Steve Duncan is an urban historian and photographer whose mission is to “peel back the layers of a city to see what’s underneath” – to piece together the complex cities we inhabit. In this fascinating video, we follow Duncan as he explores the underbelly of New York City. Andrew Wonder, using a Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 24mm f/1.4L lens, documents the adventure. The sensory experiences must be extraordinary, as Alan Feuer (who accompanied Steve and Andrew on one of their trips) writes in the New York Times:
The sounds down here are even more impressive than the sights and smells: the Niagara-like crash of water spilling in from side drains; the rumble of the subway; the guh-DUNK! of cars hitting manhole covers overhead, like two jabs on a heavy bag.
For more, I highly recommend reading the NPR story, “Into the Tunnels.” Also worth seeing are Duncan’s photos of New York City bridges and the underground rivers of London. The video above has a run time of 28 minutes.
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People interested in this sort of thing should also check out the documentary Dark Days about the homeless that used to live in a sort of city in abandoned NYC subway tunnels (though sadly I don’t think it is available for free anywhere).
There’s a great article about Mr. Duncan in a recent issue of Columbia Magazine:
http://magazine.columbia.edu/features/spring-2010/night-hunter
Dark Days can easily be watched online for free. See the link.
Its definitely see-worthy in relations to this film.
Fun Fact: DJ Shadow is credited for the music on both films
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/educational/watch/v6261498mqGaaTX2
The photos on his website are beautiful! Thanks for posting the video and all the links!