Maggie Shannon photographs the men of Manhattan's flower district

“I’ve always loved the flower district, it’s a tiny oasis of green in Manhattan,” Maggie Shannon tells us. “I really loved that contrast of natural beauty in such a grey city. Like most of my other projects, I was curious to see what the whole process was and how it works, so I spent a couple days waking up at dawn and photographing the district and the people working in it.”

The result is a series of snapshots of the curious sights and characters of Manhattan’s flower district; high contrast, high flash snapshots of the tiny exotic universe buried under the city’s urban exterior. Gruff men clutch handfuls of phalaenopsis and wearily sip on their morning coffee, standing in the middle of a warehouse with shelves stacked full of roses. It’s a refreshing change from carefully constructed shop windows flogging Mothers’ Day teddybears and Valentines’ chocolates.

Brooklyn and Martha’s Vineyard-based photographer Maggie’s past projects include this striking series on the complexities of shark hunting, but the characters she came across while shooting the flower district were noticeably less drawn to gore. “My favourite person was the first owner I talked to, Brian from Empire Flowers,” she says. “He was super candid about detailing his history with the district and the other shop owners on the block. He explained the whole process of where different flowers came from and how they end up in his store. He was a fisherman as well so we really hit it off!"