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Design Museum of Barcelona

This is one side of the Design Museum of Barcelona (Museu del Disseny de Barcelona). I was lucky to have been stranded in Barcelona for a few days and just happen to get a hotel right next door to this. While the city has more than enough ancient architecture, it is also a center for modern design and architecture that, beginning with Antonio Gaudi, spans the full breadth of imagination.

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Design Museum of Barcelona
Design Museum of Barcelona I took while stranded in Barcelona

On the day that I took the clouds reflected on the windows of the building creating this unusual effect. This is an example of why I am just happy to walk around with a camera; unexpected things will appear all around.

more architecture photography

I can get hyper-focused on small details and so I try to be aware of that with this particular type of photography. For instance, I might look at the shapes of the windows and miss the clouds reflected in them. Sometimes it takes a little effort to see interesting compositions right in front of me. Nevertheless, just by getting out and looking around it usually happens, like this, in unexpected ways.

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Canyons of Glass

In New York City, the buildings on each side of the street are like canyons of glass. The last time I was there I booked a hotel in midtown and the first thing I did was open the curtains and look out; not surprisingly the view was another set of windows facing right back at me.

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Canyons of Glass
Canyons of glass in New York City

It was late at night and all the offices were empty despite the lights being on. I was intrigued by the checkerboard pattern and took several shots at various times of the day. This is one of a dozen or so and perhaps my favorite.

more photos from nyc

When I look out across the high-rises of New York at night I get mesmerized by the three-dimensional ocean of humanity. It makes me think of futuristic visions of vertical cityscapes depicted in science fiction. And who knows, maybe that’s what it will look like in another hundred years or so. And in our science fiction future we’ll have flying vehicles that allow us to park on the upper floors without ever touching the ground. I saw it in a movie so I know it’s true.

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A Rainy Day In Rome

I took this while walking around in the rain in the middle of summer. Even though it was raining it was warm and humid, not unlike Florida. However unlike Florida the energy of the city was entirely unique to me. I was very happy to be here, especially in the rain, because of the atmosphere it created.

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A Rainy Day In Rome
A Rainy Day In Rome

For each image this week I’ve used Topaz to render part of the scene in an impressionistic style. In this scene all but the central subject has been “painted” by the software while I blended in the original image of the lady with the umbrella.

Having the ability to blend photos opens up choices in terms of artistic expression. I combine renderings of the software with realistic aspects of a photo. Then I work with color, saturation, contrast and shadows so I can re-create a scene more from my mind than actual event. In some cases that suits my preferences as it relates to photography.

the full gallery

I’ll continue to use this technique here and there. It’s all part of a creative process enabled by a fusion of technology, personal expression and photography.

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Agbar Tower

This is an artistic rendering of the Agbar Tower in Barcelona. A few days ago I posted a section of the tower at night. The tower is so fantastic to look at that I couldn’t help but take a bunch of photos. Also, I was staying at the hotel right next door.

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Agbar Tower
Agbar Tower in Barcelona

I worked a long time on this in post-production. First of all it’s a vertorama of three stacked images. I was standing about block away yet it was too big to fit in the frame with my 35mm lens. Later I rendered the sky in Topaz and masked in the tower and the people. That’s a quick description of a long but enjoyable process I used to get to the final image.

Speaking of final images, I worked so long on this it feels incomplete. Whenever I perform any kind of detailed work I have a tendency to want to keep fiddling with it. That also applies to other areas, not just photography.

more architecture images

In any case, at night this tower is lit and can be seen from all around Barcelona. Figuring it would be a challenge I wanted to create a daytime impression as well and this is what I ended up with.

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Old Section of Salerno

When I was in Salerno it rained like cats and dogs. Italy had been in a drought that was just broken with a few days of heavy rain. Despite that I was happy to walk around looking for compositions while sheltering under entryways.

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Old Section of Salerno
Old Section of Salerno Italy

I took this during one particularly heavy downpour. I was forced to stay in one spot for an extended period, which in retrospect was a good thing. It’s sometimes better to pick a spot and let the world come to you. If you wait patiently, all kinds of interesting scenes will appear no matter where you are.

This is in an old shopping district of Salerno. The buildings and shops looked like they haven’t changed much in a hundred years. I got the sense that some shop keepers carried on traditions from one generation to the next.

more monochrome images

As the rain let up I continued to walk and eventually the narrow streets opened up into a newer section of town. The shops there were brand-name boutiques you’d recognize in any mall. As for me I preferred the character of the old section much more.

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As Luck Would Have It

As luck would have it I ended up in New York on the hottest three days of summer. It was stifling during the day and muggy late into the evening. When it started to rain I headed down to Times Square to take some photos. Despite the crazy weather some people still showed up to see the sights. It was an amazing experience to be there in those conditions because there was so much to photograph.

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As Luck Would Have It
As Luck Would Have It – In New York City

I have an idea in my mind to capture people in crowded places. It seems I’m always traveling to places that are heavily populated. So rather than try to pretend people are not there I look for ways to make the crowds part of the composition.

I enjoy this idea because it allows me to examine things in a different light. The images are studies of crowds and crowded places. A natural inclination for landscape photography is to not include people but with urban exploration it has a different set of rules.

more new york photos

Maybe I see aspects of myself in the faces of crowds. Regardless, it’s why I call these types of images studies, because from them, I have something to learn.

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What I Saw in My Mind

Walking to the train one morning in Vancouver I noticed this cruise ship at dock. It arrived a few hours earlier and was preparing for another voyage to Alaska. A common site in the summer but nonetheless it looked awesome in the morning light so I took a few photos; this is what I saw in my mind. Let me explain…

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What I Saw in My Mind
What I Saw in My Mind – From Vancouver BC

I spent a lot of time on this photo to make it look like what you see here. The original photo didn’t look so pretty. It had a lot of distractions, including other boats and a parking lot in the lower right. So I manipulated it to make it look like what I thought I saw. What we perceive is usually different than what we see. In other words, we perceive what we want to see and have a tendency to screen the rest; so this image is now closer to what I thought I saw.

At the time I only noticed the boat, it stood out because it wasn’t there the day before. I also noticed the soft light of the morning sun reflecting on the side. I thought to myself that it was an awesome scene, but when I looked at the image later there were other things I didn’t remember seeing, like the parking lot for instance. Rather than get disappointed and throw it away, it became a challenge for me to see if I could replicate my initial impression.

more images from Vancouver

To my way of thinking the practice of photography is an expression of art. If I just want to record an event I snap a photo with my phone. But “photography” can be more than that. That doesn’t mean it should always be manipulated, but it should tell a story. In this case I did indeed manipulate it so that I could convey the story what I perceived in my mind on that summer morning in Vancouver.

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Near the Old Cathedral

On my last night in Barcelona I walked around the gothic quarter until quite late. For some reason I always find cool things to see near the old cathedral.

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Near the Old Cathedral
Near the Old Cathedral in Barcelona

In this case it was some guy with a guitar singing classic ballads from Bob Marley, Tracy Chapman and others. He had a full voice and his melodies echoed against the walls of the ancient cathedral. When I first came upon him there were only a three people listening, but within fifteen minutes he had gathered a crowd of thirty.

He was so good that it left an impression on me and I can still hear him in my head. But I think it’s not unusual for a summer nights in Barcelona. That’s why it is one of my favorite places to hang out.

more night photos

Scenes like this are very much why I like street photography at night. There is a completely different atmosphere and mood, and when that is combined with amazing architecture and music it’s irresistible.

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Stray Away from the Main Square

I wasn’t in Venice long but managed to walk along the city edges one afternoon where I saw things resembling normal life. If you stray away from the main square you eventually end up in areas were things are a little quieter. I have no idea who this man is, but looking at this several weeks later reminded me of what I was thinking about at the time.

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Stray Away from the Main Square
Stray Away from the Main Square in Venice Italy

Amongst the canals and stone houses are things like a grocery store, a florist and a hospital. I saw city workers picking up the trash. It was those kinds of domestic norms that I found oddly comforting. Walking through an unfamiliar environment can be a disorienting until you recognize things that we have in common, then it starts to feel a little less foreign.

other images with a bridge in it

It’s nice to see the historic squares and cathedrals, but seeing how people live day to day is just as interesting. W all go through the similar routines of life, yet we are also products of our environment, language and culture. So casually observing the interplay of these in a quiet section of town can be just as fulfilling as standing in the middle of St Marks Square.

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Path Station at the World Trade Center

I never saw the old one, but this is the new Path Station at the World Trade Center. I used to ride the Path train every day from Jersey City to Penn Station. That was years ago when I worked in midtown. On a recent trip I walked by this station after visiting One World Observatory. The new station is amazing to look at under the massive ribs of Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus.

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Path Station at the World Trade Center
Path Station at the World Trade Center in New York City

Santiago is a Spanish architect and you should check out his work. I first became aware of him through a building in Lakeland Florida that I’ve driven by many times. I stopped by once to take a few images of that as well. Then, several years ago when I saw the construction of the Oculus I knew it must be the same architect. By the way, I added the red color in post-production just because I liked the effect, in reality it’s white.

This station is connected to a mall with high-end shops. There’s a nice bistro where I had a coffee before checking out the two-level Apple store. If there are two things New York has no shortages of, it’s coffee and Apple stores; and I mean that in a good way. My first Mac was purchased from the flagship store on 5th Avenue. There’s something fun about getting a Mac from one of these big stores. However these days I just order it online because it seems like less hassle.

more architecture photography

The mall is impressive whether you shop or just walk around and take pictures. I came here on one of the hottest days of the year so just having an air-conditioned place to hangout was a bonus. I’m due for a new Mac soon so maybe I’ll use that as an excuse to come back up here and go to the Apple store. Not that I really need an excuse but it sounds like a fun idea.