Look Back
Carrer de l’ Hospital, Barcelona.
Fish
The abandoned Fase-4 shop-front, Ronda Sant Antoni, Barcelona.
Towel
Plaça Catalunya, Barcelona.
I Exist
Plaça dels Angels, Barcelona.
Just Sitting…
Five images of people sitting, Barcelona. Some of these people are actively working, begging or just resting. It is not always obvious which.
Raval Colour
Some more street images, taken around the Raval and Ronda Sant Antoni, Barcelona. These are again mostly candids, taken using manual focus and a wide-angle lens. Although I am far from an expert in street photography, it is clear that themes naturally emerge as a result the interaction between environment and the instinctive interests of the photographer. And the environment here in Barcelona has such an incredible variety of life and its contrasts that there is always something interesting to photograph.
Tourist Snapshots
Three snapshots of tourists, taken around Plaça Universidad and Plaça Catalunya this afternoon. The tourist trade is the economic life-blood of Barcelona, with people coming from all backgrounds and from all over the world.
No son Funcionaris
A common aspiration in Spain is to become a Funcionario – a civil servant with a good salary, large pension and a job that is guaranteed. If you achieve this, you are set for life. If not, well that’s your problem. This creates a social duality that the politicians and the tourist industry seem to carefully avoid seeing. The image of Barcelona portrayed in the brochures is a tad one-sided. It gives a view of visitors strolling down La Rambla in a city filled with Gaudi architecture and expensively chic cafes and trinket stalls. But […]
Barcelona People
Some more wide-angle street photographs, taken around the Raval and Diagonal Mar on Saturday. All were shot using manual focus, manual exposure and auto-ISO with a micro 4/3 camera and 12mm lens at f4 (equivalent to 24mm at f8 in 35mm format). As usual, some work well, other less. Technically, this image is terrible. Even though it was shot at 1/250th there is a lot of motion blur. To be fair, this is a group where we have previously needed to call an ambulance for – after finding one of […]
Street Wides?
Some quick experimental street images, taken in Barcelona with a wide-angle lens using manual focus and a tight aperture. Most of the images were taken from less than a meter away and were framed without using the viewfinder. With the wide-angle, it is surprisingly easy to frame when shooting from hip or chest level. I much prefer street images that are not dominated by the interaction with the photographer, and it is quite hard to do this when so close to the subject. These were taken while walking and trying […]
Life in Colour
Two recent street snapshots from Barcelona. The top image taken in the Raval, the lower image in the Boqueria. Mouse-over to toggle between black-and-white and colour versions – on an iPad, tap the image quickly. A frequent problem with street photography in Barcelona is getting good subject isolation. We are now starting the summer tourist season and the streets are packed with people. It often seems impossible to take a picture, with people continuously bumping in to you or inadvertently blocking the shot. And even when it does work the […]
Transient Eye 