We present J (1.2 mum), H (1.6 mum), K' (2.11 mum), and Bry (2.166 mum) ima
ges from four large regions within the central 40 pc of the Galaxy. Localiz
ed variations in the extinction, as determined by observations of the stell
ar population, are examined using the median H-K' color as a function of po
sition within each region. As the value of the derived extinction from the
stars is dependent upon the intrinsic magnitude of the assumed stellar type
, the J-H versus H-K' diagrams are first used to investigate the distributi
on of stellar types in the four regions, We find that there is a distinct O
B population, contrary to earlier assumptions, with the ratio of K and M gi
ants and supergiants to OB stars approximately twice that of the solar neig
hborhood. Although on the scale of similar to1' fluctuations in the extinct
ion are on the order of A(V) similar to 2, throughout the entire region the
extinction varies from A(V) greater than or similar to 25 to A(V) less tha
n or similar to 40. We also examine whether there is any variation in the e
xtinction and stellar number density relative to the unusual radio features
in these regions and do not find a significant correlation. Spectral imagi
ng in Bry 2.166 mum emission shows a strong morphological correspondence be
tween the 6 cm radio images and the diffuse Bry emission. By comparing the
theoretical Bry flux derived from the radio flux using recombination theory
with our measured Bry flux, we obtain a second, independent, estimate of t
he extinction. We compare the two data sets and find that the extinction as
derived from the stars is consistently greater, sometimes by a factor of 2
, than the value of the extinction derived from the Bry images. The derived
extinction in various regions, however, is insufficient for any of these r
egions to be located behind the molecular clouds as previously observed in
the Galactic center, consistent with the theory that the observed radio emi
ssion is produced on the foreground surface of these clouds.