Night Diner

Guide transcript

Walter Hsu worked night shifts as a taxi driver, and he photographed the city only after midnight. This diner, on the edge of an industrial district, was one of his regular stops. The warm glow inside contrasts with the cool blue of the street. Look through the window: a waitress pauses, her reflection overlapping the parked cars outside. Hsu used the dye transfer process, an expensive and slow technique, which gives the reds and teals their extraordinary depth. It is a quiet image about the people who keep the city running while it sleeps.