Andy Furtak

(Broken Memories • Lisbon, Portugal • January 2025

This frame was captured at Santa Apolónia train station, through a shattered pane of glass that had long ceased to serve its purpose. I stumbled upon it while wandering without a plan, drawn only by instinct, no fixed destination, no defined subject. Just light, structure, and a sense that something might unfold.

Behind the broken window stood a bus stop, people in transit, and the quiet hum of urban life. I waited without knowing what I was waiting for. The figure, the bus, the road sign - they weren’t placed or anticipated. They simply fell into the frame. And yet, in this quiet chaos, everything aligned.

To me, this is the answer to “Are we shooting in the dark?”

Yes, we are.

Street photography is never scripted. It’s an act of faith. We point our cameras toward fragments of the world, never fully seeing, never fully knowing. We chase what might become meaningful, even when it looks like nothing.

The cracked glass is a metaphor for this uncertainty. A hole in a window became a portal for storytelling. The rest was instinct, composition and the settings I rely on: manual focus, spot metering and f/4.0. No tricks, just trust.

This image was not found. It revealed itself.