed .
Maria Campbell 8 years ago
Probably the title ought to have read:- Photographer takes photos of people on the street candidly. They do remind me though of the 'walking photographs' that were very popular in the 30's 40's and 50's. You could go and buy the photo later on after a few hours if yours was taken. However this is, as most people have said, a misleading headline of 9 years apart photos. Implied but not correct.
Phillip Moderow 8 years ago
Five star AWESOME ! Such dedication ! Men with the same shirt years later I can understand, but that woman with the same yellow purse ? NEVER !
Daniela Violin 8 years ago
If you hover over the picture some of them say, 2 weeks later or one month later or two months later etc.
Nour Dabbabi 8 years ago
huh , inaccurate, uninspiring , the title is different from what's in the pictures....
Shauday Smith 8 years ago
just boring. not really a good project. Most people aren't going to really have changed all that much in a year, or ten years if they are with the same company. And adults style don't really change that much from year to year. You've already got what works for you and you buy newer versions of that when you need to. Just normies doing their normal things... weak.
Elizabott 8 years ago
Not to be a jerk, but this is clearly not nine years apart. The photographer probably spent a lot of time on this cool idea, but a poor introduction completely ruined it for me. This just comes across as fake and dishonest.
Lisa Gilkison 8 years ago
1 There is no way these subjects had the exact same clothing, un-faded for 9 years and they so happen to be wearing the same clothing. Some have the exact same, not similar, hair styles and lengths. Obviously staged.
Janet Clarke 8 years ago
Same newspaper in box for one set, same stickers in background for a couple of them, no wear and tear on the stickers.
Adriana E. Henricy 8 years ago
this is a cool idea, but I dont know how I feel knowing that the people in the pictures didnt gave permision for the use of their image. Also, most of them dont have the year difference.
James Jackson 8 years ago
These photos are far from years apart, some of them even look to be photoshopped to change some of the fetail.
Rob Chapman 8 years ago
This is a complete load of c**p. These photos are clearly staged. Same cars and people in the background.
Sharon Halfhill 8 years ago
The title is misleading. You can tell some of these are the same week. 9 years? Doubt it. Thumbs down
Neeraj Jha 8 years ago
Most of them seem to be days or hours or minutes apart each other. Surely not a year.
TMSullivan 8 years ago
Topic headline is definitely inaccurate and misleading. Many of these are clearly taken on the same day, probably even within minutes of each other. Thumbs down. No inspiration.
Mr. Bojangles 8 years ago
BOOOO!! This post is bogus! Some of the images appear to be photo shopped, some images the subject is wearing the same clothing/accessories/etc, hell even the people in the background are even the same for some of the pictures
Full Name 8 years ago
"spent nearly 10 years stationed outside of Grand Central Station shooting the morning commuters rushing by, " That implies this guy was stationed there most mornings. Very doubtful, and there's no way that you'd recognize someone or be able to find their pic after years and thousands of photos of different people in between. "It’s such a New York thing, the idea that people just do the same thing over and over again." Regular patterns of behaviour is a NY exclusive? This post was written in a very unclear manner.
Vaida Kuodytė 8 years ago
Should've dated ALL the pictures. Those with no timeframe specified are clearly not 9 years apart - maybe as little as DAYS...
AJ Reader 8 years ago
Title is misleading - if you take two minutes to actually go on the linked website of the photographer and browse the gallery, he puts the dates and times of the photos underneath. Most are a week or two apart, some only a few days. The odd few will be over a few year period, but most not. So really.
Patrick Lopez 8 years ago
Good grief, folks. Reading is important. Yes, some people he photographed several years apart, but not all. If anyone had actually read past the headline, they would know this. "The impressive catalog of photos that now make up Funch's latest book, 42nd and Vanderbilt, span from 2007 to 2016, and were each taken between the tender hours of 8:30 to 9:30 AM. During the editing process, Funch realized that sticking to the same spot and same times every day had produced an amazing effect; he ended up catching the same people 2 or 3 times, sometimes years apart."
Dydy Dyah 8 years ago
People wearing the same clothes on different photos or 'same bus' etc doesn't necessarily mean it's on the same day. The photographer spot was near Grand Central station, where the CoachUSA bus often stop and park, people wearing the same clothes on different days sometimes months or years apart. What's interesting for me is how the photographer remember those people...from the thousands passing him on that spot. If you know Grand Central, you know what I mean...
Kikka io 8 years ago
what really bother me is that in almost all of these photos there are no smiles. as if smiling was too tiring. I understand it's matine and they're going to work, but if they smiled they could have improvements for their health, because a smile improves the day to yourself and to those around you. and costs so little.
Liani Aziz 8 years ago
You think people don't research the truth behind the hot title? It'was not 9 years time!
Jason Homrighaus 8 years ago
Went to the photographers page. Most of these photos are days or weeks apart. A couple are more than a year one is actually 9 years.
Mungtsa Naga 8 years ago
I wonder what the lady in pic no 7 must be feeling about the injustice of assumptions created in people minds... That she has been wearing the same watch over the decade's 😂😂
Madelene Öholm 8 years ago
The topic of the article got me interested, but it got me disappointed when I realized that it just was clickbait! Most of the pictures are taken on the same day, or even some days apart. Misleading...
Nicholas Yu 8 years ago
This is garbage. Doesn’t take any skill to shoot these photos. There’s zero composition. Just some guy pressing the shutter.
Ammar Abbasi 8 years ago
People are getting sad , sad and sadder around now a days , no one seemed happy even after years have passed .
Maria Campbell 8 years ago
Probably the title ought to have read:- Photographer takes photos of people on the street candidly. They do remind me though of the 'walking photographs' that were very popular in the 30's 40's and 50's. You could go and buy the photo later on after a few hours if yours was taken. However this is, as most people have said, a misleading headline of 9 years apart photos. Implied but not correct.
Phillip Moderow 8 years ago
Five star AWESOME ! Such dedication ! Men with the same shirt years later I can understand, but that woman with the same yellow purse ? NEVER !
Daniela Violin 8 years ago
If you hover over the picture some of them say, 2 weeks later or one month later or two months later etc.
Nour Dabbabi 8 years ago
huh , inaccurate, uninspiring , the title is different from what's in the pictures....
Shauday Smith 8 years ago
just boring. not really a good project. Most people aren't going to really have changed all that much in a year, or ten years if they are with the same company. And adults style don't really change that much from year to year. You've already got what works for you and you buy newer versions of that when you need to. Just normies doing their normal things... weak.
Elizabott 8 years ago
Not to be a jerk, but this is clearly not nine years apart. The photographer probably spent a lot of time on this cool idea, but a poor introduction completely ruined it for me. This just comes across as fake and dishonest.
Lisa Gilkison 8 years ago
1 There is no way these subjects had the exact same clothing, un-faded for 9 years and they so happen to be wearing the same clothing. Some have the exact same, not similar, hair styles and lengths. Obviously staged.
Janet Clarke 8 years ago
Same newspaper in box for one set, same stickers in background for a couple of them, no wear and tear on the stickers.
Adriana E. Henricy 8 years ago
this is a cool idea, but I dont know how I feel knowing that the people in the pictures didnt gave permision for the use of their image. Also, most of them dont have the year difference.
James Jackson 8 years ago
These photos are far from years apart, some of them even look to be photoshopped to change some of the fetail.
Rob Chapman 8 years ago
This is a complete load of c**p. These photos are clearly staged. Same cars and people in the background.
Sharon Halfhill 8 years ago
The title is misleading. You can tell some of these are the same week. 9 years? Doubt it. Thumbs down
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