As I observe the pedestrian continuum passing by me, I recall a line from Hermann Hesse’s *Siddhartha*: “Nothing was, nothing will be, everything has reality and presence.” 

My photography project Rallentando is about peripheral perception and memory unfolding through serendipitous encounters on a city street. Subjects move in and out of focus as the lens glimpses upon a downward gaze, a hand carrying a cake, a lock of curly hair, portraits of everyday passersby. 

I sequence these images—captured in different stages of clarity—to reveal the visual landscape of the city street as systematic collections of impressions, and arrange them into grids according to color palettes created by monotone, urban backdrops (red brick wall, green construction fence, a yellow window display). Backgrounds permeate and unite subjects, reminding us that we are more alike than different, and that individual moments or experiences are components of a larger reality where only the present exists. 

Akin to Hannah Arendt's concept of plurality–the notion that the presence of others is what makes action meaningful–street photography, through its focus on candid moments in public spaces, suggests the distinctiveness of individuals within the shared reality of a communal space. Rallentando points towards the richness of human beauty and the spontaneous expression of individual freedom in public life.