Summer - Best Station Concourse Interior

This black and white photo is what I have selected for my Buffalo & Vicinity Gallery. And since it lacks color, it's also featured in the World without Color Collection.

The color vs. black and white was an interesting dilemma for me. I actually enjoy both versions. Each showcases different elements of the concourse interior. With the black and white, the lines of the side and roof windows take front seat a well as the grill shadows on the floor. These lines lead you forward into the photo and down the escalator and may leave you wondering what's down there, or maybe you're waiting who is going to come up.

However, while at the station, you're surrounded by intense colors, including those on the steel sculptures by George Sugarman (1912–1999), New York, NY. So for comparison, here is the same photo in color. Do you have an opinion? Do you prefer the black & white version or the color one?

Please, click on the Leave a Comment link at the top just under the headline and let me know what you think.

Have fun in your world with or without color!

A dose of history:

The steel sculptures at the station are by George Sugarman (1912–1999), New York, NY. Signature elements of George Sugarman's work were bold colors and the lack of pedestals.

The public transit rail system in Buffalo, NY is called Buffalo Metro Rail and is operated by NFTA (Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority). It's a single line running along Main Street running between First Niagara Center and the south campus of University at Buffalo. The southern portion operates at the street level at slow speeds like a tram, while the northern part underground at high speeds like a subway. Heading north (outbound), the trains enter the tunnel just past the Fountain Plaza station (past Shea's where construction is in full swing now [7/29/13]; the station replaced the permanently closed and demolished Theater Station that did not fit in the project design for combined train and automobile traffic). The underground section has 8 stops. The first three are in a shallow cut & cover section, the remaining 5 in a rock tunnel. The Delavan / Canisius College is the deepest one.

The Main Street metro rail line was built between 1979 and 1986.

Wondering why the mass transit in Buffalo does not enjoy as much popularity as in other cities? I am sure there are many reasons but I've also found out that a 42-day strike in 1969 had quite a bit to do with driving many customers away, possibly forever. Yes, population decline, and suburban malls did their part too, as did the comfort factor, and the snob factor. These days you will also hear people opposing the whole idea of mass transit just because they do not want it in their neighborhood. In my opinion, if mass transit expanded to cover all suburbs and areas well a lot of these would be moot points. The transit would be everywhere, in everybody's neighborhood, and as such that issue would go away, and once people could get from anywhere to anywhere I believe they'd actually start using it. And as more people use it it would be deemed safer and it would become the new norm. It could take time but it cn be done. It works in so many places, why not Buffalo?!?

Another interesting fact is that fare zones and transfers were eliminated in 2010, simplifying the use of the Metro system in Buffalo. From my own experience that helps especially visitors who no longer have to figure out what ticket to buy. Try making sense of the New York City system, or even better, something like the system in Prague, Czech Republic.

• History of Buffalo Metro
• Buffalo Metro Rail on Wikipedia

Equipment used:

• Nikon D600
• Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens
• Handheld, no filters
• Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack,  Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards
• Nikon Capture NX2

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