David Stephenson: Light Cities

Awe-inspiring photographs of nighttime city skylines belie an apprehension of energy use and light pollution

Australia-based photographer David Stephenson’s (born 1955) large-format photographs of cities at night reveal a globalized urban sprawl. These glowing “light cities” are extraordinary examples of a monumental technological sublime: where awe, beauty and human aspiration are tinged with the shadow of environmental catastrophe.