Street View: Barcelona & Madrid

Stefan Ferreira , , , , , , ,

I have always suffered some subconsciously-held prejudices about Spain, based on rather clichéd images of package holidays, an overdeveloped coastline, British people insisting on being served real ale and full English breakfasts in their mother tongue, stag weekends and general loutishness.

All of this depends, of course, on where you go and what you seek out when you get there. On a recent trip to Barcelona and Madrid I was impressed by the infectious energy, a sense of history, great architecture, and an effortless co-existence of young and old. It’s the kind of place where you just want to be out on the street to soak up the atmosphere, sample delicious food and pick up fashion tips.

There are plenty of dynamics and contrasts to feed the photographer’s eye, and I tried to capture this sense of continual movement, vibrancy, dramatic light and contrasting signs of prosperity and poverty that permeate the urban landscape.

 

Three boys skateboarding down a side street
People walking down a busy side street at sunset in Barcelona
Legless beggar in a wheelchair, with smartly dressed woman walking past
Old female beggar in a dark coat, sat in an alleyway
Young woman in red coat, and man in red trousers entering a shop
Glass pane with rebellion written on it, with an advertising poster of four people in the background
Human statue dressed in gold, standing next to a McDonalds sign
Box with graffiti and person walking past in the distance
Pigeons fluttering down a side street
Door with graffiti, blue and white arrow sign and man walking past
Old woman in black, pausing on the pavement with her walking stick
Old man dressed in black taking a walk along the harbourside
Boy in jeans and jacket on roller blade
Boy on skateboarding down a side street into the sunset
Man and woman on bicycle
Man walking on the pavement, with a yellow and black taxi speeding past
Kids skateboarding down an alleyway
Boy running whilst kicking football down the street
Group of older men playing board games on the beachfront
Three boys skateboarding down a side street
People walking down a busy side street at sunset in Barcelona
Legless beggar in a wheelchair, with smartly dressed woman walking past
Old female beggar in a dark coat, sat in an alleyway
Young woman in red coat, and man in red trousers entering a shop
Glass pane with rebellion written on it, with an advertising poster of four people in the background
Human statue dressed in gold, standing next to a McDonalds sign
Box with graffiti and person walking past in the distance
Pigeons fluttering down a side street
Door with graffiti, blue and white arrow sign and man walking past
Old woman in black, pausing on the pavement with her walking stick
Old man dressed in black taking a walk along the harbourside
Boy in jeans and jacket on roller blade
Boy on skateboarding down a side street into the sunset
Man and woman on bicycle
Man walking on the pavement, with a yellow and black taxi speeding past
Kids skateboarding down an alleyway
Boy running whilst kicking football down the street
Group of older men playing board games on the beachfront