More protest images from Barcelona as surging nationalism continues to polarise Catalunya and Spain, leading towards ever increasing tension. Shown here are images from street protests against police violence, and a protest calling for dialogue rather than confrontation between the two opposing political factions – one of the few politically neutral responses to the escalating violence and division.
A set of film photographs taken during the day of the independence referendum in Catalunya. The central government’s attempt to shutdown the referendum, which is illegal under Spanish constitutional law, failed after the regional Catalan police essentially refused to cooperate. As a result the Guardia Civil and Policía Nacional were used in a last minute attempt to close polling stations, resulting in hundreds of incidents of violence across the region as police battled with ordinary people. Despite this, only a handful of stations were closed. With a turnout of 42% […]
Another set of black and white film images taken in the build up to the contested Catalan independence referendum and corresponding protests, this time showing a student demonstration in Plaça Universidad and the start of the occupation of polling stations in anticipation of a police lock-down.
A second set of film images of the independence movement protests, this time taken outside of the Universidad de Barcelona. This event was very carefully orchestrated to try to portray Catalunya as if it was an oppressed nation under the control of a distant dictatorship in Madrid. Carnations were distributed as a deliberate reference to the 1975 Carnation Revolution in Portugal. The protest group also openly arranged to print and distribute ballot papers for the planned illegal referendum, openly challenging the Guardia Civil’s confiscation of ballot materials in the last week. Here […]
A short set of film photographs taken at various demonstrations and protest points in Barcelona over the last week. These are the result of a proposed “independence” referendum being pushed through by the regional parliament against the wishes of the central government in Madrid. The result is a political disaster, creating ever deeper and more dangerous divides both internally in Catalunya and externally with Spain. So far the protests have largely been very peaceful, typically involving a few tens of thousands of people from diverse backgrounds. While there has been […]
We recently had a chance to visit the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. Aside from the exhibitions inside, the building itself is a masterpiece that was designed by the amazing American architect, Frank Gehry. The building is mostly known for its titanium cladding and twisted intersecting forms. These photographs were taken of the structure inside, deliberately abstracted to exclude as much texture and detail as possible to give an impression of the forms used. Architecture aside, the exhibits in the museum were excellent – and would justify a visit to Bilbao […]
Trying something different this week, with a set of five (quasi) architectural images, again shot with the M7 and Ilford Delta 400. While the grain tends to add character to the street images, I am not sure that it works so well for these kinds of shots.
Scenes from summer in Barcelona, shot on Ilford Delta 400 film with the M7 and 50mm C-Sonnar. The temperature and humidity here at the moment are completely unbearable – and half of the fridge has been taken over by film and chemicals to stop the heat spoiling them. Who needs food :-)
A selection of ordinary street scenes in Barcelona. It would be tempting to post about last week’s apalling terrorist attacks and subsequent far-right clashes. But the city will go on unperturbed, and ultimately that is the only riposte that matters. Lastly, for anyone interested in potential solutions to the problem of ISIS and similar groups (in which I include extremists such as the so-called alt-right movement), this New Scientist article on radicalisation is an excellent starting point. All images taken with the Leica M7 and Zeiss 50mm C-Sonnar on Ilford […]
A set of five images taken on a short hike through the Collserola from Can Cuiàs to San Cugat del Vallès. With the August heat and packed tourism, it is good to escape from Barcelona even if only for a few hours. All images shot with the Leica M7 and 50mm C-Sonnar on Ilford Delta 400.
A short set of film images taken around the Glòries area of Sant Martí, Barcelona, and which form a coda to the previous piece about the Torre Glòries. Taken with the Leica M7, 50mm C-Sonnar and Ilford Delta 400.
Finally back to some film photography. These were taken around Barcelona with the M7, Zeiss C-Sonnar and Ilford Delta 400. It is very painful walking the streets at the moment, as temperatures have routinely been above 30c along with some very high humidity.
People at Encants market, Barcelona. These are from the last (ever?) roll of Delta 3200, exposed at box speed and processed in ID-11 stock. A number of these were hip (well, chest…) shots taken while moving through the crowds – something that is only possible with a 50mm lens thanks to the high ISO which allows a fast shutter speed while stopped down.
The second set of night-time street images taken in Barcelona and shot on high-ISO film. These are images of an illegal street market late at night (around 10pm) at the Rambla del Mar, at the harbour. The sellers are usually illegal immigrants, and most of the goods are fake clones of branded handbags, shoes, sunglasses and Barcelona FC shirts. All images taken with the Leica M7 and Zeiss ZM 1,5/50 with Ilford Delta 3200 metered at EI3200 and processed in ID-11 as if shot at EI6400.
The first of two sets of night-time street images taken in Barcelona shot on high-ISO film. The intention was to capture something of the night-time in Barcelona with a vintage-look. Away from the main streets it can be very dark in Barcelona. All images taken with the Leica M7 and Zeiss ZM 1,5/50 with Ilford Delta 3200 metered at EI1600 and processed in ID-11. The lens was shot wide-open, partly because shutter speed was a problem even at EI1600, but mostly because I really like the glow around […]
For the last month, I have shot a lot of (often dubious quality) test images using Delta 3200 and Delta 400 exposed at EI1600, in an attempt to find a suitable image style for a higher ISO exposure setting than usual. With both films, I like the results best with low light and without a strong contrast filter fitted. The daylight shots are interesting, but I find the darkened skies provided by the red filter just a bit too grainy for my taste. On balance I prefer the pushed Delta 400 to […]
Transient Eye 