Reflecting on how cities like New York City and Chicago have only developed over the past few centuries makes one appreciate ancient cultural sites that have stood for millennia and geological wonders revealing millions—or even billions—of years of Earth’s history. For Navid Baraty, the interplay between the modern urban landscape and eternal natural scenery is captured in his striking photographs.
In Baraty’s series The Time Between, cityscapes are set against dramatic natural backdrops, ranging from desert dunes to snow-covered mountains. This project features composite images created by merging two separate digital photographs, utilizing a double exposure film technique to delve into concepts of permanence, presence, and what Baraty describes as the “space between different scales of time.”
The Time Between emphasizes renowned skylines like those of Manhattan and Chicago, blending the contours of skyscrapers and city lights with striking geological formations and atmospheric elements. “The process is intentional but restrained, combining the two frames through careful blending rather than constructing or artificially generating new elements,” Baraty explains to Colossal. “I’m interested in combinations that feel impossible at first, yet strangely convincing once they come together.”
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