DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Where most New Yorkers see their ordinary morning commute, photographer Tyler Jordan sees art. Jordan is set to display his work at City Point, located at Albee Square West, in his exhibition, “The Spread the Love Project.” 

The Bedford-Stuyvesant-born artist spent more than a decade working for the MTA as a janitor, a train conductor and a train operator. Though Jordan left the field to pursue a career in photography, it was during his time underground that he found his muse: trains. “The MTA very much provided me with a canvas for creativity,” Jordan said.  

Jordan’s love for photography began in high school with an assignment to go around Brooklyn and take photos of anything he deemed significant. He was fascinated with movement and action and said he wanted to photograph the “action of living.”

“I just like being able to capture memories,” Jordan said. “I thought it was really cool to be able to translate stories based on what the photographer’s perspective was.”

As a Brooklyn native, the subway was one constant in Jordan’s life. As an MTA worker for more than a decade, he saw more of New York’s subway and underground than the average commuter. What others saw as dirty or run-down, he saw as beautiful. 

“The subway is the one artery in New York that connects everything and everyone together,” Jordan said. “Regardless of what’s happening, one thing that stays constant is the evolution of our transportation.” 

Jordan wanted to tell a story that captures the energy and character of New York City. He chose to capture the movement of the subway system with his camera as a love letter to his home.

“I wanted to take the subway and translate that story in a way where the subject isn’t about the people or the station,” Jordan said. “It’s really about the train itself and the movement.”

Because he primarily focuses on the city’s underground ecosystem, Jordan  uses long exposure techniques and LED lights to capture the movement and energy of the subway. 

The result: photos that feel as fast-paced and active as the city itself. The photo might not display the train completely, but the viewer gets a full story from the bits and pieces of a train running at top speed. The viewer sees the memory of the train in Jordan’s photos. 

Jordan chose to leave the MTA to pursue photography full time. He knows that some might see his choice to give up a steady career as unwise, but “for me, because of the belief that I have in what I’m doing and where it can go, I don’t have that type of perspective,” Jordan said. 

The photographer hopes that viewers feel inspired when they see his work and hear his story. He left what was secure to pursue his calling, and he hopes that others have the courage to do the same. While the MTA was a comfort and satisfying for him, it wasn’t what he wanted to do forever. 

“The MTA did provide me with security,” Jordan said. “It did not provide me with fulfillment.” Even so, Jordan expressed thankfulness to the MTA for being such a large part of his life and for giving him the creative space to be able to tell stories through photography. 

Jordan’s photo book, “The White Book” will be sold at his solo exhibition, “The Spread the Love Project” at City Point Brooklyn from April 19 to May 19.