  We define a subset of an almost complex manifold (M,J) to be a holomorphic
shadow if it is the image of a J-holomorphic map from a compact complex
manifold. Notice that a J-holomorphic curve is a holomorphic shadow, and so is
a complex subvariety of a compact complex manifold.
  We show that under some conditions on an almost complex structure J on a
manifold M, the holomorphic shadows in the Cartesian products of (M,J) form a
Zariski-type structure. Checking this leads to non-trivial geometric questions
and results. We then apply the work of Hrushovski and Zilber on Zariski-type
structures.
  We also restate results of Gromov and McDuff on J-holomorphic curves in
symplectic geometry in the language of shadows structures.
