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8/13/2019 Barcelona Photography: The Truth
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Ben@EnglishPhotographer.com
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.
8/13/2019 Barcelona Photography: The Truth
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Ben@EnglishPhotographer.com
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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Ben@EnglishPhotographer.com
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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Ben@EnglishPhotographer.com
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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Ben@EnglishPhotographer.com
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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Ben@EnglishPhotographer.com
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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Ben@EnglishPhotographer.com
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%AFc8/13/2019 Barcelona Photography: The Truth
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Ben@EnglishPhotographer.com
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.
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