I was having lunch in a restaurant with a tutorial student when I saw the way the window light was falling on the face of a man dining at a nearby table. As he turned his head into profile, the sun illuminated his white hair and beard from behind, making it seem as if he was lost in thought. I made this image to take advantage of the back lighting’s ability to abstract the subject by taking away all color except for the flesh tones in the forehead. When I converted this image to black and white, even those tones vanish, further simplifying the profile, and making it seem more symbolic of thought.