To Travels

So, as I sit here thinking of potential themes for this week, I started thinking about my many travel photos.  This time last year, I was in my ninth month of a ten-month stint as an English Teaching Assistant in Celle, Germany, and you can tell how well living in another country and my love of photography meshed.  I traveled to quite a few areas in Western Europe during my stunt there, and though my favorite aspect of my time in Europe was my job, it's quite obvious that photography was not too far behind.  Also, this week's theme can really stretch to landscape photography, and both Haley and I have plenty of pictures to show to our rabid fan(s).

Sagrada Familia - Barcelona, Spain (2010)

Whoo, the Sagrada Familia!  They charge you too much to go in, but who cares!  It's the Sagrada Familia!  A creation of Gaudi, this landmark is admittedly one of the most interesting cathedrals I've had the pleasure to visit.  Gaudi's designs are very distinct and visually striking, and I attempted to capture this distinction in conjunction with the modern construction still ongoing.  I found it interesting, anyway.  I like how the photo's composition features both Gaudi's curved structures while also emphasizing the multiple angles caused by the cranes.  Though the photo was just fine in color, I'm of the opinion that the curves and angles are more visible in black and white.  Regardless, though it's a simple photo of a structure, Gaudi's masterpiece establishes itself as an immensely interesting subject because of the juxtaposition of classic architecture and modern machinery.

The fact that it will still be in construction twenty years from now is pretty awesome, too.

Oslo, Norway (Apr. 2010)

I was also fortunate enough to visit Oslo, Norway to see a lovely university friend of mine during my time in Germany, and this photo is a result of it.  I'm very fond of the water, despite my inability to, er, swim (I'm going to fix this!  Really!)  So, I very often take photos of harbors and the like.  I'm fond of this photo for many reasons: The lighting worked very well with the water and the boats; the boats provide a lovely horizon and contrast against the sky and water; and the photo lent itself well to a bit of yellow/pink tinting.  Personally, it gives me a pleasant memory of Oslo, and if I had to describe that city in one photo, this would be it.

Retiro Park, Madrid, Spain (Mar. 2010)

And, here's one of Madrid, the awkward middle child of my spring break trip.  This particular photo was taken at Retiro Park, a lovely patch of green in an otherwise grey city.  (Ahem, not that you can tell in this photo, which is a grey rendition of the green.)  Again, I like the lines in this photo (jeez, this week's theme could just be lines), as the benches, the trees, and the path wind upward as all grow further away.  I even like the trio of birds breaking up those lines about midway into the photo, as they provide more interest to the photo while contrasting nicely with the light path.  I think my favorite aspect of this photo is how lonely the park appears to be, despite the fact that it was teeming with people (and people-watching is one of my favorite pastimes).  Traveling to many places is a bit lonely in and of itself, even if you're traveling with others--no destination is really home, though one can feel at home in the loneliness of it all.  And I think that's why I like travel photography so much; it really documents the path of the wanderer.