Black and White

State of Independence I

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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 […]

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Architecture

Man Made

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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.

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Black and White

City Life II

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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 :-)

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Black and White

City Life

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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 […]

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Architecture

Torre Glòries, Catalan Independence and the European Medicines Agency

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One of the consequences of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union is that it will no longer maintain several key European agencies that are currently located in London. A bidding process has started where cities throughout Europe campaign to host the relocated agencies, with the last nominations on the 31st July and the final decision taken in November 2017. Barcelona is bidding to host the displaced European Medicines Agency (EMA) in the iconic Torre Glòries – a radical change from its current location in Canary Wharf for the approximately […]

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Black and White

Market

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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.

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Black and White

Barcelona Nights II

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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.

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Black and White

Barcelona Nights I

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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 […]

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Black and White

Head Space

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  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 […]

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Black and White

La Sagrera

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Part of the incredibly sad railway building works at La Sagrera, Barcelona (incredibly sad, because as with so many construction projects here, they are currently “paused” thanks to appalling failures in the cost estimates and budgeting). Part of a test series for Ilford Delta 400 pushed to EI3200 in Microphen with one-stop over-exposure. Shot with the M7 and ZM 2/35 in full daylight using a deep red filter. Here the sky is darkened by the red filter, but there seems to be a lot more grain in the sky than I […]

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Black and White

Skateboards

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Medium-light (dusk) image shot inside the courtyard of the CCCB, Barcelona. This was taken using the same lens as the previous shots, but this time with a deep red filter fitted. The combination of the filter and the light seems to make the grain more prominent.  I think that the overall image “look” is still quite good, however. Shot with the M7 and ZM 2/35. Ilford Delta 400 exposed at EI1600 and processed for EI3200 in Microphen.

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