Alley in Kotor by Rene van Heerdt

We slept outside Kotor, but even before the city woke up I walked alone through the old town. With no plan, no route. Just following where the streets took me. That's how I ended up in an alley that I probably would have walked past during the day.

It was narrow, almost cramped. High stone walls on either side, a door here and there, a small window, a lantern still burning. Everything was silent. No voices, no coffee cups, no rolling suitcases. Just my footsteps and their soft echoing against the walls. It felt like the city had returned to itself for a moment.

The light fell just right. Still low, still gentle. Shadows ran diagonally across the stones, making lines and planes that disappear in the crowds during the day. The structure of the walls became visible, every unevenness told something. This was not a setting, this was a place with memory.

I stayed put, set up my camera and took my time. Not because I had to, but because I could. Nothing was happening in this alley and, precisely because of that, everything was happening. It felt intimate, almost personal, like I was seeing something not meant for everyone. That the sun came right in was a gift!

Later in the day, this alleyway would fill up. People would walk through it without looking. But this moment, this silence, lingered. It was Kotor at its fairest. Unadorned, raw and beautiful. That is exactly why I wanted to capture it.