Skip to content
Journalism

Barcelona: Tourist Go Home

2 Comments

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 […]

Read More →

Photography

The Fishing Boats at Port Vell, Barcelona

Leave a Comment

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, […]

Read More →

Photography

Barcelona Street Art

2 Comments

  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 […]

Read More →

Photography

The Streets of Lahore

7 Comments

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 […]

Read More →

Photography

Protest II

1 Comment

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.

Read More →

Photography

Protest I

1 Comment

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 […]

Read More →

Photography

Circ de Raluy

2 Comments

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.

Read More →

Photography

La Pessebre de Sant Jaume

1 Comment

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.

Read More →

Photography

Like Tears in Rain

Leave a Comment

And so ends 2016, one of the worst years we have ever witnessed.  Ok, so the photograph does not have so much as a dove, but a pigeon. But the reference(s) seemed apt nonetheless. This year has seen the death of a long time friend, the threat of an end to our life here in Barcelona thanks to a post-truth xenophobic brexiting UK, and since Christmas day 2015 the robbing and subsequent occupation of our house in Barcelona – still unresolved a year later (and I can not even post any of […]

Read More →