Monochromatic Barcelona

There's something about wandering the streets of a city I've never visited, camera in hand, that truly thrills me. This feeling of anticipation, not knowing what you'll discover around the next corner, everything being new and unseen, all the senses are wide-awake.

Smells different, sounds different, looks different.

An invasion of sensorial cues, easily feeling like Alice. In Wonderland.

Cathedral of Barcelona

The playground, this time, was colourful Barcelona, which I then proceeded to photograph in black & white.

Spontaneous decision.

Back to basics.

Sun kissed building facade on Via Laietana, Barcelona

I wanted a collection that looked peaceful, sounded quiet. And without time markers.

That meant strictly no cars.

Visual noise.

Obliterated them.

Majestic street lights on Carrer de Ferran, Barcelona

This shift away from street level meant fewer people and more emphasis on the buildings, walls, facades.

'Kind of boring' I would have said just 3 years ago.

Now, it feels like an act of defiance towards time.

That passes.

Today or 100 years ago, who cares?

Cathedral of Barcelona

Another sunkissed facade on Carrer del Duc, Barcelona

I have, unexpectedly must I say, fallen in love with with taking photos of older buildings, classic architecture.

The majesty they carry, the way they respond to light.

Plenty of other reasons.

The main contributors to the identity of a city.

Let it be lavish.

Estació del Nord, Barcelona

Majestic street lights on Carrer de Ferran, Barcelona

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What can I say?

When you see La Sagrada Família up-close, there are 2 things you realise instantly:

You've never seen something like this before.

You will likely never see something like this again. 

The size, the (hi)story, the vision, the craftsmanship.

Even the details are detailed.

Simultaneously, the beauty and the beast.

La Sagrada Família: No photos here truly does it justice

Beyond the beauty and the genius, what gets me is the collective endeavour to accomplish someone's artistic vision and carry their dream far beyond their death. Belief.

It is still being built.

Antoni Gaudí died in 1926.  Disbelief.

Almost feeling guilty of having seen more of it than he did.

La Sagrada Família rising far above Barcelona's cityscape

OBVIOUS TIP:

We were staying pretty close, so we initially attempted to go on Sunday.

Big mistake. It was packed, made me anxious, we left. Lesson learned.

We swung by again on Monday and, what do you know, it was like a different world.

Way quieter. 

They aim at having it finished by 1926, the 100's anniversary of Gaudi's death.

What a challenge to photograph. Enormous sounds like an understatement.

So many things to look at.

Or to look for.

I almost gave up on taking a photograph remotely close to doing justice to this architectural beast!

La Sagrada Família

At the start the trees were an annoyance. Obstructing.

We quickly made friends.

Good team effort.

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona (2024)

The result is a collection of Barcelona's walls, captured in black and white, with a keen emphasis on composition, geometry and perspective.

I hope you found those photographs enjoyable to look at. 

Take care.

Fleeing pigeons in Montjuïc, Barcelona

Thanks for reading,

Dazz

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