It was one of those sunny Sydney afternoons in June, where that hard Sydney winter sun was hitting the concrete and steel in such as way that there were clear forms and shapes wherever something blocked the light. I was doing my usual walk around the deep cbd towards CQ when I saw this fellow having a smoke and immedietly saw his shadow cast against the wall he was standing against. There was a clear shadow of the cigarette he was puffing outlined on the grey concrete.
At first I just instinctively shot from a few metres away, but when I realised just how well the shadow was resolving I decided that I would ask this guy if I could make a quick photo. Of course he looked at me and give me a snapshot smile, but I quickly directed him back to the way that I had found him, puffing away smoking his ciggy. I snapped a few and moved on, showing him the back of my camera as I left, and he let out a "ahh, OK!" when he realised what the hell I was doing.
This image sat on my hard dirve for quite a while as I couldn't quite decide how to process it, and in particular how to crop it to really bring attention to the shadow. The other night I was working through that particular months photos, doing a bit of a cull and keywording, when I realised I had to crop out the top of his head, and let the shadow tell the story. I am glad I kept it around and let it marinate for a year and a half before inspiration hit. It's just that way sometimes in street photography.