Unique retro photography in which New York is empty and quiet

New York is called a city that never sleeps, but photographer Dwayne Michaels showed the other side of the metropolis. The "Empty New York" series includes photographs of Manhattan, taken in 1964-65. On them you will not see the typical fuss that we expect from this urban island. There are no visitors to restaurants, and local bakeries have nothing to put on display windows. Scenes shot on black and white film are frightening and quiet, they make the audience plunge into thinking about what is left out of the frame. Michaels' photographs are the exact opposite of New York's usual portraits, mesmerizing by the dizzying rush of the crowd and the dancing of night lights.

The author of this series arrived in Manhattan in 1956 to study graphic design. Two years later, Dwayne visited the USSR, and this journey aroused his love of photography. The Empty New York project was one of the photographer’s earliest works. He wanted to capture the metropolis more like a desert land or a ghost town, to prove that New York itself is a vibrant character and does not need a crowd in order to seem interesting and fascinating.