Commercial Hotel #2

The same location as Commercial Hotel #1, but framed differently. This one has a totally different feel -- much more quiet, solitary, and peaceful. It's like the first photo was taken early in the evening and this one, much later after everyone had gone home. In reality they were shot only moments apart. The differences in composition at first seem minor. Number one shows the waiting cab and more headlight trails from the traffic, whereas number two concentrates on the empty sidewalk with a few scraps of litter in the foreground, yet these small differences completely change the atmosphere of the shot.

An inquisitive person might be wondering what I did with all the people. How did I manage to shoot a busy street like this without capturing any pedestrian traffic? Actually there were plenty of pedestrians, and a good number of them walked right through this shot! That's the beauty of long exposures though. If they don't stand still for any length of time, they don't even register on the film! Note that the cars don't actually show up either -- only their lights appear.