Photo Artists Use Filter “Normally Used by NASA” to Remove People From Crowded Urban Places

“Silent World,” a photography project by Parisian artists Lucie & Simon, takes the most crowded parts of New York City, Paris, and Beijing, and alters them in a basic (but technically incredible difficult) way. We recognize Times Square, Columbus Circle, and more landmarks from our own hometown, but only barely–those usually people-clogged landmarks are now empty, totally bereft of the swarms of tourists and locals alike that give those areas their personality. Apparently the artist duo used a neutral filter “normally used by NASA for analyzing stars.” The filter allows the photographers to take extra-long exposures, and then cut out any moving objects like people or cars. Check out video of the project below.