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Photography Exhibit Captures Uptown After Dark

 Diane Drinnon's images are on display at the Indian Road Café.
'New York at Night'
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INWOOD — A new photography exhibit shows Uptown sites in a new light — the dark.

“New York at Night,” an exhibit by Washington Heights-based photographer Diane Drinnon, opened on Sunday at the Indian Road Café.

Drinnon’s photographs explore New York City — with a specific focus on Hudson Heights and Inwood — after the sun has gone down.

Drinnon, who has a day job in commercial banking, said the project started as practice for a photography course she was taking, but developed into something more over the past year-and-a-half.

“I didn’t start out with a theme, but I began to notice a commonality to the images that appealed most to me,” she said. “It was this concept of solitude in the city, [the idea] that we live among 8 million people here in New York, but we’re all pursuing our own paths.”

Many of the images feature single people in distinctly quiet urban settings.

In one of the shots, a driver takes a break inside of a softly glowing bus while snowdrifts pile up outside. In another, a person walks along a shadowy park path clinging to an umbrella. In yet another, a man sits quietly on the otherwise empty benches at the entrance to Fort Tryon Park.

Even in images without figures, there is often some sign that a person has either just departed or may be about to arrive, such as images showing an abandoned shopping cart or a bike leaned against a tree, Drinnon said.

The photographer said she enjoys shooting at night because it infuses the images with an element of uncertainty or mystery.

“The lighting is different," she said. "The shadows are different, and it creates a mood that really resonates with me."

Uptown’s unique geography also gives her plenty of inspiration for exploring the idea of solitude in the city.

“The hills, the parks — it’s just a very different terrain,” said Drinnon, who moved to Washington Heights about two years ago. “It’s this odd feeling of knowing you’re in the city, but it doesn’t feel like it most of the time.”

Two of her favorite places to shoot are the entrance to Fort Tryon Park and from a spot that overlooks an overpass connected to the George Washington Bridge.

Both locations pick up on another common theme in Drinnon’s work.

“I love the image of a path heading off to some unknown destination, and with both of those locations I get that,” she explained.

Drinnon plans to continue her “After Dark” series and hopes to add more Uptown locations to the mix.

“One of my goals is to get to the lighthouse under the bridge at night,” she said. “That feels even more remote. ”

Drinnon’s work will be on view at the Indian Road Café through September 12, 2015.