Melbourne Candid Series #1227 St Kilda Esplanade

 

By the beach, where the pale waves sigh,
morning drapes gold across the sky.
A café hums with gentle grace,
steam curls upward, soft as lace.

Patrons linger with toast and talk,
sunlight spilling where shadows walk.
Cups clink lightly, the baybird calls,
salt and coffee perfume the walls.

The breeze tastes sweet with sea and day,
the city still yawns a mile away.
Here, at the edge where the tides begin,
life feels slower — soft, within.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 983 and FACE OFF

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 #1211 South Bank Melb

 

By the river’s edge,
in a glass-walled room of murmured cutlery,
a gentleman in darkened shades
leans toward the page before him.

The menu glows with afternoon light,
letters flickering like ripples
cast from the Yarra.
Outside, the water moves,
inside, he studies choice—
wine, or silence,
meat, or memory.

Through tinted lenses
he gazes outward,
yet keeps his eyes hidden—
a private tide
flowing beneath Melbourne’s
busy Southbank air.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 965 and FACE OFF

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 #1160 Swanston St

 

On Swanston Street where shadows lie,
A lady dines beneath the sky,
The clatter fades, the traffic hums,
As camera clicks and stillness comes.

She turns her gaze, both calm and keen,
A moment caught in black and sheen—
One hand rests near a porcelain cup,
The other lifts her silence up.

No words are said, yet eyes confer
A quiet question meant for her:
"Why capture me, in time confined?"
She answers only with her mind.

A city swirls, but she holds still,
Framed by chance, by light, by will.
A stranger’s lens, a fleeting grace
Melbourne breathes in her quiet face.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 915

Melbourne Candid Series #1105 Latrobe St

 

Young voices rise in evening’s hush,
Chopsticks set down in curious rush.
At an outside table, city light fine,
They lift the glasses, taste Western wine.

Laughter spills with each small sip,
Red on their tongues, a cultural trip.
Eyes squint gently at bitter delight,
Strange and bold in Melbourne night.

On Latrobe’s edge, where stories blend,
Tradition and new world gently bend.
In clinking glass and shared surprise,
A toast to wonder under southern skies.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 861

Melbourne Candid Series #1097 Latrobe St

 

On Latrobe Street, where night chills bite,
A chap pulls on his jumper tight.
The breeze slips through the urban sprawl,
And winter whispers over all.

Beside him, in the lamplight's gleam,
Another sits, lost in his stream—
Of stories, laughs, a slanted grin,
A glass of spirit clutched within.

The clink of ice, the breath of gin,
The warmth that stirs somewhere within.
Though cold may creep through coat and bone,
He speaks as if he's not alone.

The city hums, the footfalls fade,
As if this moment's gently made—
Two friends, a street, the hour deep,
While Melbourne rocks itself to sleep.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 853

Melbourne Candid Series #1096 Latrobe St

 

Off Latrobe Street, where dinners bloom
Beneath the dusk and city’s plume,
An older woman takes her throne
In outdoor chair, yet not alone.

Her voice is clear, the speaker loud,
It cuts between the dining crowd.
She leans with ease, no rush, no care,
Half in the talk, half in the air.

An ear pod rests in her left ear,
A modern thread to someone near.
But still she lets the world all know
The tale she spins, both fast and slow.

Forks are paused, then meals resume,
As laughter swims through twilight's bloom.
Among the chatter, she holds her own—
A queen of talk in her evening zone.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 852

Melbourne Candid Series #1076 Little Flinders Lane - next to St Paul Cathedral

 

By St Paul’s shade, where spires climb high,
A hush beneath the bustling sky—
Two souls in pause, a fleeting scene,
Among the stones and city green.

One stands in shorts, knee-length and neat,
The other rests with crossed-up feet,
A coffee warm within her hand,
As traffic hums across the land.

They talk of nothing, maybe dreams,
While sunlight dances off the beams;
A pocket space the world walks past,
But here, the morning dares to last.

Just off the lane where few things stay,
Two people meet, then drift away.

Sony A7RV

FE 14mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 832

Melbourne Candid Series #1006 The Causeway Melbourne

 

Everyone conforms to using the phone as a way of life.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 764

Melbourne Candid Series #1004 The Cause Way

 

Amidst the dim glow of the tavern’s bulbs, a man sat in quiet repose. A well-worn leather jacket draped his shoulders, its creases telling stories of time and wear.

Before him, a glass of amber liquid caught the light.

He neither spoke nor acknowledged the murmured conversations around him—lost in the silent communion between drink and thought. And the phone. 

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 762

Melbourne Candid Series #1003 Collins St

 

That is a smile I did not expect it

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 761 and FACE OFF

Melbourne Candid Series #982 Little Flinders Lane

 

Capturing photographs through the panes of a glass window can yield quite astonishing results.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 741

Melbourne Candid Series #981 Little Flinders Lane - Cucina

 

It is the same shop as featured in yesterday's post. The lady bears a peculiar expression, as if something tasted amiss. In this modern age, women are said to be more employed and independent than men.

It's fascinating to consider how societal roles have evolved over time. The notion that women are now more employed and independent than men reflects a significant shift in the economic and social fabric of our times

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 740 and FACE OFF

Melbourne Candid Series #980 Little Flinders Lane

 

Famed for its exquisite pasta, one can observe the ladies savoring their dishes behind the glass.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 739

Melbourne Candid Series #973 Swanston St

 

Slurping the noodles 

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 732

Melbourne Candid Series #972 Swanston St

 

Technology everywhere

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 731

Melbourne Candid Series #942 Acland St St Kilda

 

Cicciolina during the quiet hour 

Sony A7RV

FE 24mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 701

It has been over three years since I started this blog, and I never anticipated it would last this long. My previous attempts at creating one ended in failure. A dear friend, who shares my passion for hobbies, once told me that my blog lacked the classic, confrontational candid photography feel. Over time, I noticed that my ambition and skill set have deteriorated. I find myself imitating Instagram-style street photography, which is not truly my forte. I have also succumbed to the popular culture prevalent on social media.

I am now questioning whether this type of "faceless" street photography is really what my readers desire. I would greatly appreciate your comments and feedback.