There’s something about the golden hour light hitting a busy market that makes me slow down and actually see the people around me. I was wandering through the weekend market in Prague last month when I spotted this woman completely absorbed in browsing through old books. The way the late afternoon sun caught her hat and coat, the concentration on her face, the stacks of books creating this perfect frame around her – it was one of those moments where everything aligned.
Markets are some of my favorite places to photograph because they’re authentic in a way that tourist attractions can never be. People are focused on their actual lives, not performing for cameras. This woman had no idea I was there, completely lost in whatever book had caught her attention. There’s something beautiful about that kind of genuine engagement with the world around you.