Bon Nadal als nostres amics catalans!

Galet Gigant. Barcelona, 2009

December in Catalunya, 2009, on La Rambla near the Port de Barcelona…This was when I had a chance encounter with a giant (3-feet tall), plastic, illuminated representation of a large noodle that is a traditional ingredient in the Catalan soups of their Christmas season. It’s called a “galet”, which literally means “elbow-shaped” or “snail-shaped” or “pebble” or “form of a container” or, well, many other things in Catalan, although the actual noodles they stuff, cook and eat look kind of like sea shells to me.

The huge galet in the image above was placed on the pedestrian walkway across from the wax museum by the City as a holiday decoration and certainly was “gigant”, or giant! For a fun link, go here for pictures and explanations of the giant Barcelona street galets, including a shot of what looks like the very galet I found on La Rambla back in 2009. Then, to stimulate your appetite, go here for a two-minute video on how to make an awesome sopa de galets–ironically, narrated in Madrid-style Spanish rather than in Catalan despite it being a Catalan tradition.

I made the above image at night with an older 6mp DSLR, handheld, and with a lens that is generally known as middling quality, entry-level, walk-around glass (a Nikkor 18-200 zoom). I had to brace myself as best I could and boost the ISO a bit–and I made several captures to ensure one would come out sharp.

I like the abstract form, the rough texture with what look like ribs, and the warm color palette that came from the interior lighting and the colorful hue of the plastic galet itself. I don’t think it matters whether you know what it is or not–I think it works as it is as a simple abstract. And…I could easily get an acceptable 13×19 print from this file, which means that piles of megapixels and expensive equipment are not always necessary in the creative process (depending of course on the type of image you are making). Even today’s iPhone would probably have been adequate for this particular capture.

So, here’s wishing all of my Barcelona friends, family, and Galvesport cycling buddies a happy holiday season–enjoy your sopa de galets (we certainly miss it!) and have an extra helping de part nostra! Bon Nadal (Merry Christmas!)