Gallery: Still Passing By
Presented by www.panaracer.com
We were gonna party like it’s…
These photos were shot in 1999, the year that NYC cycling fatalities spiked to a horrible count—40. My series was intended as a simple portrait of messengers and delivery guys, those who I considered the gutsiest and most interesting of the urban cyclers. Due, however, to the noted increase in deaths and the shots I had of accident scenes, the photos were used in newspapers and as part of a study by the NYPD. Looking back, I hope they played a small role in bringing about some of the positive changes we see in our cycling city, but I was mostly just interested in documenting a community of which I was a part. Certainly there have been many changes since 1999—check out those walkie-talkies—and while biking is becoming safer in the city and hardcore messengers more scarce, I hope the spirit of the outlaw, the pony express or whatever image you like, remains a part of cycling in the city forever.
–John Harris, Photographer
Photos by John Harris
Check out www.johnharrisphoto.com