Palau de la Música, #3, Barcelona, 2019
It’s always with me, my mobile phone. So whenever something interesting strikes my hairy eyeball, out it comes. (Not my eyeball–I refer to the phone!)
How soon before no one carries a “real” camera any more? Most people these days seem to be quite content with the quality of their mobile phone pics…
So–I wonder to myself–when will we get the quality of image and the capability of, say, the Nikon D850 in our mobile phones?
Fat chance, you say?
Physically impossible according to the physics of the physical, you say?
Never, you say?
Well, to quote Señora Anon: “Never say never!”
We will just have to wait and see now, won’t we?
Latest Random iPhone Images…Color
First, here are four images from the interior of the modernist and most bizarrely intricate Palau de la Música in Barcelona. All the features, sculptures, scrolls, and flowery designs have reason and meaning, despite what your overwhelmed eyes might think. The stained-glass skylight in the ceiling is an exceptional work o’ art. The iPhone X handled the low light and extreme contrasts relatively well–although the quality is nowhere near what you could get from a 45-megapixel DSLR on a tripod. These pictures are fine for most web uses, but you couldn’t squeeze out much more than barely-tolerable 5″x7″ prints from the digital files:
Palau de la Música, #2, Barcelona, 2019
Palau de la Música, #4, Barcelona, 2019
Palau de la Música, #1, Barcelona, 2019
Palau de la Música, #5, Barcelona, 2019
On my walk to the Climbat climbing gym, through the hidden trails and gardens of Montjuic, I noticed a new urban portrait had sprouted out of a semi-hidden and crumbling wall. Someone spent a lot of time on this, and it is not in a place where many will see it. She must have meant something to the artist, I would say:
Urban Art, Barcelona, 2019
When I see a weird juxtaposition of color and form like this, out comes the iPhone. This is one image I wish I had made with the big camera–just to see what it would look like as a large print:
Clouds and Architecture, Barcelona, 2019
And here you have your standard (read: cliché) spiral staircase pic. It was the color, the warm glow emanating mysteriously from below, that I liked:
Staircase, Barcelona, 2019
Lots of elements make this a fun photograph for me, not just the big lizard. I liked the big window on the left with its chainmail cover imitating the scales on the lizard… then you have the tiny-and-partial lizard sticker on the right, the bench (imitating the rectangles of the pavers), the steel grates on the ground, and the very agreeable color palette:
Urban Lizard, Málaga, Spain, 2019
No, I didn’t do this, even if that happens to be my wife’s name. But someone was certainly moved by matters of the heart to buy some pink spray paint and hike their hiney up here to engage in this act of passionate vandalism. Maybe the benches were the site of some sort of intimate “conversation” between Maria and the artist? I liked that Torre Glòries shows up in the background (its phallic shape a symbol of what may have happened here???), but I probably should have cloned out that distracting plastic bag:
María Love, Barcelona, 2019
This is an example of what the iPhone X cannot do very well–night photography. The original image was so bad–heavy noise and blotchey pixels–that I had to treat it with a Topaz painterly effect filter. What you see is the crowd at the foot of Montjuic awaiting the Magic Fountain display:
MNAC Evening, Barcelona, 2019
In Black and White…
The last pitch of 98 Octanos on the spire called Magdalena Superior at Montserrat. The Monastery is visible below. Yes, the camera is heavily tilted, but I liked the placement of the feet:
98 Octanos, Montserrat, Barcelona, 2019
And speaking of “feet”… Here, Xavi, sense peus de gat, climbs one of the urban sport routes on the west end of the tunnel at La Foixarda, Montjuic:
Xavi Barefoot at La Foixarda, Barcelona, 2019
This was a particularly dreamy scene that appeared on a flight between Málaga and Barcelona:
Ship at Sea, Mediterranean Sea, 2019
Perhaps this is what most folks these days know as “the drone perspective”, eh? I saw this composition whilst descending in the gondola (l’Aeri) from Montserrat:
Intersection, Montserrat, Catalunya, 2019
Who made these and then left them behind in their “jail” behind these dusty window bars? Such a loving, happy thing to do–make what I would call children’s dolls–but then leave them here? Perhaps there is a hidden meaning and very personal story behind it all?
Urban Ceremonial Objects, Barcelona, 2019
A typical evening on the beach in Barcelona showing two of the most iconic structures of that area, the W Hotel and The Wounded Star (or, simply, The Cubes). This is yet another night photography situation–at which the iPhone X truly sucks. But if all you want is something to post on Facebook, then I guess it’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick:
The Beach at Night, Barcelona, 2019
Angles, lines, shapes, forms… it’s hard to make sense of it all, and I like that… somewhat like Life As We Humans Live It:
History Museum Abstract, Barcelona, 2019
“Catalonia does not surrender” near Plaza España. In just a few days, the court sentences will be handed down for the Catalan politicians being held for rebellion (see the October 2017 Catalan Independence Referendum for details). We will see what happens after that… it could get ugly if the decision is harsh:
No Surrender, Barcelona, 2019
Finally, maybe we should take some lessons from dogs on how to get the most out of life–and how to make oneself comfy on the pavement:
Dog at Rest, #1, Barcelona, 2019
Dog at Rest, #2, Barcelona, 2019
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2 Comments
Those are a lot of fun overall. You do well with your phone! In reference to the final photo of the black and white dog at rest, we call that pose the Lt. Dan, a la Forrest Gump fame.
Ha! Ha! Very good! Thanks, Teresa.