Photography

Barcelona People

Barcelona Street Photography
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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 […]

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Photography

Street Wides?

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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 […]

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Photography

Life in Colour

Kiss - Street Photography - Barcelona
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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 […]

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Photography

Changing Weather

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A short set of photographs taking during the Easter break from the area around Valsassina and Lago di Como, Italy. All images taken with the Canon 5D Mark III and 50L f1.2. The 50mm is a very versatile lens that can switch from stopped down landscapes to shallow depth-of-field portraits without blinking. It is small enough to make an excellent travel lens, and the weather sealing is useful when you have full-sun, snow and rain all in the space of four days…

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Photography

Different Dreams

Person and binocular stand, gazing wistfully over Barcelona towards the sea.
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A rather melancholy set. The images were taken on a very windy and cold Barcelona Photography meet up in early February at Tibidabo. The images are in shown in reverse order here – start at the bottom. All except the wedding image were taken with a 50mm lens. I think that if I could have only one lens it would be a 50mm. Although some old photographs were discovered from an earlier rampage around the nearby communication tower,  Godzilla – fortunately – did not put in an appearance.

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Events

4YFN and Mobile World Congress

Startup Pitches at 4YFN
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  While much of the media attention in the last week here in Barcelona was on the Mobile World Congress meeting, in fact there were a number parallel events of which the most significant was probably 4YFN. 4YFN (Four Years From Now) was a conference specifically aimed at stimulating young technology start-up companies in Catalunya. An initiative being driven from the local Catalan government, this meeting would not  have been out of place in Silicon Valley or Cambridge. It is a welcome antidote to the lack of economic leadership from the […]

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Architecture

Repubblica: Nothing Else Matters

Architectural photographs from around Piazza della Repubblica, Milano, Italy..
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  Images from the area around Piazza della Repubblica, Milano, Italy. These were taken on a rather rainy and cloudy day just before the end of December – a fairly typical winter day in Milan. The new concrete, steel and glass buildings seem only to exaggerate the cold inhumane weather at the moment and lack even the minimal colour that exists in the older city areas. All images were taken using a Canon 5D MkIII with the 70-300mm L. This is a great lens for architecture, particularly on a wet […]

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Photography

Il Comune

Abandoned Bar, Milan, Italy
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Trapped in Sesto San Giovanni by the flu, there was a chance to explore the town a little and as an experiment I have tried to produce a series of cinematically styles images of architecture and odd points of local colour.   Sesto is one of the satellite towns to Milan, named after the distance from here to the centre (6 Roman miles). Most of the construction here is 20th century, although much of the industry that was present early on has been or is being replaced with residential blocks. […]

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Travel

La Sagrada Família

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          Some snapshots taken from inside of La Sagrada Família during the Mercé, Barcelona. Aside from the wonderful architecture, the overall impression of the church is dominated by how bright it is. In part, this is because many of the windows still lack the final installation of stained glass. But also this is because of the extremely white cement structures which make a great canvas for the light. Some more images – this time in colour – can be found at 500px.

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