Living and working in Mexico, photographer Alejandro Cartagena investigates many social issues through his documentary photography projects. His recent series, Car Poolers, features overhead portraits of workers in Mexico catching a ride to work on the back of a truck. Some riders are camouflaged into the scenes while others stand out against the solid color backdrop of the truck bed.
Cartagena shows the workers surrounded by job-specific supplies, including wheel barrels, buckets, and power tools, which sparks a curiosity about the history of the people, where they are going, and their areas of expertise.
The project is a look into the overgrowth issues in Mexico, where communities continue to expand farther and farther away from the main city, without being connected to proper public transportation. Cartagena says, “Even though these workers are not conscious of the ecological impact they have by traveling this way as they are doing it to save time and money, they are a silent contributor to the preservation of our city and planet.”