Catalunya

Pequeño homenaje a un gran escritor, Carlos Ruiz Zafón

El puente de la calle del Bisbe que une la Generalitat con la casa dels Canonges es una de las postales de Barcelona. No hay turista que no se lleve una fotografía de la pasarela, uno de los iconos del Barri Gòtic. Y eso, a pesar de que el puente no tiene ni cien años de existencia. En efecto, fue uno de los elementos añadidos en la década de los 20 del siglo XX durante la rehabilitación del centro histórico de la ciudad.

Hacer fotos de este rincón no es tarea fácil, o al menos a mi no me lo pareció. Todo y que es una de las fotografías más famosas de Barcelona.

The Shadow of the Wind

Small tribute to a great writer, Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Calle Bisbe bridge that links the Generalitat with the Casa dels Canonges is one of the most famous postcards of Barcelona. There is no tourist who does not take a photograph of the walkway, one of the icons of the Barri Gòtic. And that, despite the fact that the bridge is not even 100 years old. Indeed, it was one of the elements added in the 1920s during the rehabilitation of the city's historic center.

Taking photos of this corner is not an easy task, or at least it did not seem so to me. Although it is one of the most famous pictures of Barcelona.

Barcelona, November 2016

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Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/2mJwc8X

Enjoying the end of the day in 'Casa de la Serra de Dalt'. This is an HDR shot made up of 5 shots taken in autobraking mode (-1.4Ev; -0.7Ev; 0Ev; +0.7Ev; 1.4Ev). A 'Gobe' CPL Polarizer Filter was used. You can read additional technical information in my profile (about section).

The second picture from a series that I took while having a nice sunset near the sea.

It was taken near 'La Jovera (Tamarit), just aside from the trail (Carrer A) to walk from Tamarit to 'Platja de la Mora'.

It is an experiment since this shot is made up of six shots which were taken from 20:06 to 20:20, and blended as HDR.

Walking near the coast in Costa Brava, near Calella de Palafrugell, you can imagine interesting things while admiring the sea and nature.

This is a hard edition of this shot where the sea and skype is managed in a soft focus. You can see the soft one following this link:

www.flickr.com/photos/fersg/39763556243/in/photostream/

Views from 'El Castellot', in Castellvi de la Marca, Alt Penedès.

This panorama is made up of three landscape shots in autobraking (0Ev; -2Ev; +2Ev). It was processed with Enfuse for getting three HDR canvas, and with Hugin for blending the panorama, and with Darktable 3.4 for the general treatment from raw until the final version.

Most of the job was done as scene-referred with "Linear Rec2020 RGB". In the first stage (the scene-referred one) were applied plugins like White Balance, Calibration Color for WB, many Calibration Color for color and contrast adjustments, Denoise modules, Lens correction, Tone Equalizer, Contrast Equalizer, Local Contrast, and RGBFilmic (v4). In a second stage (the display-referred one) specific saturation adjustments with Color Balance and a personalized Orton effect was applied with a gradual blur from the foreground area to the background area. Finally, a little frame was applied.

This shot was taken in Calella de Palafrugell, Costa Brava, Catalonia on the 31st December 2018.

This is a 3 shots panorama taken in landscape mode made up with Hugin and managed before and after with Darktable. Each shot was taken in autobraking mode (Ev0 ; Ev-2 ; Ev+2) and merged as HDR with Darktable. Main plugins: Tone Curve, many Highpass filter, Lowpass filter, Channel Mixer, Global Tone Map, Velvia, and others.

Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/2mcrpez

This is a long exposure (2.5 seconds for the main shot) and HDR shot made up of 5 shots taken in autobraking mode (-1.4Ev; -0.7Ev; 0Ev; +0.7Ev; 1.4Ev). It was used:

• Haida Neutral filter of 6 steps (1.8 ND)
• Gobe CPL Polarizer Filter
• Gobe UV filter

When the sun reaches paradise.

This HDR long exposition shot (4s-1s-16s) has been processed with the new pipeline suggested with the arrival of Darktable 3.2, being used Enfuse for the HDR blending.

So after getting the HDR Canvas, in a first stage were applied plugins like White Balance, Denoise modules, Lens correction, Tone Equalizer (with additional help with Lowpass filter), Haze Removal, Local Contrast, Contrast Equalizer, and RGBFilmic (v4) with "Linear Rec2020 RGB" profile. In a second stage were applied color adjustments with Velvia and Local contrast with "Abobe RGB Profile".

Finally, an Orton effect was applied with a blur only on the far tree behind the scene.

A Haida ND 1,8 filter was needed.

Peaceful in Monestir de Sant Joan de les Abadeses' cloister.

Playing with white streams in Es Colodar beach at the sunset

Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/2aHLJqS

It was a cloudy sunrise on that beach below Cap Roig Hotel in Costa Brava, Catalonia. This shot was taken at 7:37, 24 minutes before the sunrise.

It was really relaxing to be there enjoying colours and the sound of the sea.

More pictures from that day and location can be seen in this album: www.flickr.com/photos/fersg/albums/72157676556069928

It was a cloudy sunrise on that beach near Cap Roig Hotel in Costa Brava, Catalonia. This shot was taken at 7:56, 4 minutes before the sunrise.

It was really relaxing to be there enjoying colors and the sound of the sea.

More pictures from those days and location can be seen in this album: www.flickr.com/photos/fersg/albums/72157676556069928

It was a cloudy sunrise on that beach near Cap Roig Hotel in Costa Brava, Catalonia. This shot was taken at 7:41, 20 minutes before the sunrise.

It was really relaxing to be there enjoying colors and the sound of the sea.

More pictures from those days and location can be seen in this album: www.flickr.com/photos/fersg/albums/72157676556069928

Sun captured before hiding behind rocks

Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/2iCu94W

First picture from a serie that I took while having a nice sunset near the sea.

It was taken near 'La Jovera (Tamarit), just aside of the trail (Carrer A) to walk from Tamarit to 'Platja de la Mora'.

It was a cloudy sunrise on that beach below Cap Roig Hotel in Costa Brava, Catalonia. This shot was taken at 7:37, 24 minutes before the sunrise.

It was really relaxing to be there enjoying colours and the sound of the sea.

More pictures from that day and location can be seen in this album: www.flickr.com/photos/fersg/albums/72157676556069928

Shot taken from dam of "Foix swamp" (Pantà de Foix).

This is a long exposure shot (15 seconds) processed under the scene-referred paradigm with Darktable from RAW. It was taken with:

• Haida Neutral filter of 10 steps (3.0 ND)
• 'Gobe' CPL Polarizer Filter.

You can read additional technical information in my profile (about section).

Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/2gjta6X

It is one of the many falls in Canaletes village (Alt Penedes Catalonia). It was a shame to visit it at the beginning of summer since there was really little water flowing.

Simple shot in Manual mode with 12.5 minutes of exposition. It was taken with a double filter (Haida ND3.0 {100 steps} and Haida ND1.8 {6 steps}).

After, It was processed with Darktable creating the basic canvas for AdobeRGB with the Logarithmic option for Unbreak input profile. Then, additional plugins like Tone Curve, Highpass filters (not water), Local contrast (not water), Lowpass filters, Haze removal, some denoise plugins, and others were applied.

Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/2jwAJKL

An attempt at creative composition based on a lake and wood pier.

After months of local confinement, I was free to travel 30 Km far from my house and take pictures of the Mediterranean Sea.

I was lucky of enjoying a rough sea and a nice Palette of colors.

Enjoying powerful sensations while taking this shot.

This is a long exposure (10 seconds for the main shot) and HDR shot made up of 5 shots taken in autobraking mode (-1.4Ev; -0.7Ev; 0Ev; +0.7Ev; 1.4Ev). It was used:

• Haida Neutral filter of 6 steps (1.8 ND)
• Gobe CPL Polarizer Filter

Extracted and translated from wikipedia: ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catedral_del_vi

A wine cathedral is, in the Catalan sphere, a cooperative winery with a large ship built in the Modernist style approximately between 1910 and 1920.

The architects that designed this type of construction are Cèsar Martinell (disciple of Antoni Gaudí) or Pere Domènech i Roura, among others. The denomination was created by Àngel Guimerà to refer, initially, to the Cooperative Winery of the Espluga de Francolí and later extended to the Cooperative Winery of Gandesa and other similar cellars. These buildings have in common their characteristic architectural style, as well as the size of the ships.

The name of the wine cathedral is explained above all by the aesthetics (for example, by the facade and the vaults of the ceiling) and by the dimensions. Keep in mind, on the other hand, that the beauty and other peculiarities of these works are linked to functionality. It is a specific conception of modernism, in which the aesthetics and functionality were built on the wall; and so is seen in many other modernist works that are wineries like the attic of La Pedrera in Barcelona, the Palace of Catalan Music of Barcelona, the Institute Pere Mata de Reus or slaughterhouses Modernist Tortosa among others.

After months of local confinement, I was free to travel 30 Km far from my house and take pictures of the Mediterranean Sea.

I was lucky of enjoying a rough sea and a nice Palette of colors.

It was a cloudy sunrise on that beach below Cap Roig Hotel in Costa Brava, Catalonia. This shot was taken at 7:37, 24 minutes before the sunrise.

It was really relaxing to be there enjoying colors and the sound of the sea.

More pictures from that day and location can be seen in this album: www.flickr.com/photos/fersg/albums/72157676556069928

A reminder of war consequences.

Extracted from wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corbera_d%27Ebre

"The town was completely destroyed during the Battle of the Ebro (25 July–16 November 1938) and although the lower part of the town was rebuilt, the upper part, known as Poble Vell (Old Town), including the old church on the hill, has been kept as a reminder.

The town has one of the five information centres run by COMEBE, a public consortium, including the Generalitat de Catalunya, that was founded in 2001 to recover the historical memory of the areas in which the 115-day-long Battle of the Ebro, the longest, bloodiest and most decisive battle of the Spanish Civil War, took place. The Centre d'interpretació de la batalla de l'Ebre (Battle of the Ebro Information Centre) has marked paths on a circuit around the area."

This is a Mas Tinell winery building located at Vilafranca del Penedes, Catalonia. It is a special building which features innovative architecture and an amazing structure resembling a collection of stacked wine bottles with a Gaudí-esque, mosaic-tiled roof.

Both my son and I signed this shot. It was a pleasure to explain to my son -a 10 years old child- the technic for long exposure shots with filter and hdr long exposure shots.

"Coll del Port" near Tuixent, Pyrenees, Catalonia.

One could dream in violets while the sunset in "Cala de l'Aigua Xelida" -Costa Brava- was coming.

This is a surviving church in Corbera d'Ebre old town.

A reminder of war consequences.

Extracted from wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corbera_d%27Ebre

"The town was completely destroyed during the Battle of the Ebro (25 July–16 November 1938) and although the lower part of the town was rebuilt, the upper part, known as Poble Vell (Old Town), including the old church on the hill, has been kept as a reminder.

The town has one of the five information centres run by COMEBE, a public consortium, including the Generalitat de Catalunya, that was founded in 2001 to recover the historical memory of the areas in which the 115-day-long Battle of the Ebro, the longest, bloodiest and most decisive battle of the Spanish Civil War, took place. The Centre d'interpretació de la batalla de l'Ebre (Battle of the Ebro Information Centre) has marked paths on a circuit around the area."

Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/2mJUWom

Clouds and trees.

This is an HDR shot made up of 5 shots taken in autobraking mode (-1.4Ev; -0.7Ev; 0Ev; +0.7Ev; 1.4Ev). A 'Gobe' CPL Polarizer Filter was used. You can read additional technical information in my profile (about section).