I made this in Ciutadella because the street was almost too well mannered. Clean walls, hard light, the usual old-town theatre pretending to be timeless. Very nice. Very dignified. Very close to becoming dead on arrival.

Then the cyclist came through and saved the thing.

What mattered was not getting him sharp. Sharpness would have killed it. I wanted the smear, the wobble, the face slipping away, the bicycle stretched into a black nervous scribble. The street stays put, like all respectable stonework does. The man does not. That small clash is the photograph.

Places like Ciutadella are dangerous for photographers because they offer beauty cheaply. And cheap beauty usually produces boring pictures for people who enjoy nodding solemnly in front of walls. I’d rather keep the friction. I’d rather have a frame that looks as if life passed through it and refused to pose.

This one is not elegant. Good. Street photography should not always smell of good manners.

Technical note: Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, Provoke-style recipe, hard contrast and blur used on purpose, which is still a scandal to people who worship clean files.