I came upon this woman as she was walking along a quiet, narrow street in a northern banlieue of Paris. It was late in the afternoon and I had gone there myself to escape from the block-away hustle and noise of that day’s market crowd. For a brief while I stood and enjoyed the relative silence, noticing the street’s stark shadows that were interspersed with bands of light. The woman appeared, not hurrying, but seemingly pleased as well to be escaping the noise and hustle of the crowded market. I converted the image to black and white to enhance the tonalities and to increase the contrast between the shadows and light.

© Michael Glligan