This photographer captured shots of New Yorkers on their way to work for 10 years - and it shows how repetitive a commute can really be

Peter Funch

An NYC commuter photographed on June 7, 2012 and July 11, 2012.

• Photographer Peter Funch photographed the same Manhattan corner during the morning rush hour for 10 years.
• Intrigued by the idea of repetition, he captured photos of the same people on their way to work over a period of time.
• His new book, "42nd and Vanderbilt," is a collection of his work from the series.

About 700,000 people pass through Manhattan's Grand Central Station on their way to work every day.

In 2007, photographer Peter Funch began staking out a corner of the station, at 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, to document those commuters. Funch would snap photos between the morning hours of 8:30 and 9:30 a.m., and often, he would photograph the same subject twice - sometimes days apart, sometimes years.

Fascinated by these small moments of human behavior, Funch created a series that explores these seemingly mundane moments. His unknowing subjects are captured smoking, listening and singing along to music, people-watching, and making eye contact with other commuters.

"All these moments are telling small stories about us," he said to Business Insider.

His new book "42nd and Vanderbilt," places his subjects side by side. The two photos, taken at different moments, show the similarities in the day to day and explore the idea of repetition and ritual. Funch acknowledged that the photos capture "that trance we are in when going from A to B."