Walker Evans’ Subway Portraits

At most, the facial expressions of subway riders today are highly comparable to 25 years ago. This is something that has not changed. What is admirable about Evans photographs are the fact that they are not staged.  Many photographs today are staged so it is hard to tell whether or not it is natural. I do like his approach because it is natural. He was able to take these shots with ease at the right time. The passengers are in a normal state of mind; they look unhappy, tired, in deep thought, or sleeping. This is how passengers on the subway look today. The only thing that different is the way the trains inside looked back then and the way people dressed, but other than that the layout remains the same.