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Photographer Transforms Central Park into Colorful Alien Landscape

May 26, 2016 1:36pm | Updated May 26, 2016 1:36pm

You've never seen Central Park like this before.

Italian photographer Paolo Pettigiani transformed the iconic, lush landscape into a surreal land in his newest series called "Infrared NYC."

By using Aerochrome infrared film, trees become a cotton-candy pink and the mirror-like lake reflects the bright cerulean sky and pink foliage like a scene out of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Pettigiani's film is sensitive to infrared radiation, that is, light that has longer wavelengths than what the human eye can see. The chlorophyll in plants reflects this kind of light.

The look is meant to "highlight the majesty and the contrast of nature included in the famous Big Apple's skyscrapers," according to his website.

The 24-year-old photographer, who is now based in New York City, released the new set of photos this month but has a more traditional gallery of city scenes in his digital gallery.

More of his infrared photography taken in his hometown of Avigliana in Italy is viewable on his website.

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