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Comment by ye | Hacker News Reader

I'm pretty sure he's lying. There's no way for most of these places to clear completely. It's like seeing Times Square empty.

I'm 99% sure it's a composite from multiple exposures.

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I can't speak for Times Square but I have seen many central parts of London where I/we are the only people around. Much of Central London is not residential.

If it is a merge of multiple exposures - the result is impressive and I would be proud of that fact.

I think it'd be possible to get photos of Times Square virtually empty, though a frame without either a pedestrian or a taxi would be difficult. Was looking through my old photos and found two near such shots, at around midnight...however, I almost always try to capture at least one person in a frame as a reference point for the scene, so I didn't try very hard to get an empty scene :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zokuga/5297956792/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zokuga/5296132766/

OK, they were during snowstorms, but still :)

There are at least a dozen people in each photo.

And the photos themselves are not wideangle, you can only see a narrow angle, unlike in the submission.

How is this "virtually empty"?

Mostly because I was waiting for people to come into the frame? And because it was around midnightish, a time when people are still leaving Broadway theaters (yes, even during snow) It's "virtually" empty compared to what Times Square is like on a stereotypical day (or night). I think if I waited till around 2-3am, or 5-6 am on a weekday

On a rainy, cold day and very early, I don't see why it's so hard to believe. Especially if you're willing to wait for the stragglers to walk out of the frame.

Also, consider the clustering illusion. Even with a fair number of people, there will tend be gaps and all you need to do is choose the right perspective that focuses on them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clustering_illusion

Besides, I really don't think it'd be worth lying about. The photos are interesting, but not nearly enough to risk a reputation on, especially considering how hard it is to lie to the internet.

Some are much easier to believe than others. Finding empty tube carriages is easy. I think some photos are of Canary Wharf, which IIRC is deserted at weekends.

Side streets in Soho, and Carnaby Street? Again I imagine quite easy.

My office is off of Carnaby Street and I've seen looked down the length of it and not seen a soul. Quite common after midnight, although it gets a lot harder as soon as you step out to Regent Street or the Palladium.

> It's like seeing Times Square empty.

It's interesting you mentioned this. The pictures reminded me of Vanilla Sky, which prominently features empty Times Square.

Funny you should mention that. Every time I think of Times Square being empty (which can happen at certain angles at certain very early times of day), I think of Roger Ebert's review of Vanilla Sky:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/vanilla-sky-2001

> Note: Early in the film, there's an astonishing shot of Tom Cruise absolutely alone in Times Square. You might assume, as I did, that computers were involved. Cameron Crowe told me the scene is not faked; the film got city permission to block off Times Square for three hours early on a Sunday morning. Just outside of camera range there are cops and barricades to hold back the traffic.

London streets were empty in 28 Days Later as well.

They shut down that whole area for 2.5 hours for that scene.

Sure it is. I've walked through many of those parts of London at times where they've been pretty much deserted.

I agree because there are two people in one of those photos!

Look carefully!!!

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