🇬🇧 In English
Hello dear #ShadowHunters community,
It’s curious: ever since I joined Hive, I pay much more attention to what surrounds me. As if something has been activated in the way I look at things. I no longer walk just to reach a destination. I walk observing.
This time I was walking down the street, with nothing extraordinary in mind, when I noticed the shadow of a man walking in front of me.
The sun was positioned perfectly to stretch his figure across the asphalt. His silhouette was projected in an exaggerated, almost caricature-like way, moving in rhythm with his steps.
There was something amusing about that extended version of him. The shadow seemed to have a life of its own. His legs lengthened more than normal, his torso leaned slightly, and every movement translated into a different shape on the pavement.
At times, his shadow blended with others: those of people walking in the opposite direction, a lamppost, even nearby trees. Everything overlapped on the ground like an improvised choreography.
There were also the shadows of fences and house walls along the sidewalk. Straight, repetitive lines marking clear boundaries. And in the middle of them, the moving silhouette broke the rigidity of the setting. It was an interesting contrast: what is fixed and what is constantly changing sharing the same dark space.
Without thinking too much, I took out my phone and began to “hunt.”
I must admit I felt a few glances. Perhaps someone thought I was photographing the man directly. Perhaps they imagined something else. For a second, I hesitated. But the shadow was still there, perfectly drawn on the asphalt, and I understood that if I didn’t capture that moment, it would disappear in seconds.
I kept walking behind that elongated figure, searching for the angle where it crossed the fences, where it distorted over a crack in the pavement, where it seemed to split in two.
No one else seemed to notice the scene on the ground. Only I was paying attention to that small, silent spectacle.
And I thought that shadows have something deeply democratic about them: they make us equal. It doesn’t matter who the person is, how they dress, or what they think. On the ground, we are all dark shapes moving under the same light.
Maybe someone did think I was a little crazy. But if paying attention to what others overlook is a kind of madness, then I gladly accept it.
Because thanks to that shadow, an ordinary walk on an ordinary day became a story I can share with you today.
Thank you for looking with me, even at what happens close to the ground.
Up to this point my entry for this week’s contest. The images are my property and for the English version I use DeepL Translate.
🇪🇦 En Español
Cazando sombras en plena calle
Hola querida comunidad de #ShadowHunters
Es curioso: desde que entré a Hive le presto mucha más atención a lo que me rodea. Como si algo se hubiera activado en mi manera de mirar. Ya no camino solo para llegar a un destino. Camino observando.
En esta ocasiĂłn iba por la calle, sin nada extraordinario en mente, cuando notĂ© la sombra de un señor que caminaba delante de mĂ. El sol estaba en una posiciĂłn perfecta para alargar su figura sobre el asfalto. Su silueta se proyectaba exagerada, casi caricaturesca, moviĂ©ndose al ritmo de sus pasos.
HabĂa algo gracioso en esa versiĂłn extendida de Ă©l. La sombra parecĂa tener vida propia. Sus piernas se estiraban más de lo normal, el torso se inclinaba ligeramente y cada movimiento se traducĂa en una forma distinta sobre el pavimento.
En algunos momentos, su sombra se mezclaba con otras: la de personas que venĂan en sentido contrario, la de algĂşn poste, incluso la de los árboles cercanos. Todo se superponĂa en el suelo como una coreografĂa improvisada.
TambiĂ©n estaban las sombras de las cercas y los muros de las casas junto a la acera. LĂneas rectas, repetitivas, marcando lĂmites claros. Y en medio de ellas, la silueta en movimiento rompĂa la rigidez del entorno. Era un contraste interesante: lo fijo y lo cambiante compartiendo el mismo espacio oscuro.
Sin pensarlo demasiado, saqué el teléfono y comencé a “cazar”.
Confieso que sentĂ algunas miradas. Tal vez alguien pensĂł que estaba fotografiando al señor directamente. Tal vez imaginaron cualquier otra cosa. Por un segundo dudĂ©. Pero la sombra seguĂa allĂ, dibujándose perfecta sobre el asfalto, y entendĂ que si no capturaba ese momento se perderĂa en cuestiĂłn de segundos.
SeguĂ caminando detrás de aquella figura alargada, buscando el ángulo donde se cruzaba con las rejas, donde se deformaba sobre una grieta del pavimento, donde parecĂa dividirse en dos.
Nadie notaba la escena en el suelo. Solo yo parecĂa estar atenta a ese pequeño espectáculo silencioso.
Y pensé que las sombras tienen algo profundamente democrático: nos igualan. No importa quién sea la persona, cómo vista, qué piense. En el suelo todos somos formas oscuras moviéndose bajo la misma luz.
Tal vez sĂ, alguien pensĂł que estaba un poco loca. Pero si prestar atenciĂłn a lo que otros pasan por alto es una forma de locura, entonces la acepto con gusto.
Porque gracias a esa sombra, la caminata comĂşn de cualquier dĂa se convirtiĂł en una historia que hoy puedo compartir con ustedes.
Gracias por mirar conmigo incluso lo que sucede a ras del suelo.
Hasta aquà mi entrada al concurso de la semana, las imágenes son de mi propiedad y para la versión en inglés utilizo DeepL Translate.