Instead of taking your typical touristy photos at the world’s most recognizable landmarks, photographer Gabriele Croppi transforms the biggest cities into cinematic scenes. Somehow, the photographer keeps these cities, that are arguably the most photographed locations in the world, fresh and interesting. His monochromatic shots exude a dramatic brilliance heightened by their high levels of contrast. Looking through Croppi’s portfolio is like looking at a series of frames from an exquisite noir film that draws you in deeper.
The collection of images in the ongoing series titled Metaphysics of the Urban Landscape takes its audience on a journey across the world. From Rome to Paris to London to New York, it’s an endless array of architectural beauty under a new light. Ironically, it is mostly in the shadows, saturated with blackness, that the landscapes are sharply defined and loaded with compelling drama. There’s something so mystifying and simultaneously alluring about a urban setting whose landscape is masked in darkness with only a few theatrical streaks of light.
