Barcelona’s “Magic Fountain” (Some Abstracts)

Magic Fountain, #10, Barcelona, 2018

How do you make unique images of a subject that has already been photographed literally (and I literally mean “literally”!) millions of times?

To be original, or not to be–that is the question.

A friend was recently visiting from the States and we went to watch the choreographed colored fountain just below the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya on Montjuic (Plaça de Espanya Metro/Bus stop). If you have visited Barcelona, you have likely watched this spectacle as it is tremendously popular. I had never seen it, despite living here and I was pleasantly surprised about how beautiful it was.

When the aquatic dance began, I started with a few standard shots, trying to capture the entire collection of fountains in action. I imagine that is what everyone instinctively does, eh? But, that didn’t really satisfy me, so I eventually progressed to the more abstract. The colors, as seen by the camera’s sensor, were spectactular.

So, the session became one of exploring textures and patterns within this world of rapidly mutating colors.

Here are some key points if you would like to try your hand at photographing this event:

–First, the fountain does not do its colorful and eruptive thing every evening. For a current schedule, as well as a music playlist for each show, visit the official Magic Fountain website.

–The type of camera you use isn’t that important–your phone camera will do. However, if you can somehow control your shutter speeds, that will give you more creative options.

–I used the pocket-sized Sony RX100ii, handheld, and set at f/5.6 on Aperture Priority. I initially began at ISO 1600 but it gave fairly fast shutter speeds that froze the water a little too much for my liking. So I then dialed down the ISO to 160 in pursuit of slower shutter speeds–they tended to range between 1/2 to 1/13 of a second or so–and I thought the smooth, buttery effect was much more attractive and sensuous. Zooming in to max on the telephoto (100mm equivalent) helped isolate the interesting patterns as well as increasing the apparent water movement and, thus, the blur.

–Be sure to take a whole pile of shots…several hundred isn’t too crazy an amount. Later, you can delete the vast majority and keep the very few that capture your imagination. The fountain is in constant flux so it is hard to anticipate. Luck will play in to what gets sent to your memory card.

–Consider the wind/breeze direction. You and your lense might get wet!

–Masses will show up for the start of the show, but many seemed to lose interest and wander away later on. That makes it easy to move to a variety of shooting locations.

–Photographing the ooh-aah crowd itself, silhouetted against the fountain, with the many camera LCD screens alight and aloft, could be another interesting idea. Or, you could capture tourists doing the selfie thing against the watery backdrop. Or, see if you can catch a passing seagull in one of your fountain frames, eerily illuminated from below. Lots of possibilities.

Here are some of my colorful abstracts from the 45 minutes we spent there…