Bowling Green (4/5)

Vantage Points

Patrick Cashin
Patrick Cashin photo
"Vantage Points" (2020) by Patrick Cashin at Bowling Green.

About the project

Patrick Cashin’s images in the photography exhibition on view at the Bowling Green station offer a glimpse into the singular perspective of an individual who spent 20 years immersed in every aspect of the transit system, visually documenting MTA locations, projects, and milestones. The seven large-scale photographs in this exhibit trace Cashin’s photographic journey, from his ascent to the highest points of the city’s bridges to the green pastures of the Metro-North Railroad region.  

"Vantage Points" is a special opportunity to showcase Cashin’s distinct photographic eye and unique subject matter in a public space. Some of his most striking images come from the quiet moments with nature, like the graceful arch of the Henry Hudson Bridge framed by the fall leaves of Inwood Hill Park, or views from areas of the system that were off-limits to most people, like the top of the Brooklyn Tower of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, where he captured an intimate encounter with a falcon. In describing his experience climbing atop the 138th Street Bridge, something usually reserved for maintenance workers, he said, "I took my time there because I knew I probably wasn’t going to get up there again." Cashin approached each scenario not just as a documentary opportunity but also by artfully bringing a human connection and two decades of experience to each image, capturing the details, climate, and environment of his surroundings. 

The exhibition was generously sponsored by Griffin Editions and Kodak Professional

About the artist

Patrick Cashin was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Automotive High School. His interest in photography began while in the U.S. Navy, after which he joined Newsweek magazine, where he worked for 16 years, photographing worldwide. Cashin was the esteemed staff photographer for the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) from 2000-2020. His photography has appeared in countless publications such as the New York Times, The Sunday Times, New York Daily News, The Weekly Flickr, Channel 13's Metro Focus, and MTA brochures and ads.