Street Photography in Barcelona

The Modern, Urban Couple. Barcelona, 2014

This visit I haven’t felt strongly moved to push myself with the street photography for some reason. This, despite the fact that Barcelona is quite the “target rich” environment. Add that to the fact that tourist-wielding cameras (sic) are so dern and utterly ubiquitous–thus, taken for granted–and you have a great environment for the budding, neophyte, tyro of a street photographer (like me).

The above image is an example of the “distant” nature of my street photography right now. Maybe I’ll get in the mood to push it a little more later on during our stay.

If street pics are your thing, though, probably the best areas to work would be the Gothic Quarter, the La Rambla and Port Vell area, maybe Barceloneta, and very especially El Raval, formerly known as the Chinese Quarter. (These days, I think the Fuji x100s or an iPhone would be great for such work, as opposed to a big, loud, honkin’, brick of a DSLR.)

And speaking of that last location I mention, there is a photography exhibition of the work of Joan Colom currently at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya on Montjuic (until May 25, 2014). Well worth it. You’ll so his early work from the 1960s, then his later work from the 1990s and early 2000s.

His technique–as he cruised the “Barrio Chino” was to “shoot from the hip” so his subjects for the most part did not know they were being photographed. Many of his images concentrate on the drunks, the poor, the immigrants, the working class, and the prostitutes, and some are quite powerful. I especially liked his newer work done in color. (Interesting anecdote…a complaint by one of his subjects was–apparently–largely the cause of the hiatus in his work from the 60s to the 90s. So, be sensitive and don’t push things toooo much out there in “asphalt urbania”!)

(NOTE: If you use my SEARCH box and type in “street photography”, or if you click on “Cityscapes, Urban & Street” in the index list, you’ll find a number of other blog posts on street photography.)

A scattering of some very recent street images…