Barcelona Photography: The Truth

8/13/2019 Barcelona Photography: The Truth

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arcelona Photographers Paradise en EvansBarcelona is a lot of things to a lot of people. For many, the city is home to one of

the best football teams in the world. For others, it represents Catalan Modernism

with Antoni Gaudis Parc Gell, Casa Batll and Sagrada Familia cathedral all must-

sees. Of course, Barcelona is also just Spanish (Catalan!) sun, sea and sex centred

on the Rambla Street and club zone. Id like you to forget any preconceptions that

you might have about Barcelona so that I can introduce you to the city I live in and

love.

Photography is about seeing things without prejudice or preconception and

capturing them without exaggeration or clich. No matter which camera you use,

your photographs will be improved by stopping to see whats around you instead of

arriving with ideas of what to photograph. That said, there are a few places in

Barcelona that are naturally rich in photographic opportunities.

Less overlooked than before, the Placa Sant Felip de Neriis a charming little square

near La Seu Cathedral with a monstrous past thats written on the wall of the church

there. The fountain is shaded by Acacia trees, and has recently been refurbished.

Film and music fans may recognise the square from Woody Allens Vicky Cristina

Barcelona and an Evanescence music video. The surrounding Barri Gotico (Gothic

Quarter) is a delightful maze of ancient streets.


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The two main Barcelona Cathedrals, the Gothic La Seu and the Sagrada Familia

employ guards to ensure that photographers dont use tripods (or monopods),

despite the entrance charges. Dont be too put off; modern cameras with higher

ISOs make hand-held low light photographs more feasible. I recommend visiting theSanta Maria del Mar Cathedral in the el Bornneighbourhood, which is beautiful and

much more welcoming.

You can make do without a tripod. For this photograph of the Cathedral arches, Ive

used the camera strap as a sling to secure the camera; but I cant recommend

doing this. Instead, choose an aperture of f8 set your self-timer, focus on the ceiling

and put the camera on its back. When you press the shutter, the camera will wait a

few seconds so theres no camera shake, then take a (hopefully beautiful)

photograph. Try it and see.


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Barcelona is also home to one of the oldest and most colourful covered markets in

the world, the Mercat de Boqueria. Situated by the Liceu Metro stop on La Rambla,

this really is a photographers paradise. It is best visited early when the locals are

buying the fresh fish and fruits available for sale. The sashimi (raw slithers of salmon

and tuna) here makes a healthy, good value snack.


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The Boqueria, like a lot of Barcelona, is about colour. Whether bright and bold, or

subtle and subdued, the market produce boasts a splendid spectrum of subjects

for colour photography. Be sure to set your cameras White Balance setting to the

light-bulb symbol to compensate for the incandescent (tungsten) light when youre

inside. Elsewhere, make use of the other White Balance presets to ensure that youcapture the rich colours of the Taxis and sunsets.

When you are photographing colour, try and create photographs with a really

simple colour-scheme. Often, Ill concentrate on just one colour; the resulting

collection of photographs can look great when displayed together. For the

artistically inclined, you might want to experiment with colour contrasts. Find a

picture of a colour wheel and look for the colour you want to photograph; the colour

on the opposite side will be the complementary colour. They look amazing together!

Yellow and blue is a classic combination; but red and green and even orange andpurple look very vibrant when theyre paired. You might want to play with warm

colours such as red and orange in contrast with cool colours such as blue and

green.


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Looking for Barcelona Photography on Google will bring up stories about the citys

reputation for petty crime. Id disregarded this, and had a laptop stolen, so be well

aware of your belongings. A good tip is to keep your camera strap underneath a

strap for your bag so that its more difficult to remove, or have the camera strapwrapped twice around your wrist with the logo facing inwards. Thankfully, violent

crime seems quite rare.

Photographers looking for batteries and extra memory cards would be well served

at the FNAC store, which is in Placa de Catalunyaat the top of La Rambla. Arpi, a

decent photography shop, is at the bottom of La Rambla in case youve decided to

bring a film camera. There are some inspiring photographs nearby in the

photography section of the MACBA the Barcelona Modern Art museum near the

top of La Rambla. Dont miss the chance to photograph its graphic architecture

against the background of a deep blue Spanish sky.


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Heading out of the centre is particularly rewarding. Whether its through conscious

planning or not, it does feel that the locals have attempted to concentrate the shirt-

off tourism around the centre. A walk to the W Hotel past Port Vell(Old Port) and the

Barceloneta beach is good fun, and the views at sunset from the Eclipse Bar

situated at the top of the hotel are breathtaking.


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If youre only staying for a short time, then I recommend visiting the Poble Espanyol

(Spanish Town). Located on theMontjuc mountain, it was built in the late Twenties

for the Barcelona International Exhibition. History aside, its a microcosm of Spain,

attempting to bring a little of all the disparate regions into one place. It is an

excellent location for photography, both as a set of backdrops and as a subject initself.

If youve got an SLR camera, I recommend finding a 50mm lens. It wont zoom, but

it will give you much better quality and better photos in low light. Best of all, theyre

light and great value. Barcelona is a special location, and benefits from a special

approach. Ive found that Barcelona is a city best viewed close up and through a

wide-angle lens. The majority of the photographs atwww.i-Barcelona.comattest to

that belief! A wide-angle zoom lens will obviously help capture the architecture and

views of the Mediterranean Sea. But used for people and street photography whileyoure here, youre also sure to get some interesting pictures to take home with you.

Smile, and ask permission in Catalan for best results , Sisplau, puc fer una foto?I

find I get the most natural pictures when I photograph for a little while until people

get bored and go back to what they were doing before.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montju%C3%AFchttp://www.i-barcelona.com/http://www.i-barcelona.com/http://www.i-barcelona.com/http://www.i-barcelona.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montju%C3%AFc


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One final tip; youll find that visiting Gaudis Parc Gell is quite a walk from the

closest Metro station, Lesseps. Its definitely worth making the trip from the centre,

but I recommend doing so about an hour before sunset. This Golden Hour is great

for photography anyway, but youll find that in summer, the sun will be in just the

right place to take some really beautiful photographs.

Barcelona Photography: The Truth

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