Entrancing photos combine city dwellers with their urban locales

In 2008, the number of people living in cities surpassed the amount of people living in rural areas for the first time in history. This global urbanization shift informs the work of British photographer Jasper James in his latest series, "City Silhouettes." The images in the series, which portray city dwellers with their respective urban locales filling their silhouettes, aptly reflect growing role of the city for humankind. 

To make the work, James globe-hops to cities around Asia such as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Tokyo. He starts by finding an ideal vantage point in the city, which he shoots before finding a local resident via the travel website Couchsurfing and photographing them. Then he combines the two images together, making basic adjustments to contrast and color without retouching the photos. The effects are dreamy, evoking the sense of loneliness and isolation that cn go hand in hand with city life.