I was passing Sydney Town Hall when I have noticed a skateboarder sitting on the ornate balustrade and he was having his lunch. Bent almost in half he was looking somewhere as if he was trying to spot someone. At the same time there was considerable group of people at the pedestrian crossing and I have noticed that practically everyone was turned away from the skateboarder. With a semi circular space created between the young man and the rest of the crowd. Town Hall is a busy place at lunchtime and it was rather odd there were no people walking towards me and the skateboarder.
Sydney is going through one of the most dramatic make over in a long time. There is hardly a street without a major redevelopment taking place. In the Pitt Street Mall this is perhaps more visible then anywhere else. The mall has to endure the noise and partial closures as development takes place on both of its sides.
All this building activity ads to new social mix in the city. In addition to regular business people and shoppers an army of builders is present in its center. Here, in the photograph a large group of workers is having lunch and some rest in the Pitt Street Mall. They often enjoy performances by frequent busker, or simply watch people going by.
There are numerous construction sites through out Sydney city at the moment. Actually that is an understatement – it looks like most of the city is being under construction. Safety fences, road closures, restricted pedestrian strips are to be seen everywhere. This also means there are many builders and tradesman visible everywhere. Pitt Street Mall at lunch has a particularly high number of builders. I was lucky to photograph this man today as he emerged from the shadow, where he was resting during lunch with his mates. Caring a chair above his head he displayed his quite impressive physique.
Today was a beautiful, warm winter day in Sydney. Many people took the opportunity to enjoy the weather and went to the parks or to the our door eateries to enjoy their lunch. These two giggling Asian girls had an ice cream with a very healthy dose of laughter as they were walking down Pitt Street.
For me, as a street photographer, this nice sunny day presented the challenge of extreme light contrast. As you can see from the girls covering their eyes from the sun the light was very intense.
In this photograph of a business man having a lonely lunch on a sidewalk, reading his book and sipping his coffee I have framed the scene in such a way to ensure the outdoor heaters are included. Why? Because this was a very nice, warm day. Temperature was reaching 20C and there was absolutely no need to have these heaters on. more …
