Spring in Barcelona
After the successful trip to Paris in 2013, the club decided to organise a second trip abroad. The Beautiful City of Barcelona was the chosen destination with April as the time frame. Spring in Barcelona was everything and more.
Location, Location, Location
The group arrived following an early flight to a grey day in Barcelona! Having checked in to the hotel and deposited their bags, the group used the rest of the day to study the tourist maps and check out the area around the hotel and were delighted to find it ran parallel to Las Ramblas.
An early breakfast the next day and so began a jam packed three day photo shoot. The Hop On Hop Off bus was ideal for getting around the busy city. The Sagrada Familia , Placa de Catalunya, Parc Guell, Montjuic, Poble Espanol …. so many places to see and photograph. The group thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to photograph this fantastic city.
Exhibition
Offaly County Council kindly allowed Tullamore Camera Club to exhibit in the atrium of the council buildings in Tullamore. Seeing your framed photos on display gives such a sense of accomplishment.
Each member selected one of the many photographs they had taken as their main print and each wrote a few words on how and why they liked the photograph.
Below are the chosen photographs and the stories:
‘Spanish Lace’ by Goretti O’Dea
What a wonderful surprise when I stopped at the back of the La Sagrada Familia and saw hundreds of women making lace in a sun filled park. The soothing tap of hundreds of wooden bobbins being deftly passed over each other and the heads of the Catalan lace-makers cast down on their own work as if in prayer, their fingers moving expertly as a concert pianist’s to select the bobbin they need. All light is cast on the threads. Someone speaks and everyone laughs. The lace is slowly created.
Since its creation, lace making provided a livelihood for women home-makers across Europe because of the constant demand from the bourgeoisie to be seen wearing lace as a show of wealth. The most sought-after Spanish lace was the fine black lace historically used for mantillas (the silk lace veils worn over the head and shoulders on formal occasions across Spain). There are thought to be somewhere around 3000 lace-makers in the Barcelona.
Just another moment to capture in the beautiful city of Barcelona.
‘Magic in Montjuic’ by Bridie Roe
When trying to plan the trip to Barcelona (so many sights to see) the fountains at Montjuic were top of the list for everyone. As we traveled in April the viewing times were limited. We arrived at Montjuic about 5pm and strolled around taking this photo and that one before we selected our ring side standing positions. Then about 6.50pm the fountains stopped!
It was the quiet before the grand performance… unfortunately the grand performance didn’t start until 8.50pm … not knowing if it was even going ahead the choice was ‘should we stay or should we go?’ Stay we did and as the crowds kept coming and coming, we knew we were in for a treat – as soon as they began the first few notes of Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe’s duet ‘Barcelona’ the crowd began to clap. The lights came on in tune with the music and the gushing water and the entire performance was mesmerising.
It was one (and there were a few) of the highlights of the trip to Barcelona …Another trip to capture what was missed may be on the cards. A wonderful city and a great weekend with the Tullamore Camera Club members.
‘Spanish Sail Boat’ by Brendan Beaudelot
Having passed the Columbus Monument on the way to the harbour, it was only fitting to have a sail boat on the water beside the bridge, a symbol of the history of Spain and the lands it discovered in the past.
What struck me most was how peaceful the craft looked moored at the dock. Knowing how rough and forceful the sea can be, this craft had the appearance of a sleeping giant ready to deal with any conditions the oceans could throw at it.
The sea was calm, the sky blue and the atmosphere was of one long holiday. People strolled along the pier, stopping to take photographs, like the couple just forward of the bow. I too took my turn, set my camera to ISO 200 and exposure to 1/160 sec. I would have liked and F-Stop at 22 but to keep the speed up I chose F14. This still gave me enough to keep the boat and the buildings sharp. With any good shot, a splash of red goes along way to enhance any colours in the rest of the photograph so the car and the bridge behind the craft were a bonus in the shot.
This was one of those days where one walked and took shots from dawn to dusk, not often repeated but remembered over and over again when the picture is viewed on returning to Ireland.
‘Poble Espanyol – Spanish Village’ by Martina Martin
When the club were planning their trip, there was one location on the list that I was determined to visit. Poble Espanyol is located at the foot of the Montjuic and is one of the most attractive sites of the city of Barcelona. The walled village consists of buildings replication the myriad of buildings from all regions of Spain.
When you arrive at Poble Espanyol, you are invited to enter through a replica of the gate of the Castilian City of Avila. What greets you once inside is a Spanish cultural experience of almost 50,000 M2. In some buildings craftsmen continue to show their skills in open workshops, such as in the Andalusian quarter of glass blowers. Shops selling their wares blend into the streets in an unobtrusive way, not distracting the eye from the beauty of this magical place.
The many restaurants and coffee shops are all too inviting and you couldn’t visit this place as a tick box exercise, you need time to wander, have a sit and soak up the amazing ambiance of the place.
I fell in love with this particular street as the senses were battling the fragrance of oranges clinging to branches almost at hand grasp, to the wafts of chocolate oozing from the chocolate shop on the right and the unknown of what loomed ahead of me – a sheer delight.
Check out more pictures from the Barcelona trip in the album below
Read more of our stories from Barcelona here
Read about our first Camera Club trip to Paris
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