A sweet spot is hit for a short period each year, when the sun is low enough in the sky to give great pockets of light and big pools of shadows like this, but still mild enough weather so people are out walking.
@drkhalsa No, I don't use any filters. In this particular shot, the light was fairly contrasty...I do have a yellow and red filter for my lens, although I've never used them much. Maybe this winter, when the light is flatter...