La Sagrada Familia Temple and Personal Vision

Sagrada Familia Exterior, #1. Barcelona, 2019

I was talking with a fellow photographer just a few days ago and he reminded me of a great point–a concept that I have harped on in past blog posts (see HERE and HERE) but it’s worth bringing up again. After all, it is what gives all of us image-makers hope that we can indeed create something original–even us amateurs.

To wit:

Take a random group of photographers, all in the same place at the same time, and they will each come up with completely different images.

Why? Because each one has a unique upbringing, a unique background, so therefore each sees the world (and the scene) differently. That is, each will have a unique vision. This means that each will record the scene quite differently, typically through their choices of:

–perspective

–composition

–shutter speed/exposure

–lens and focal length

–f-stop (sharpness, depth of field)

–post-processing technique (B&W, color, HDR, multiple layering, fantasy-distortions…endless possibilities here)

Going to the exact same spot on different days or different times of day will yield even greater differences due to:

–the light (sunrise, mid-day, sunset, overcast/diffuse, bright sun, direct or indirect light, backlighting, shadows, etc.)

–the weather (cloudy, rainy, windy, dusty, clear skies, etc.)

–the photographer’s mood (it will influence what he/she pays attention to, or “sees”)

Take the Temple of the Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona, for example, arguably the most iconic landmark in the city and visited by millions each year. Likely billions of images have been captured of the place with no two exactly alike. Yes, some are very similar, but others are original or even bizarre or surrealistic in the extreme. Take a gander at Google Images of Sagrada Familia to see what I mean.

In my case, I’m partial to the above image in monochrome. The clouds were dark and stormy making a B&W conversion a no-brainer for me as it fits my style.

On the other hand, the image below I processed in color. The light of the setting sun hitting the golden facade, in dramatic contrast to the deep blue of the clearing sky, meant that color became an essential element of the composition and needed to stay (IMHO, anyway).

In both cases, though, I deliberately used the trees to partially shield the Temple itself. I did this in part as homage to Gaudí whose architecture is often grounded in the idea of mimicking nature, but also simply because I found it to be pleasing to my hairy eyeball–and maybe I thought it a tad bit mysterious. If you look at Google Images of Sagrada Family you will notice that very few, if any, of the photographs depict the Temple behind a barrier of trees as I have done–that’s the idea of a “personal vision”.

Photographing an iconic tourist landmark that has already been shutterbugged to death by the hordes is a challenge. But, if you just relax into yourself a bit, and think about what it is YOU see in the scene that captures YOUR eye, then you stand a great chance of coming away with something original.

Sagrada Familia Exterior, #10. Barcelona, 2019