La Colònia Güell, #8, Catalunya, 2020
If you are a fan of architecture and/or a fan of that poor-but-famous homeless-looking chap who was ran down by a tranvia in 1926 (Antoni Gaudí), you won’t want to miss this one. The site is located less than a half-hour outside the clammering chaos of Barcelona in Santa Coloma de Cervelló.
It’s really the crypt section of the church that you’ll find most intriguing (at least I did)–sort of a mini-me predecessor to the much more famous, thronged, and monstrous La Sagrada Familia project. Pay to get into the church, then walk freely around the colonia and check out the various modernist buildings and the converted worker’s housing. The idea at the turn of the 20th century was to construct what was essentially a small self-contained village around the textile factories–the now famous church, a theater, schools, stores, big brick homes for the directors and humble abodes for the workers, a central plaza for socializing, parks for the kids, and so on.
The place is a bit tourist-i-fied and gentrified at this point, but still charming (if you consider 19th/20th century industrial planning “charming”).
On this Sunday afternoon, with the pandemic still raging, the usual international hordes were not in attendance and there was not the usual massing of the tour buses in the parking lot, and so on… so it was really a nice quiet, contemplative retreat. Covid silver lining?
So, here is my photographic essay of the area…
Gaudí’s “Crypt”–The Church
All images made with the Nikon D850, hand-held. Inside shots were at ISOs ranging from 800 to 1600 to get reasonable shutter speeds (at least 1/15th!). I don’t believe tripods are permitted inside, but with so few folks around, I may have gotten away with it on this day, but didn’t try.
It’s fairly obvious I was mostly attracted by the patterns, lines, shapes, and forms in that amazing ceiling, eh?
La Colònia Güell, #4 (Crypt Interior), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #2, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #5, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #15, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #12, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #18, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #17, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #19, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #21, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #28, Catalunya, 2020
The Crypt, In Color
If you search Google Images for “Gaudí crypt Colònia Güell”, you’ll find that almost without exception nearly all photographs are in color–apparently, it’s sacrilege to not show Gaudi in all his spectral splendor. I am definitely bucking the trend with my monochrome essay above. But, to assuage those Kodachrome souls out there, here are three images to give your eyeballs a fix: two interiors and one exterior. (Note the tremendously climbable exterior walls. Was Gaudí a rock climber???)
The D850 is a pretty awesome machine in these super-high contrast situations. I tried not to clip the highlights by carefully watching the histogram, planning on bringing up the shadows in post-processing. Ironically, at ISOs from 800 to 1600, in post, I found that I actually was able to bring down the highlights almost more than I could bring up the shadows. Go figure. Noise reduction was mandatory, of course, and I did most of that in the raw converter in Adobe Photoshop Elements.
Again, the images were handheld at some pretty slow shutter speeds (1/15 in the first one below, for example)–not ideal. For web use, no problem, but you would likely see some camera movement in larger prints. There isn’t much you can do, though, when tripods aren’t an option. Monopod, maybe? Or just practice good bracing and breathing… and squeeeeeze that shutter slowly… and take multiple shots for insurance purposes.
La Colònia Güell, #5, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #16, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #28, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell
No charge for walking around the neighborhood. Stop and have lunch at one of the bar-restaurants. Support the local economy…
La Colònia Güell, #40 (Ca l’Ordal), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #41(Ca l’Ordal), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #42 (Ca l’Ordal), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #38, Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #37 (Independence, or X), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #43 (Ca l’Ordal), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #44 (Founder, Eusebio Güell), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #45 (Teatre Fontova), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #46 (Self-determination is a right, not a crime), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, #47 (Casa del Metge/Doctor’s House), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell (Ca l’Espinal), #48, Catalunya, 2020
The Castle Torre Salvana
Nearby… and maybe the first thing you saw as you arrived, is the turret tower of an old castle, the original edification dating back to the 10th century, with modifications and renovations up through the 19th century. Some call it the “Castillo del infierno” due to the paranormal experiences some claim to have had there. (Don’t enter aloooone!!!)
The castle is not really part of the Colònia Güell, but you can hop the wall and explore. Unfortunately, it’s in a sad state… partiers, ghost hunters, and okupas… Is there no hope for the human bean?
La Colònia Güell, Castell, #1 (El Castell Torre Salvana, Sigle X), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, Castell, #2 (El Castell Torre Salvana, Sigle X), Catalunya, 2020
La Colònia Güell, Castell a Noir, #3 (El Castell Torre Salvana, Sigle X), Catalunya, 2020
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