Check Out These Stunning Photos of "Underground" New York

Sometimes, it's pretty damn hard to describe the gritty underground of our beloved subway system as beautiful, but one photographer is creating stunning portraits and visuals by contrasting the worn utilitarian looks of the city's trains and platforms with the beauty of movement and models -- like dancers. Fittingly titled @underground_nyc, this Instagram account is the amazing creative take on NYC that it has always deserved, and unsurprisingly, has captured the attention of almost 130,000 followers.

When asked about the incredible photos, the photographer -- who asked to go by his middle name, Clifton -- said he set out to fill a void.

"What inspired me to create this feed was the lack of visual creativity surrounding the subway," they said by email. "I wanted to show that the subway was more than a mundane commute. That it could be shown as a piece of art. Since starting the feed in November 2013, I have visited over 270 stations, photographed over 160 people for my #underground_portrait_series and have recently taken it to different cities like Toronto, Chicago and I am currently in Atlanta. My overall goal is to turn this passion of photography into a career and travel with it."

Check some of the shots out right here:


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Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and seriously needs to step up his Instagram game. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.