On the Night Bus: Beautiful but unsettling portraits of commuters on buses during winter

The steamed windows of the buses create an optical illusion; softening and blurring the faces of those behind the glass, raising questions about voyeurism and public and private space.

Shot over two winters at the Elephant and Castle roundabout in London, and taken with a telephoto lens, the images reveal an intimate glimpse into the life of the city traveller. Some passengers interact with each other, some sleep, some are moody and pensive, others lost in faraway thoughts. All are strangely silent behind the cold wintery glass that, alongside the artificial light in the bus, renders these everyday scenes into something akin to classical paintings.

At the age of twenty, Nick became the youngest full-time photographer on a national UK broadsheet newspaper, spending seven years shooting news, features and portraits for The Independent. A self-proclaimed ‘Street Photography Evangelist’, he has spread his enthusiasm for this form of photography through books, exhibitions, workshops, TV, radio and lecturing. In 2000, he founded the international collective iN-PUBLiC, which has played a significant role in the modern resurgence of street photography.

Now you can purchase a beautiful new book of the series courtesy of the independent publisher, Hoxton Mini Press. Entitled On the Night Bus, it's priced at £16.95 and can be ordered online. To find out more about Nick, visit nickturpin.com.