Flicking through my phone pictures, I realised how many times I’ve been photobombed by my own shadow. This flat, grey version of me loves to bob up at inconvenient moments and get in the way of views and scenes. Occasionally it hogs the starring role in an otherwise uninteresting accidental shot of the pavement or of some street furniture. Sometimes the street furniture shots aren’t completely accidental, I have to admit. Anyone who has read other posts in this blog will have an inkling of my obsession with the painted people who populate the tarmac on our footpaths, cycleways, pedestrian crossings, and the irresistible painted double yellow lines by the side of the road. Follow them and who knows where they will lead you… Anyway, it struck me when I was out walking today that these flat street folk and my shadow have quite a lot in common, not least their one-dimensionality. I started to take notice of my shadow and the way it interacted with its surroundings. Sometimes it took on and became an extension of the shadows of the trees along the path. Sometimes my shadow’s head was crowned by a halo of shadow blossoms. Occasionally my shadow would get itself into scrapes, dislocating its hips on the edge of curbs, or getting its neck run through by those ever-present double yellow lines. As I took the photo below, I was standing by the roadside waiting to cross, and this jaunty tune struck up at the seaside Amusements arcade behind me. A herald of warm weather and fun at the beach, and a fabulous accompaniment for my dance of the shadows.

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