Dawn, #3. Barcelona, 2018 (Torre Glòries, AKA Torre Agbar, and the Sagrada Famila Temple, from the Park Güell crosses)
A quick consult of The Photographer’s Ephemeris gave me the idea to hoof it up to Park Güell this morning for what promised to be photographic possibilities with Sister Moon and Mother Sun.
It looked like the Moon would still be up, and above the Torre de Collserola/Tibidabo area, as the sun rose. This timing usually works well to reduce the contrast when shooting the brighter Moon above a darker landscape.
Also, this would also be the first real test to see how my new Nikon D850 would work on the tripod with various lenses, including the Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 “bazooka”.
How did it go? Some images and commentary…
My usual dawn viewpoint spot at the three crosses in Park Güell was loosely fenced off when I arrived in the dark. Apparently the Generalitat will be giving the rock turret and the crosses a much-needed Botox treatment over the next few weeks. With no one around but the occasional jogger, I hopped the low ropes and climbed up the worn steps for the above and below two photographs. Fearful of being nabbed by a wandering and bored security bloke, I didn’t stay long.
Next time, I’ll just have to climb the hill behind Park Guell until the three crosses viewpoint is back open.
This shot was with the Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 lens at 130mm, 15 seconds, at f/4. As I always do with slow shutter speeds, I used mirror lock-up along with three seconds set on Exposure Delay Mode–no need for a remote when you do this.
The dawn slowly paints its pink way across the Mediterranean Sea…while hardy masons are arriving at the Sagrada Familia Temple for another dusty day stacking stone on high…and primed and prim executives arrive at the Olympic Towers for another shift piling papers…
Dawn, #1. Barcelona, 2018
Behind me, away from the dawn, the sky was still quite dark, but with a very slight hint of pink…and the Moon was slowly sinking away to the other side of the world–coincidentally, just behind the 1904 Fabra Observatory. On the left is the enormous Torre de Collserola communications tower. You can, on certain days and hours, visit the tenth floor of this needle for a view of much of Catalunya (on a clear, dry day). On the right is the magnificent Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor, ironically and strangely surrounded by the Tibidabo Amusement Park:
Moonset, #3 (Torre de Collserola, Fabra Observatory, Sagrat Cor, and Tibidabo Park). Barcelona, 2018
For this one, I put on the bazooka and shot at 500mm as the full Moon slid down into the trees beside the Fabra Observatory (thanks to The Photographer’s Ephemeris for knowing this would all line up!). Notice the altmospheric distortion around the circumference of the giant cheesy Moon–a drawback of long lenses seeing through a lot of moving, humid, air and over long distances:
Moonset, #5 (Fabra Observatory). Barcelona, 2018
Switching to a super wide-angle view (14mm) toward the emerging Sun, here is a photograph of the one private home in Park Güell, the Casa Martí Trias i Domènech. The original scene had quite a lot of lens distortion–the Sagrada Familia Temple was leaning off to one side, for example–which required some surgical work with the puppet warp tool in Photoshop to fix:
Park Güell Sunrise, #1 (Casa Martí Trias i Domènech). Barcelona, 2018
A slightly different view of the Casa, with bonus Ryan Air contrails:
Park Güell Sunrise, #2 (Casa Martí Trias i Domènech). Barcelona, 2018
On a different, and very anti-establishment, theme…
As you walk down the concrete switchbacks from the three crosses viewpoint to the southernmost Park Güell entrance/ticket station, you will undoubtedly see this unusual building (if you are curious enough to peer over the wall/fence). It was an empty building taken over by the Okupa movement a number of years ago. Except for the roof, it has been repainted since the last time I saw it earlier this year. Have the Okupas moved or been forced out? Or are they just cleaning things up? As you’ll see below, though, the color-blinding, anti-fascist, anti-capitalist murals at street level are still there. So…?
Okupa i Resiste, #1. Barcelona, 2018
Here is what it looked like some four years ago–and up until very recently. Quite a change, eh?
Casa Okupa, Barcelona, 2014
The street level murals at l’Avenguda del Coll del Portell, 59:
Okupa i Resiste, #2. Barcelona, 2018
Detail:
Okupa i Resiste, #3. Barcelona, 2018
“If they touch one, they touch us all.”
Okupa i Resiste, #4. Barcelona, 2018
Anti-Nazi Zone:
Okupa i Resiste, #5. Barcelona, 2018
“For the Club of Ideas in Color (1998-2009)…Nadie, Fuga, Sendys [names of the grafitti artists], May of 2009“. Perhaps this is a representation of a modern nazi storm trooper carrying one of those always-present security cameras used everywhere by governments to monitor the populace?
Okupa i Resiste, #6. Barcelona, 2018
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