We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tyler Jordan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Tyler thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I think the moment I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally didn’t come from a gallery or a classroom, it happened underground while I was still working for the MTA. I had spent years operating trains, moving millions of people through a system that felt like it never stopped. But there was this one night, I was finishing a late shift and paused at the end of the platform in silence. The lights, the steel, the motion, it hit me how much unspoken poetry lived in the everyday routine of the city.

I started bringing my camera with me, documenting quiet moments, like light bouncing off a tunnel wall, a lone rider mid-thought, or a train disappearing into darkness. At first it was therapy. But the more I shot, the more I realized there was a deeper story to tell, one that only someone who had been inside the system could share. I didn’t want to just document the city, I wanted to reimagine it, to bend light and time to reveal something new.

That shift from operator to observer to artist wasn’t instant, but it was powerful. And once I saw the city that way, there was no turning back.

Tyler, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Tyler Jordan, a visual artist, photographer, and founder of the creative brand C.A.N.V.A.S, which stands for Creating A New View Around Society. I’m based in New York City, and my work is rooted in long exposure photography, urban storytelling, and transforming everyday infrastructure into emotional, visual experiences. I worked for the MTA for nearly a decade. That time shaped my understanding of the city in ways I didn’t expect. It gave me a deep respect for the rhythm, the architecture, and the people who keep it all moving.

Photography started as a personal outlet. I would document late-night train rides and quiet subway platforms, using light to explore new emotions and perspectives in familiar places. Over time, it became more than a hobby. I developed a signature technique of attaching RGB light tubes and neon signs to moving trains, using long exposure to capture surreal, kinetic images that blur the line between photography, painting, and installation. These aren’t just photos of trains, they’re reflections of love, motion, and energy, created in real time with no digital trickery.

Through my brand and art practice, I offer original photographic prints, public exhibitions, creative merchandise, and custom light-based visuals for galleries and clients. I also curate shows, consult with emerging artists, and collaborate with brands and institutions looking to bring authentic, movement-driven stories to life. Whether it’s a private collector, a museum visitor, or someone walking through a subway station, my goal is to make them feel something, to shift the way they see the city and themselves.

What sets me apart is my perspective. I don’t just document, I transform. I bring the technical experience of someone who lived the system and combine it with the eye of an artist who wants to reimagine it. My work has been featured on PIX11 News, in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and showcased in exhibitions at CityPoint Brooklyn and other cultural spaces. I’ve also been named one of the Top 100 Photographers to Watch by The HUG and was recognized in Adobe’s Best of Photography on Behance.

What I’m most proud of is that my work resonates. People have cried in front of my images, told me they see the subway differently now, or that a photo reminded them of someone they lost. That kind of emotional impact is what fuels me. I want my work and my story to remind people that beauty, light, and possibility exist all around them, even in the places we pass through every day without looking.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One story that really illustrates my resilience is connected to an installation piece I created called “My Redirection Wall” as part of my Spread Love Project exhibition. It was a wall where I displayed rejection letters, missed opportunities, and personal notes about setbacks I experienced on my journey, from lost jobs to failed relationships to moments when I felt completely overlooked. Most people hide those things, but I decided to showcase them publicly, not as a sign of defeat, but as a symbol of redirection.

Every ‘no’ on that wall pushed me to find a new lane, and each disappointment became a part of the story that brought me closer to my voice as an artist. There was a time when I didn’t know if this path would work out, when I was still working for the MTA and quietly dreaming of something more. I’d come home from long shifts and stay up experimenting with light, trying to figure out how to turn movement and emotion into images.

My Redirection Wall wasn’t just about what I survived, it was about what I created in the face of it. It reminded people and myself, that sometimes rejection is just the universe pushing you to pivot, to build something new, to trust your own vision. That mindset is what has kept me going, and it continues to shape every project I take on.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Something I think non-creatives often struggle to understand is that being a creative isn’t just about producing work, it’s about embracing your story and allowing your experiences to shape the art you create. It’s not just about technique or talent, it’s about honesty. Every image I produce is rooted in something I’ve lived through, loss, redirection, love, survival. The process is deeply personal, and that’s what gives the work its meaning.

A lot of people see the final result, a polished photo, a gallery show, a moment of recognition, but they don’t always see the journey that led to it. The countless hours of trial and error, the rejections, the quiet battles with self-doubt, and the decision to keep creating even when no one is watching. What often gets missed is how much inner work it takes to show up as an artist every day.

Creativity isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about translating emotion, memory, and perspective into something tangible. For me, that means turning the grit and motion of the NYC subway into something poetic. That’s why I believe your story matters just as much as your skill. Your lived experience is the lens that makes your work unique, and powerful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nyccanvas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyfeofty/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-jordan-29a9562ab/
• Other: https://nycanvas.myportfolio.com

Image Credits

Tyler “C.A.N.V.A.S” Jordan