Amtrak is the primary intercity passenger rail service in the United States. Established by the U.S. government in 1971, it connects hundreds of cities nationwide, offering an alternative to air or automobile travel.

Having never traveled on Amtrak before, the opportunity to journey from New York City to Seattle, Washington was especially compelling. I was drawn not only to the experience itself, but also to the romance and lore of seeing the United States from the perspective of its railways. The trip lasted four days and three nights, most of it spent sleeping and living aboard the train. Only a few stops allowed passengers to briefly step onto the platform—never venturing far, as the train departs on schedule, with or without you.

The route began in New York City, traveling north and west toward Chicago, Illinois, before continuing across the expansive plains of the Midwest to Seattle. Throughout the journey, I worked to photograph both the experience and the passing landscape, almost entirely through the train’s thick laminated safety glass—windows engineered to meet Federal Railroad Administration standards for impact resistance against rocks and debris. These durable panes are tinted, heat-absorbing, and often UV-blocking, subtly shaping the color and clarity of the view beyond them.

The resulting photographs reflect what passengers themselves see as light shifts through the hours of day and night. This series captures the journey as experienced from within the railcar—industrial corridors of New York and Chicago giving way to the immense openness of the American Midwest—seen always through the glass of the train.