Doors & Shops (Barcelona, Spain - 2/2009)

I never went into any of them.

Back to Gaudí (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

I <3 Gaudí.

Does Anyone Else See Coral? (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

Anyone?

More lighting fixtures. (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

 

Oh, the strange obsessions that I have...I just think they're beautiful. I like examining things like lighting fixtures and fencing material in other countries because I think it's intriguing how design reflects the unique sensibilities of its native culture. I guess lighting fixtures are a little different because they're meant to be part of a larger aesthetic, but the idea is that their function and practicality are expressible in so many ways. What am I saying? I don't know. It's 1PM and I'm taking a 10-minute break from writing about open source software.

Anyways, the lighting fixtures above adorned the ceilings of a museum honoring a lesser known Spanish artist from the 1800s.

Shop at night. (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

I was on a side street in Las Ramblas in the middle of the night. Stores were still open, their colors deeper and more saturated than what's permitted by daylight.

Not sure if I thought anything more about this moment other than that it was really beautiful.

From Inside a Mansion: La Pedrera (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

From inside a mansion.

I like lighting fixtures. (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

Who knew there were such simple, clean lines inside La Sagrada Familia?

I Heart Gaudi (and Jesus). (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

While in Barcelona, I stayed at a hostel just a couple of blocks away from La Sagrada Familia.

I made two trips and I spent much of my time examining Gospel vignettes and admiring the shadows cast by construction scaffolding that decked the unfinished exterior.

Stalking the homeless. (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

I saw a homeless man sleeping in the middle of the Gothic Quarter at 4 in the afternoon. Was it creepy of me to stand there taking pictures of him for 20 minutes as people walked by?

"israel fuera libano!" (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

Thank you, Barcelona, for politically charged graffiti in the bad part of town. Thank you, Canon G10, for being so gracious in low-light.

Here are a couple of shots of more colorful graffiti. I <3 graffiti.

I like to travel alone. (Barcelona, Spain; 2/2009)

I like vacationing with friends, but there's a special freedom that's unique to being completely alone in a foreign place.

You decide when or whether or not you eat; when you wake; where you go; what you do...and when to finally stop standing in the freezing rain just to get a decent shot of Barcelona at night, with one of the only real light sources being a giant cross beaming in the far distance.