Thu 03.May.2018
Madrid and Sevilla, Spain
They say that cloudy days lend themselves to black-and-white photos, or sepia
or some monotone at any rate. I had lots of opportunities to practice this
skill in April in Spain. A few results managed to be interesting without looking
grim.
Madrid's Terrapin Station
Weren't we just here?!?
It was indoors on a cloudy day. That could
go either b/w or color. We saw it in color
recently. Here are alternate takes in black and white...
...and sepia.
Sevilla
Strollers along the river Guadalquivir.
Another alternate take from the previous page. The last one, I promise!
I don't know why the Plaza de Armas is actually a building that looks
like a former train station. It is now a re-furbished shopping mall, with artsy
decor.
This is the current main station Santa Justa. Betcha didn't
know that one of the exits leads to Kansas City, did you?
A color photo of a scene with little actual color.
In fairness, I need to mention that Santa Justa is really a very nice
station, and well-lighted.
Plaza de la Encarnacion, with its landmark "mushroom" structure.
Across the Guadaquivir river from the center lies a complex of buildings and
pavillions built for a 1992 worlds fair. (That same fair brought Spain its first
bullet trains, connecting Sevilla with Madrid.)
The Pavillion of Navigation is hosting an exhibit presenting Vincent Van Gogh's
life and works. Only a small subset of the works, but a good deal about the man's
life, and also what made some of his well-known paintings so special. (E.g. the famous Night Cafe in Arles, a luminous night scene without any actual black!)
This slightly irreverent sculpture stands at the entrance to the exhibit.
The tower between pavillion and river may have held a scenic vista point on
top. The whole tower was closed to entry when I was there.
Finally, three more color photos of black and white scenes.
Really!
Even though I am already in Italy, there are still Spanish pictures to
account for.
The Andalusian towns of Arcos de la Frontera,
Jerez de la Frontera, and
El Puerto de Santa Maria should all get
their two (euro-)cents worth in the
next couple of pages.