The city dark.

Thierry Cohen's "Darkened Cities" are impossible digital collages of the night skies of deserts and plains onto major cities. David Stephenson's "Light Cities" capture the glowing luminesence of cities that never sleep. Step outside in New York on even the clearest night and look up, it's a challenge to find a constellation, let alone galaxies. 

Ian Cheney's fascinating documentary The City Dark explores issues of how light pollution has altered our urban landscape on an environmental and metaphysical level. What does it mean to live in a place where you can't see stars? Is there something missed in having a weakened connection to the cosmos? 

I'm an unabashed lover of cities, from their very creation and histories to the mundane day-to-day actives of the average resident. They are a testament to human determination, but, it's refreshing to have photographs and films like these that remind me to step back, look up, and remember that I'm not the center of the universe.