A native to New York City, Awaken has always been fascinated by infrastructure, especially trains and railroads--culminating in a passion for his home NYC Transit system. He strives to capture history, both where it is preserved and as it happens, tracking the progression of and changes to the system over time. As of December 31st, 2019, Awaken has walked every tunnel in the NYC subway system.

Beyond the transit system, Awaken also has a deep love for his city. He takes an interest in the history and political establishment of the city, as well as its architecture and new construction projects. Some of his other interests include aqueducts, ski lifts, radio communications, flashlights/lighting, locksport, psychopharmacology, and occasionally programming.

Awaken has loved and embraced the idea of photography for his whole life, often carrying a point-and-shoot digital camera with him. In 2017, he got his first DSLR (Canon EOS Rebel T6i). In 2018, as he felt he wanted to get more serious and embrace the benefits of a full frame sensor, he bought a Sony a7R II. Ever since, he has collected lenses and practiced digital photography. [Edit 2023, he now uses a Sony a7R V]

Awaken does not condone illegal or physically dangerous activity, including but not limited to trespassing on transit/railroad rights of way. This website exists to better educate people on our subway system, and to better document the astounding and impressive infrastructure which has gone poorly documented for more than a century. We strive to have as complete and high quality an archive as possible.