Gimme shelter

An alley in Savannah.

I've always loved alleys and backstreets. They're the flip side -- literally -- of the storefronts and facades that are a city's public face, the story its citizens want to tell about themselves. And in the great cities, those stories are unique. There's always the sense that you couldn't be anywhere else.

Then you turn a corner to find the messy innards -- the garbage bins and utility poles -- and you could be almost anywhere in the world. 

I particularly like this picture because it reminds me why those tree-filled squares were so appealing. If you look closely at the figure of the man, you'll notice that he has no shadow. The sun was directly overhead, and merciless.