ChitChat in a sunny day

I saw the two of them before I saw the light. They were already locked in conversation — not animated, but steady, the kind that only happens between people who’ve known each other for years. One leans back, hands in pockets, the other gesturing mid-sentence. Nothing theatrical, no drama. Just the architecture of ordinary talk.

What made me lift the camera wasn’t them alone — it was the composition the shadows drew around them. The tree, out of frame, cast itself perfectly on the metal shutter behind. Two vertical lines from the trunk, branches spreading just above the heads. A stage set by sunlight. Geometry by accident.

Technically, the exposure was tricky. The difference between the sunlit street and the shaded wall was sharp. I exposed for the highlights and let the shadows fall where they wanted. I didn’t want to flatten the contrast — it would have ruined the sense of place. The image needed that cold winter morning sharpness, the low sun cutting across the scene.

Framing was instinctive. I kept them off-centre to let the shadow fill the rest of the space. The graffiti on the wall, the steel shutter, the smooth white stone — all flat textures, punctuated by that one living moment in front of them. I shot at a narrow aperture to hold depth, because this wasn’t about blur or softness. It was about clarity — literal and metaphorical.