The Way of the Light

The Cloisters, New York City

"There are two kinds of light - the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures. " James Thurber

It has been some time since I went to The Cloisters now but I can still remember it vividly as if I went yesterday. Now that doesn't happen often to me. The place has to be truly exceptional for me to remember something in such detail.

This room we see in the photography was superb, not only in matters of decoration but also the texture of the stone and the way the light was hitting everything. The room was somewhat dark but a lot of light was entering through the two windows in the photograph. It was creating dramatic shadows and contrasts. 

There was something else that caught my eye, or rather my ear but unfortunately you can't see it in the photograph. The acoustics were exceptional. Even if you whisper you could be heard.

The Cloisters is a place that a lot of tourists miss when visiting New York City and I want to be honest if I wasn't with a local I would have never found it. It's fascinating that even though it's in New York City once you get there you'd feel like you are in some enchanted forest.

This black and white photograph was captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. Some minor editing was done in PS CS4. Settings for Hipstamatic were BlacKeys B&W/Lucifer IV