Barcelona has a very diverse culture through its architecture, history, and everyday life. I wanted to capture the smaller details of those aspects of the city with street photography. This form of photography is capturing candid moments of individuals and places with the goal of creating stories of authentic moments. With the use of black and white, I wanted to bring focus to the subject without the distraction of color to better focus on the stories being told within the photos.
Roaming through the streets of Barcelona, you’ll see a wide range of people, but a consistent hobby seen throughout is skateboarding. With big flat walkable streets, the city is made for experimentation on how you want to travel. Skateboarders typically have their favorite spots such as the Nevermind Bar, or Placa de la Universitat and they will be there all hours of the day. The fashion found within the skating community also plays a big role in expressing their individuality. Exploring these areas you’ll find skaters wearing fashion a variety of unique styles which makes for interesting subject matter.
Skateboarder pulling off a trick outside the Barcelona zoo.
The Gothic Quarter in Barcelona has some of the more unique architecture since it’s the oldest part of the entire city. There are certainly big breathtaking pieces of architecture such as the Cathedral de Barcelona or the Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona. But what interested me most while exploring was the smaller details. How light hits a building creates a lot of contrast between the lighter and darker areas. Even looking up gives you an interesting perspective of how jam-packed the city is. Having so many buildings crammed together I felt created interesting shadows that aren’t really seen in cities in the United States.
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- The Gothic Quarter in Barcelona has the oldest architecture in the city. It’s interesting to see how it still stands to this day.
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- Walking along Las Rambles, a lively street with vendors and shop. You’ll see a variety of buildings which give interesting shadows with the hard light of the afternoon sun.
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- There are many statues found within the Gothic Quarter.
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- There is a lot of character seeing all the imperfections on the buildings. This was the side of an apartment building, but has clearly been added onto and built upon through the years.
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- Pigeons are everywhere and a bunch where circling this particular street pole in El Born.
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- Barcelona has a wide range of architecture. Inside an enclosed space where Roman ruins are being held the glass ceiling produced an interesting reflection from the light.
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- A side street in the Gothic Quarter. It gives perspective how cramped the city is.
Aside from the architecture, there are a lot of tourists who travel through the gothic quarter, which means you’ll see a wide range of people. Around any corner, you could stumble across a busker or a street performer. Whether they are playing live music or doing a comedy routine, many stop to watch because these performers are very talented. These performers get very creative with how they busk. One of the more unique ‘attractions’ I saw was with a man who captured about 20 parakeets. He made makeshift collars out of zip ties and created a roadside feeding station for people to feed his birds.
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- A busker performing in El Born near the Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona.
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- A zip tie wrapped around it’s neck. This parakeet is used as a street attraction.
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- A violinist performing near the Catederal de Barcelona.
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- In front of the Catedral de Barcelona, a couple watch a performance.
Moving outside of the Gothic Quarter, many people in Barcelona are doing similar activities we would find in the United States. Construction is found everywhere with maintaining roads or remodeling old buildings. Kids are seen running through parks as an exercise for their school sports team and old men feed the local wildlife from the fresh bread they bought from the market. Taking your dog with you is also very common since many businesses are pet friendly, but you might find a dog waiting for their owner every once in a while.
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- A dog waits patiently for their owner to return.
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- Inside the fresh market, two people cut up fish to be purchased.
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- Someone dropping off a package at a construction site giving the workers instructions.
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- A group of kids getting in exercise for their school sport run through the arches of Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona.
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- A man shares his bread with the pigeons in El Born.
Barcelona is a city of diverse culture which beckons street photographers to capture its authentic stories. From the skateboarding subculture and captivating Gothic Quarter architecture to vibrant street performers and everyday activities. Barcelona’s streets pulse with unique tales, inviting photographers to capture a visual narrative that celebrates its uniqueness.