Melbourne Candid Series #1221 De Graves St

 

A wicked smile flickers 
he wipes his lips with the back of his hand,
crumbs falling like careless words.
The mullet catches light,
a halo of defiance
under the café’s striped awning.

He leans back in his chair,
street laughter spilling past,
steam rising from cups and grates alike.
There’s swagger in his stillness,
a kind of rough poetry
in the way he owns the moment 
De Graves Street watching,
and he, unbothered,
watching it back.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 975 and FACE OFF

Melbourne Candid Series #1220 De Graves St

 

De Graves Street hums its midday tune 
cups clink, trams sigh somewhere near.
A woman in sunglasses leans by the café wall,
sunlight glinting on her hair.

She lifts a sandwich, slow and certain,
each bite a small rebellion
against the rush of office hours,
against the turning world.

Around her, footsteps weave and scatter,
voices blur like jazz in the lane,
but she is still —
a quiet rhythm in the city’s heart,
chewing, tasting,
letting Melbourne move around her.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 974

Melbourne Candid Series #1217 De Graves St

 

In Degraves Street’s narrow hum,
where coffee steam and footsteps drum,
a couple waits before the door
of Jungle Juice — their quiet shore.

They sit, the morning half-awake,
as trams above the city shake;
two figures queue in dappled light,
their laughter blending with the bright.

The scent of citrus, mango air,
the hiss of blenders everywhere;
time slows—an amber, sunlit pause,
between the rush and urban cause.

The couple leans, their hands entwined,
as summer drifts through Melbourne’s mind.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 971

Melbourne Candid Series #1209 De Graves St

 

A tall young man lifts bottle high,
Its glass caught glimmers of the sky.
A lady dressed in tennis white,
Stands near, her smile both coy and bright.

He courts her gently, word by word,
While city’s murmurs hum unheard.
Within Degraves’ close alleyway,
Their fleeting moment holds its sway.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 962

Melbourne Candid Series #1207 De Graves St

 

One elder sat with shaded eyes,
His gaze bent low where the bright screen lies.
A message flickered, silent, small,
Yet seemed to hold his world in thrall.

An Asian man with a brim so wide,
Peered through the café’s glowing side.
From Degraves Street, the moments blend,
Where strangers meet and pathways bend.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Candid 961

Melbourne Candid Series 1206 De Graves St

 

All tables filled, no seat to spare,
Patrons crowd with laughter there.
From Degraves Street the voices rise,
A bustling hum beneath the skies.

Steam of coffee, clatter of plates,
Time suspended as the city waits.
Each corner brims with talk and cheer,
A fleeting world that gathers here.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 961 and FACE OFF

Melbourne Candid Series #1201 De Graves St

 

On De Graves Street, the morning hums,
Young chaps gather where sunlight comes.
Brunch laid out on a bustling lane,
Laughter rising like soft champagne.

A curly head in bokeh sways,
Blurred behind their lively ways.
Forks click, cups clink, the chatter flows,
A fleeting warmth the city knows.

Shadows stretch, the street alive,
In fleeting moments, all thrives.
A simple brunch, yet worlds entwine,
In sunlight, scent, and coffee’s brine.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 956

Melbourne Candid Series #1198 De Graves St

 

A mural leans upon the wall,
its colours muted into grey.
The street is full
pedestrians flow like sardines,
pressed in rhythm,
their footsteps stitching the lane.

Beneath wide umbrellas,
waiter and patrons linger,
the clatter of plates
mingling with laughter and pause.
Degraves Street breathes—
a café theatre in monochrome,
every figure caught
between shadow and light.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 952

Melbourne Candid Series #1197 De Graves St

 

A city afternoon,
jerseys gather at the table,
voices half-spilled with cutlery.

She stands apart,
hands lit by a private glow,
while the street drifts untoward

all strangers,
stitched for a moment
into monochrome.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 951

Melbourne Candid Series 1196 De Graves St

 

Laneway breathes in hush,
chalkboard words like soft confessions,
steam drifts into sky.

Screens glow in their hands,
faces turned to private worlds,
the city looks on.

Graffiti prayers fade,
yet the shutter holds them still
strangers stitched by light.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out 

Candid 950

Melbourne Candid Series #1195 De Graves St

 

Couple on the left, eyes drifting wide,
A glance, a whisper, worlds collide.
Waitress balances a plate mid-air,
Movement caught in casual care.

Chap on the right, cap low, intent,
Savoring bites, every moment spent.
Life unfolds in shadows and light,
Degraves hums its quiet bite.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 949

Melbourne Candid Series #1194 De Graves St

 

Faceless man, footie scarf tight,
slides past tables, morning bright.
Crowds murmur, cups clink, plates scrape,
he threads the chatter, a quiet escape.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 949

Melbourne Candid Series #1193 De Graves St

 

Two figures blaze in the sun,
bare arms, swift steps,
their dresses cut sharp against the light.

On the left,
the shaded tables hold their hush—
diners folded into shadow,
whispers curling like steam from cups.

Between them
a line divides the world:
light that exposes,
dark that conceals.

And the lane,
forever narrow,
swallows both.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Melbourne Candid Series #1189 De Graves St

 

In the narrow vein of the city’s heart,
laughter spills where cobblestones part,
a chorus of cups, steam rising high,
conversations tangled with the sky.

Shadows lean from weathered brick,
signs hum low in a language slick,
ink of strangers, stories shared,
threads of a laneway carefully spared.

Faces glow in the softened crowd,
young voices weaving bright and loud,
the air is stitched with roasted beans,
and fragments of half-forgotten dreams.

Here, time is tender, quietly bold
a mosaic of lives in silver and gold,
and each small step upon these stones
makes the city breathe through borrowed tones.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 944

Melbourne Candid Series 1188 De Graves St

 

In monochrome the scene is cast,
A fleeting moment, caught and fast.
A chap emerges, slow in pace,
Contentment written on his face.

From pasta’s den he takes his leave,
His belly round, his heart relieved.
The alley hums, the shadows play,
De Graves holds stories night and day.

His step is heavy, yet it shows,
The simple joy a good meal sows.
A quiet frame, a fleeting art,
Of fullness carried in the heart.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 943

Melbourne Candid Series #1187 De Graves St

 

A waiter stands in footie pride,
With “AFL” across his side.
He casts a glance, a knowing sign,
To draw me in, to sit, to dine.

Off De Graves Street, lanes awake,
With clatter, chatter, scents to take.
His eyes invite, his smile implores,
To step within through open doors.

I hold my lens, the street’s my frame,
Yet feel the tug of his small game.
Between the shutter and the seat,
Temptation lingers in the street.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 942

Melbourne Candid Series #1186 De Grave St

 

A cameraman stands, his gaze held still,
Upon the wall where chalk lines fill.
Behind the bar, the barista waits,
While words of coffee mark the slates.

Espresso, latte, mocha, chai,
Each name like clouds that wander by.
His lens at rest, his mind now stirred,
By every drink, each painted word.

The hum of cups, the hiss of steam,
Blend softly with his quiet dream.
For once, no frame, no rushing view
Just choices warm, and rich, and new.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 941

Melbourne Candid Series #1185 De Graves St

 

On De Graves Street, a restless tide,
A young man walks with hopeful stride.
His gaze pursues a fleeting flame,
A lady bold, with beauty’s claim.

Her dress is light, the hemline high,
It dances free with passing sky.
Her legs, unveiled, the crowd admire,
She moves as though the stones inspire.

He follows close with easy air,
In casual clothes, without much care.
But every step betrays his aim—
To catch her glance, to spark a flame.

The city hums, the moment brief,
Desire laced with shy belief.
On cobbled lane where strangers meet,
A silent play unfolds the street.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 940 and FACE OFF

Melbourne Candid Series #1184 De Graves St

 

On De Graves Street,
he leans forward,
mouth wide with laughter or hunger,
taking a great bite
of whatever joy the plate has given.

Beside him, his partner watches—
a soft echo in her eyes,
the kind that belongs
to the ease of shared meals.

Around them the façade glows,
lanterns and shadows woven close,
the laneway humming
with its vibey grace,
as if the walls themselves
were tasting life
through their laughter.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 939

Melbourne Candid Series #1183 De Graves St

 

Off De Graves Street,
beneath the laneway’s hush,
a father leans into a table’s comfort,
cap tilted,
tattoo ink coiled upon his leg
like a memory written in skin.

Two boys beside him,
bright in their footy shirts,
shoulders knocking in the smallness of youth,
eyes wide with the ordinary feast.

Plates clatter,
the city breathes around them,
but here
in this narrow corner of Melbourne
a family meal becomes
its own quiet monument.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 938