John Schabel’s Passengers is a black and white photographic series of intimate portraits of airplane travelers. Schabel, a New York City based artist, took the photos during the time when passengers are seated in their seats, ready for take off. And the subjects were completely unaware he was taking them. It took him three years to complete the project.
We’re not sure how he accomplished this unless he worked at an airport for a time, but the grainy, haunting portraits of nameless travelers are fascinating, nevertheless. Schabel says his Passenger photograph series was inspired by his own fascination with airplane journeys and the whole amalgam of experiences that can be found within a flight.
For a creative coffee table art book gift idea, Twin Palm Publishers just released a book titled “Passengers” that features Schabel’s entire series. We’re getting a copy to see if anyone we know (or God forbid ourselves!) was one of his subjects caught unaware.
To scroll through more of John Schabel’s Passenger series, head here.
Photos by John Schabel