After marching against the tourists, now we are playing at being tourists ourselves. This is a shot of the monastery (now mostly a museum) in Sant Cugat del Vallès, some 20km outside of Barcelona. Leica M7 with 21mm SEM fitted with a dark red filter and shot on Ilford Delta 100.
A set of photographs from the Ocupació de les Rambles, Barcelona. This was a citizens protest march which combined a diverse range of groups and issues that affect the lives of ordinary people living in Barcelona today. There were several key issues being protested: the unsustainable level of tourism and its effect on local residents, the cost of property and rents, and forced evictions of people with mortgage arrears. All of these are combining to destroy the quality of life of people living in the city, and indications are that […]
More street art from Barcelona. Shot on Delta 100 and processed in ID-11 1+1.
More street art from Barcelona. Shot on Delta 100 and processed in ID-11 1+1.
More street art from Barcelona, starting with a distinctly Catalan theme. Shot on Ilford Delta 100 and processed in ID-11 1+1.
A short set of image galleries taken at the fishing harbour, Port Vell, Barcelona – click on an image, below, to open the corresponding gallery. Port Vell (the old port) is today mostly known for its shopping centre and luxury yachts. However, sandwiched between the Vela hotel and the Maremagnum there is still a small but important fishing harbour that exists in a bubble of time that has so far remained protected from all the luxury developments around. These photographs were taken during one of many excellent Barcelona 48H Open House sessions, […]
Valkyrie, Ciutat Vella, Barcelona. Taken with the M7, 50mm and Ilford Delta 100.
Street art in the old town, Barcelona. Ilford Delta 100 shot with a dark red filter, and processed in ID-11. The scan resolution is not great, partly because I opted to scan (macro photograph) the negatives as complete frames, including the sprocket holes. While this seemed a cool thing to do at the time, I think the effect is a bit clichéd and I cropped this to match what I saw – you can see the raw scan and another from the same mural below. You can also see […]
First of a short set of images of street art, taken around Barcelona. Taken using a dark red filter on Ilford Delta 100 film, and processed in ID-11.
Some shots from the streets of Lahore, inside of the walled city. Finally, somewhere that makes Barcelona look quiet ;-) I really like the disorganised organisation of a South Asian bazaar. Everything happens at the same time at the same place and in some cases seemingly and unseemingly crushing and confronting. Human behaviour at its most raw, unfiltered and unconstrained (or at least so it seems). All this action is accompanied by a strong stimulation of all senses (beyond the visual), noise can be deafening and smells overpowering. However, the […]
Animal rights protest, Plaça Sant Jaume, Barcelona. Leica M7 with HP5+ at EI 3200, processed in DD-X 1+4. The dark face is due to paint rather than anything from the film processing…
Setting up candles for a display in Plaça de la Universitat, Barcelona. This was a rather strange event which mixed elements of Catalan Independence (Assemblea Nacional de Catalunya) with campaigns for human rights and support for refugees. Barcelona is seemingly unique in Europe at the moment, in that it is one of the few parts of Europe where support for immigrants remains high, despite the clear problems of integration that are evident in places such as the Raval.
Protest against male violence, being staged by feminists from the Movimento Democrático de Mujeres (Democratic Woman’s Movement), Plaça de Sant Jaume, Barcelona. This is a topic which is far more complex and difficult to cover completely in a single short image. This year alone in Spain there have already been two brutal murders of women by their current/former partner. And I am writing this as the year is scarcely one week old. It is impossible to put in words how utterly appalling this is. Yet such extremes only help mask other forms […]
Recently I was in Lahore at the invitation of the Punjab government for an archaeological conference. This was a nice occasion to revisit one of the most beautiful cities in South Asia (well, once you do not focus too much on the engulfing traffic and pollution), which I last saw some 15 years ago. One of the most interesting aspects of the city is its collection of fine Mughal architecture (1524 to 1752). The walled city with the old fort and the many mosques still preserve the flavour of grandeur and refinement for which the Mughal […]
Painted trucks from the Circ Històric de Raluy, which is currently open at the harbour in Port Vell, Barcelona. In real life they are quite colourful, and the wagons and trucks surround the big-top defensively as if from a scene in a surreal 1950’s western. Leica M7 with 50mm f1.4 and Ilford Delta 100 processed in DD-X.
This year’s presepe in Plaça de Sant Jaume is a modern work of art that is difficult to capture on film, comprising a fantastic array of kinetic artworks housed in giant inflated snow-globes. A nicely post-modern and largely secular interpretation of a traditional Christmas event. Leica M7 with 50mm and Ilford Delta 100 processed in DD-X.
Transient Eye 