Photographer's new book illustrates the comings and goings of New York City subway riders

Thursday, February 15, 2024
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- A photographer, who has been riding New York City subway trains for a decade while snapping pictures, has captured the profound parts of the nation's biggest transportation system through her new book.

The subway system is how millions of people get from point A to point B every day.
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Photographer Rita Nannini considers the subway a fascinating, ever-changing place.

"My husband and I would get up and say 'ok... let's go to Far Rockaway and we'd get on the train and go to Far Rockaway,'" Nannini said.

Nannini is a visual explorer of sorts. For the past decade, the expansive subway system has been the backdrop for a project she's now sharing with the world.

Her new, highly acclaimed book, 'First Stop, Last Stop,' is filled with captivating images.



The title came from a friend who saw her work and had an idea.

"You know the last stop is really the first stop for many and that just clicked," Nannini said.
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One's final destination could at the same time be someone else's starting point.

With that, Nannini was off - snapping pictures underground in all five boroughs.

"It's so wonderful to know you can go up to Spuyten Duyvil on the A in Inwood and watch it go by," she said.

Nannini realized that people riding on the trains were so intrinsically linked to the subway -- a reflection of communities at each stop.



"People don't realize how beautiful it is, about New York, how the subway for just one fare ties all of this together," she said.
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Nannini has traveled on every single subway line. There are 22 subway lines, three shuttles and the Staten Island Railway. That's 665 miles of track.

The book has a metallic cover. The shapes and colors inside are a nod to the subway.

"It belongs to every person in the subway," she said. "I just wanted everyone to feel that nostalgia for it."



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