The symbolic line between past and present in this image stands at the spot where the light gives way to the shadows. I place the lower edge of the frame on the lower edge of the first step leading up to the doorway of this elegantly restored 19th century brownstone home on a Manhattan’s East Side. With such placement, I invite the viewer to step into the frame, and climb with me towards the gilded lights that still burn, even though the night has now passed into day. The building itself is wrapped in abstracting shadows, yet we can make out the reflections of the brilliantly illuminated foliage in its elegantly arched window glass. Vines flow from two balconies, and the glow of reflected light softly warms the stone façade. I wanted this image to take us back to another time, and thanks to the contrast between light and shadow, it does.