Big construction photographs

Somewhere buried in a corrugated cardboard box in my closet is the red metal steam shovel that gave me so much delight as a child.  It was given to me by my grandparents, I think when I was about five.  Long gone now is the yellow Tonka dump truck which accompanied my steam shovel to the imaginary construction sites on the living room carpet.

Such artifacts of long gone youth are common to little boys, and I remain fascinated by big construction vehicles, that could, well, build the pyramids.  So today’s blog is for everyone who remains little at heart.  I found this marvelous photoessay by Metropolitan Transit Authority photographers Rehema Trimiew and Patrick Cashin of the construction of New York City’s Second Avenue subway.  It is difficult in a confined underground space to achieve the appropriate sense of hugeness and these images are masterful in achieving that.  And of course, a hundred years from now they will remain as a testament to what it took to build something that people take for granted.

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