Melbourne Candid Series #1180 Collins St

 

Down Collins Street he strode,
beard bristling in the city’s glow,
both hands laden with goods,
each step a wide unhurried claim
upon the pavement’s grey expanse.

Great earphones crowned his head,
a private orchestra unheard by all,
yet his stride kept perfect time,
a rhythm only he could hear,
a march through Melbourne’s bustle.

Shoppers glanced, the trams rolled on,
but he—self-contained, unfaltering
carried his burdens like trophies,
a solitary figure,
moving to music of his own.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 935

Melbourne Candid Series #1148 Bourke St Mall

 

On Bourke Street Mall where footsteps pass,
He sits alone on iron brass
A bearded man, both still and slow,
Eyes cast down where shadows grow.

His coffee cup rests in his hand,
No rush to sip, no firm demand.
The world moves by in steady stream,
While he dissolves into a dream.

The hum of trams, the chatter near,
All fold into a silence clear.
As if the ground could speak below,
He listens deep to what he knows.

No sign, no plea, no spoken word,
Just thoughts that flutter, faint, unheard.
A quiet figure none may see
But in his stillness, poetry.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 902

Melbourne Candid Series #1101 Latrobe St

 

He stands alone where night hangs low,
LaTrobe beneath a sodium glow.
A bearded face, both lost and tight,
Lit faintly by his phone’s pale light.

His fingers twitch, his eyes sink deep,
Into a screen that doesn’t sleep.
The city's hum just fades behind —
He’s scrolling through a restless mind.

The night moves on, but he stands still,
A shadow carved by aching will.
Addiction’s grip, both cold and kind,
Feeds silence to his wired mind.

The tram rolls past, a whisper gone,
But still he waits, still stares alone.
No message comes to break the spell,
Just endless scroll in digital hell.

A man, a street, a screen held tight,
Another soul blurred out by night.
And somewhere deep, beneath it all —
A human lost, still hoping to call.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 857

Melbourne Candid Series #1047 Londsale St

 

Upon Lonsdale Street, in twilight's shade,
A weary man, mid-years and grey,
With bottle dark in hand he strayed,
Its label long since peeled away.

A heavy sack upon his arm,
With secrets cloaked in cloth and thread,
He moved with neither haste nor charm,
Where quiet city footsteps led.

His beard was worn by time’s slow tide,
Now streaked with ash, with silver lined,
And through a strolling pair he tried
To weave his path, as if inclined—

By purpose strange, or whims unknown,
He wandered on, yet not alone.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 803

Melbourne Candid Series 978 Swanston St

 

He was once a familiar figure, but since the onset of COVID, he has not been seen. Not homeless, he was renowned among Melbourne's city photographers—a retired academic possessing several properties. Yet, he chose to live without a roof, embracing the outdoors as his dwelling.

His absence now evokes contemplation about the profound impacts of the pandemic on individual lives. Electing to forgo traditional comforts despite ample means suggests a quest for freedom or a deeper connection with the world unconfined by walls.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 737