A street in New York on a raining night

There’s something really compelling about headlights gleaming on a wet road. Usually tarmac is so matte, but add a splash of rain and it becomes very reflective.

The shape of the reflection is interesting; from the angle of the viewer the original source of each reflection is stretched out vertically.

There is a lovely texture to the reflections; the tiny bumps scatter the light so that you can see general pools of brightness and colour, but no detail.

The photo above has blown out the highlights, but in reality the pools of light reflecting from the headlights have a beautiful gradient of brightness.

Aside from the reflections, which draw so much of my attention, I love the way the light rain catches the bright beams of the headlights. Here you can see it best in front of the yellow cab. Just like dust or fog, this light rain gives the beams of light definition, volume.

Here’s a photo of the other direction, with similar scattered, long reflections.