Neo Noir New York: Nexus

On a dark night in New York, as the days were getting shorter, clouds condensed a half-mile above the city. As they gathered, this new density sent a light rain tumbling down to meet the asphalt, which stretched from the East River to the Hudson. The rain made the streets slick, allowing lights born from artifice to stretch their length, and deepen their color. Few people noticed. Some were lost in their phones, others had eyes forward, seeking a faster cut through the crowd of commuters. Those in cars inched them slowly towards the crosswalk, eager to move south through the city, block by block, in the short yet steady increments dictated by city planners some decades ago. All of these details weave together here, intwined to set a scene, never the same, but predictable enough to observe, repeat, observe, repeat. Footfalls cut the light with sharp shadows, and make a pattern that moves like the flicker of a flame. There is such a strange beauty to this symphony of sights, when the light leaks into darkness, and the darkness into light. - Dave Krugman