Train Incident Brings Tragic Death to Young, Talented NYC Photographer and Famed Instagrammer

Train Incident Brings Tragic Death to Young, Talented NYC Photographer and Famed Instagrammer

It's difficult to follow every single photographer out of New York City, but one that comes to mind for me has always been Christopher Serrano, also known as Heavy_Minds on Instagram. His photos of feet dangling from rooftops and outstanding vantage points has always helped me visualize all that I believe NYC to be. Sadly, news has broke that Serrano has passed away scaling a train car. 

I write this article not simply as news, but as remembrance of an incredibly talented photographer in our community and also as a reminder to those that look for dangerous photos by urban-exploring. I know plenty of local photographers that search out urban locations with higher danger than others in hopes to gain followers and likes on social media. Yes, this style of photography of dangling from rooftops is intriguing to the masses and even exhilarating, but it brings with it life-threatening risks that seem too obvious to ignore when in the moment. 

Be sure to shoot responsibly and bring awareness to those around you in the community so we can continue to bring beautiful work from various landscapes and cityscapes without major risk to our lives and others. Thank you! 

Andrew Griswold's picture

Andrew Griswold is a photographer and designer based in Indianapolis. Born and raised in Indy he has made a name for himself by staying very active in the creative community in both photography and design. He has also founded a community of photographers via Instagram connecting them with brands to work with and shoot locally.

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9 Comments

Rest in peace, Christopher. Sad news and certainly a loss. He was the pre-drone drone photographer and will definitely be missed.

darwin wins

RIP :(

For anyone who is actually curious about the cause of death, the photog tried to scale a moving subway car at 5am while reportedly intoxicated. So...yeah. Condolences to his family.

Sounds as if he was trespassing and paid the price for his stupidity and illegal activity.

Stupid...just fucking stupid! What a surprise! Social media "fame" has and will continue to be the death of young "like" hungry kids. And we as viewers encourage the behavior by following and subscribing. Just look at the x games...the stunts kids have to do to get that RED BULL sponsorship are basically suicidal. It's not a question of if they get hurt, it's just a matter of when....and then poof you're gone! Next!

Did you ever consider some people do this for fun and instagram just happens to be a cool place to share the photos?

uh......you're making my argument for me.......the need to share creates the bravado

It's sad that this happened, regardless of the circumstances. Rest in peace.