Breathtaking Photos Of New York City At Night

In the Big Apple, lights come in all sizes, shapes and colors. They outline the Empire State Building and permeate Times Square. In terms of illumination “the city that never sleeps” is in a league of its own. Photographer Franck Bohbot, a native of the Paris area, is captivated by the lights of New York. He captured a series of pictures of New York City at night with the everyday places where the people used to go in general: restaurants, bars, theaters, peep shows, cinemas, delis, shops, clubs.

His photobook “Light On New York City” is a sentimental and nocturnal exploration of “the city that never sleeps.” In this photography project that began in 2013, New York City is presented in a series of haunting and cinematic images as seen in the nighttime façades and storefronts of buildings that boast neon marquees and signage, eerily preserved in all of their nostalgic and kitschy glory, to undeniably sleek and contemporary exteriors with more daring architectural design.

This aesthetic, along with the predominant absence of people, results in a melancholic atmosphere reminiscent of Edward Hopper paintings and evocative of staged theatrical sets—a merging of a contemporary urban reality and a magical, sentimental artificiality. The photographs featured in Light On New York City convey a luminescence that celebrates modernity while longing for the past in an ironically ageless paradox.

Here are some photos of New York City at night (Light On New York City, Franck Bohbot)