Casa Batllo, Barcelona

Casa Batllo is a masterpiece by Antoni Gaudi located at Passeig de Gracia, in the center of Barcelona, Spain. The building was a remodel of a previously built house and was redesigned in 1904 by Gaudi and has been refurbished several times after that. Casa Batllo evokes the creativity and playfulness of Gaudí’s work through the incrassate facades and creative floors. Its unique interior is just as extraordinary and it seems that the goal of Gaudi was to avoid straight lines completely.  

It was originally designed for a middle-class family. In 2002, it was opened to public as a museum as part of the celebration of the International Year of Gaudi. In 2005, Casa Batllo became a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Palace of Catalan Music, Barcelona

Located in the center of Barcelona, Palace of Catalan Music is a magnificent concert hall designed by the Catalan architect Lluis Domenech I Montaner. It was built between 1905 and 1908. The concert seats about 2,200 people, and is the only auditorium in Europe that is illuminated during daylight hours entirely by natural light. The walls consist of stained-glass panes set in magnificent arches, and the ceiling is a stained glass designed by Antoni Rigalt whose centerpiece is an inverted dome in shades of gold surrounded by blue that suggests the sun and sky.

It's one of my favorite shot from Barcelona, and I have it printed as postcard. If you want a free postcard, send me an email (linkahwai@hotmail.com) with your mailing address:)

Church #1: Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Barcelona is a place full of surprises, especially for the photographer. It’s the most modern city in Spain, blessed with a mild Mediterranean weather and a colorful array of culture and nature. It has been breaking ground in art, architecture and style since the late 19th century. Sagrada Familia (Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family) is one of the most visited sites in Barcelona. This is a masterpiece of Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi, who pushes the Gothic style to the extreme. The construction started in 1882 and estimated a completion date in 2028.

I have a few handy tips for visiting and photographing interior of Sagrada Familia:

1. Get up early to avoid looooooooooong queue (Yes, it's loooooooooooong queue). Or get your entrance ticket online.

2. Looks up at the roof - this is the most stunning man made structure I have ever seen!

3. Look for detail - there are unlimited photography opportunities.

4. Tripod is not allowed, so use higher ISO. One can do is to use high speed mode and blend 3-5 identical pictures in Photoshop to lower the noise. I will talk more about this in the future post.

5. Bracketing exposures for high contrast scene particularly during sunny day, and use exposure blending to fix it.

Describing Sagrada Familia, art critic Rainer Zerbst said “it is probably impossible to find a church building anything like it in the entire history of art”.