Afternoon Shift

One slatted bench, a sleeping cat and a small street scene that needed no direction at all. The afternoon light moved slowly along the wall while I waited for the stretches and glances that made the corner feel lived in.

On the bench

Street sessions are easier with a cat in them. Everyone who walks past has somewhere to look, and so does the camera. I sat on the kerb opposite for an hour with a 90 mm and let the cat run the session; it opened one eye at the fishmonger, both at the dog, and neither at me.

By four the sun had reached the bench and the cat had turned over to follow it. That is the frame: the stripes of the bench, the stripes of the cat and the stripe of light across both.

The best sitter I have had all year charged nothing and left without saying goodbye.

The neighbourhood

The bench is outside a bar that opens at six. The cat belongs to nobody and eats at three houses. The fishmonger keeps a saucer under his counter and denies it. I have photographed this corner a dozen times and it has never been empty, which is the definition of a good corner.