It’s been a while since I went out on a shoot with the DSLR. Although I’ve kept my eye in with the phone camera, those shots are smaller, less dynamic, shallower. I took the three days off between Easter and ANZAC day and on one of those days I went for a shoot around the CBD.

I have cropped all the images in this first set from that shoot in 16:9, portrait. Although a bit unconventional, it’s a format that makes sense in the built-up cityscape of towers and the spaces in between. It also looks great on phones, filling the whole screen. And having branched into candid shots of people in the CBD, it is a flattering format that emphasises the vertical, which I think the subjects would be happy with.

Edifices

My primary objective for this shoot was to capture the light pools and puddles that I notice on my daily commute. Most of the shots on this page are illuminated by light that is reflected off buildings. It is a quirky and uncontrolled feature of the streetscape. It often also creates a refined sort of studio lighting and interesting shadows.

Light puddles in back alleys

Light collects in back alleys in puddles. The space behind the City of Melbourne offices is a relatively tight little crevice with a drizzle of light reflected off that building at back. To extend the metaphor: just as not much life can be sustained by a puddle of water, only solitary workers can be found in these alleys performing trivial tasks.

A pool of light (Queen and Little Lon)

My route was one that I have often trod – from the Paris End down to the Vic Market. This corner is fairly dead, commercially, but sees a lot of foot traffic from residents of the towering apartment buildings that have sprouted up near the Market, on the Eastern fringe of the legal district. Those towers reflect golden hour light all hours of the day, which is filtered through trees that line the median strips.

The three young women at the pedestrian light are typical residents of those towers, unintentionally posing in the glamorous light. Behind each of them are young men unintentionally lurking in awkward poses in the shadows.

Although I wasn’t looking out for it during the shoot, at least half the people that I captured in the city were walking while looking at their phones.

Walking and waiting on Queen St

A little further down Queen toward the Market is the very elegant Republic Building on the corner of LaTrobe. I captured that broad intersection from a variety of angles. At ground level, the Republic is festooned with a giant MONA poster, which creates a terrific backdrop for pedestrians waiting in the pool of reflected light at that intersection.