Steve Schulman
Through the Windshield

Through the Windshield

Manhattan streets are among the most crowded and congested thoroughfares in the nation. A simple trip by car or truck can be frustratingly slow. Drivers face risks as they drive through a maze of swerving cars, trucks, emergency vehicles, bicyclists, scooters, double-parked vehicles and construction sites.

After many years of countless hours in my car as a commuter, I feel a connection with drivers who navigate city streets. I began standing curbside on Lower East Side street corners, photographing drivers through their windshields. My candid portraits reveal the diversity of drivers who ply the avenues and side streets, expressing emotions and their lives inside their vehicles.

Each driver tells their own unique story. I was also fascinated by the items that drivers hang from rearview mirrors and perch on dashboards—as if they were decorating a home away from home.

I also captured the exteriors of commercial vans. Their creative and eye-catching advertisements became moving billboards, bringing attention to both drivers and pedestrians in entertaining and witty ways.