Barcelona Photo Blog
![Dar Roumana, a Gem Hidden in a Labyrinth]()
Dar Roumana: A Hidden Gem in the Ancient Labyrinth of Fez
Discovering Morocco’s Cultural Heart Dar Roumana sits nestled within the historic Medina of Fez, a stark contrast to my previous Moroccan experience. My first visit to this North African kingdom was for work in Casablanca, collaborating with Harvard University, which you can read about here. That bustling metropolis left me somewhat underwhelmed—noisy, polluted, and largely…
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Photographing Warehouses and Workers for Bunzl
These jobs came via a UK based agency called AAB Design. The first job was for Bunzl. Their warehouse and offices are near El Prat Airport, I was there to photograph the space and the workers. The second time was maybe 2 years later, near Cabrera de Mar. The company was Cemelin and Bunzl had recently…
![Several different shoots over several days for NTTcom]()
Several different shoots over several days for NTTcom
I have done several sessions with NTTCom covering various different disciplines. Firstly there was the usual corporate headshot type of photography. On another day I was there for an in-house conference, where the top brass from the NTTCom at the Tokyo headquarters flew in to inspire the troops. This lasted half a day and then…
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Pia and Her Family Do Barcelona With No Selfie-Sticks in Sight
It happens occasionally that you get clients who don’t want to spend their day out using selfie-sticks, preferring instead, have someone take the photos for them. It is hard to work out the progression of photography in this regard; in the old days you went on holiday, took photos and sometimes got a stranger to…
![Given the run around for a day at Barça FC]()
Sports Photography Behind the Scenes: Navigating a FC Barcelona Photoshoot
The Allure and Challenges of Professional Football Photography Any photographer who receives an invitation to photograph FC Barcelona likely responds with immediate enthusiasm—regardless of personal team allegiances. The opportunity to capture images of world-class athletes at one of football’s most prestigious clubs represents a significant professional milestone in sports photography. However, experienced photographers approach assignments…
![Cuba, Havana, market night time]()
Waking Up in Havana: Reflections from My Third Trip to Cuba
My Third Cuban Journey: Havana Then and Now This was my third time in Cuba, and once again, Havana greeted me with its faded grandeur and timeless rhythms. Images from my first trip are here. And here are images from this trip. As always, the first thing I did after arriving was walk to the…
Istanbul and Instagram, Late to the Game but Catching Up
Istanbul and Instagram is part 1 about my trip to the city and contains images shot on the iPhone. I have a list of places I want to go to and I have a friend who makes me go to them. The places tend to be the easier ones, the ones you could visit over a…
![Inés Miró-Sans, co-founder Casa Bonay Hotel in Barcelona]()
A Flying Visit To and Then Around Casa Bonay, Barcelona
One of the first really interesting job of the year was a shoot at Casa Bonay, a boutique hotel recently opened by Inés Miró-Sans in the centre of Barcelona. Receiving an email that is a possible job is always a little like Christmas, when it comes from another country even more so, because apart from the appeal of…
![Plaza España, early evening]()
City Light; Those Magic Hours When You Can Take Your Studio to the Streets
I would like to take the idea of ‘Magic Hour‘ and turn it into Magic Hours. Maybe ironically, what I am suggesting might fly in the face of something sacred to many; that moment when the natural light is just perfect (and alas fleeting) for beautifully lit portraits. My magic hours are when the natural light, by chance…
![The Europa Cup Tournament; Kids in Camp Nou]()
Youth Sports Photography: Documenting the Europa Cup Tournament at Camp Nou
Capturing Fast-Paced Youth Football in Barcelona’s Iconic Stadium Covering the Europa Cup youth tournament ranks among the most demanding event photography assignments I’ve undertaken. Even with an assistant photographer providing additional coverage, the day presented non-stop action under punishing conditions—temperatures approaching 40°C (104°F) created significant challenges for both equipment and photographers. The tournament featured approximately…
![Linear Curves; How Making Your Images Look Really Dull Might Be the Way to Go]()
Linear Curves; How Making Your Images Look Really Dull Might Be the Way to Go
This is the title for my article about linear curves and HDR in Capture One Pro 8/9 on the website PhotosApps.Expert. Read the full article here.
![No Fear & Loathing in Andalucia, or How I Beat Those Black and White Blues]()
No Fear & Loathing in Andalucia, or How I Beat Those Black and White Blues
Back in the day, when I was shooting film and travelling, I usually had 2 cameras with me, one with transparency (slide) film and one with black and white. The colour slide film was for stock library work (I used to make quite good money doing that) and b&w was just for me, to be…
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Bohemian Beach Fashion Shoot, in Barcelona
I have been running a film group in Barcelona for about 7 years, I do this because I love showing people films that they might not get to see and as it is situated in a cultural centre and there is also a great bar, so the whole evening is very sociable; people arrive early…
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My latest article about Capture One Pro
Where Oh Where Will All My JPEGs Go… Apple Photos or Capture One Pro? This is the title for my latest article about Capture One Pro 8 on the website PhotosApps.Expert. It was meant as a jokey working title but it seems to have stuck. Read the full article here.
![Fashion Shoot, Gaucho Style Belts]()
Fashion Shoot, Gaucho Style Belts
I was contacted by Philipp, the MD of Iracional, a German/Argentine accessory company. They wanted to do a shoot for their belts. The style of the belts is a traditional Gaucho design and they are handmade by a guy in Buenos Aires who is famous for his horse saddles, etc. The idea was to have some models in the…
![Chiaroscuro in Astypalaia]()
Chiaroscuro in Astypalaia: Shadows, Cats & Neon Nights in Greece’s Hidden Gem
I’ll admit—using an art-history term like *chiaroscuro* reeks of pretension. But Astypalaia earns it. This Greek island was Italian-occupied for much of the 20th century, a fact I learned when a widow—wrinkled as a sun-dried olive—accosted me in rapid Italian. Turns out, Mussolini’s rule was the only education some elders received. When Dusk Transforms…
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Beauty Photography: Behind the Scenes at Barcelona Hair Academy Workshop
I got invited back to Barcelona Hair Academy, which is I guess is confirmation I must have done an ok job the first time. Return to a Professional Beauty Photography Location Receiving a return invitation to photograph at Barcelona Hair Academy suggests my previous work met their professional standards—an encouraging validation for any commercial photographer.…
Documentary Photography in Morocco: Capturing Harvard Business School Field Research
International Assignment Photography in North Africa In January, I traveled to Casablanca, Morocco, for a specialized photography assignment with Harvard Business School. This project exemplifies the growing demand for documentary photography that captures authentic educational experiences in international settings, particularly as prestigious institutions expand their global learning initiatives. The assignment involved documenting several student groups…
Barcelona Hair Academy
I have been getting my hair cut for a couple of years now by Emma, she has now set up with Cecilia a new venture, the Barcelona Hair Academy. Cecilia asked me to do some publicity shots at the new location, a very cool space in Gracia, an old industrial building now housing various start ups and the like.…
Your Aperture Files Imported into Capture One Pro 8; the Good, the Bad and the Missing
This is my second article for photoapps.expert, This time dealing with what happens to Aperture Library images in Capture One Pro 8, writing these articles has been an enlightening experience and is teaching me to be a lot more methodical, especially when asserting what is or is not possible (I am expecting to get pulled up…
Using Aperture Libraries in Capture One Pro 8
I recently was invited to write about my experiences using Capture One Pro 8 for another site, I was pleasantly surprised and got to work, it turned out to be a lot more work than I imagined as I found I had to be a little more ‘scientific’ in my approach and actually test out…
![Capture One Pro 8; Some Initial Likes and Dislikes]()
Capture One Pro 8; Some Initial Likes and Dislikes
I have started to immerse myself in the programme, but a short trip interrupted the flow and I feel like I almost need to start again! As an Aperture user in the process of migrating a couple of things I like and dislike have become apparent; If you liked Aperture’s interface then C1 with kind…
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Goodbye Aperture; Hello Capture One Pro 8
Well, we finally got the confirmation recently that the Photo app from Apple would not be any kind of new Aperture; it’s aimed squarely at iPhoto users and a lot of them might be unsure if it’s even fit for purpose for some of their workflows. Apple, it would seem, is no longer interested in…
