Barcelona in Black and White

Recently I’ve been doing a photo project…

Take black and white photos around town. Nothing too famous, no logos, no people.

Try to get repeating patterns, shadows or very simple backgrounds.

I did it over the space of a few days in Barcelona, and here are the results.

Don’t worry…

I won’t make you look at another picture of Sagrada Familia. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty.

(The project, by the way, was given to me by Felix Estrada, who gives occasional lectures at Madrid Blogger Network. You can find him here on Instagram, and the blogger network on Facebook.)

And so, without further ado…

Best black and white pictures of Barcelona

Here goes.

Barcelona in black and white…

The other day I went up to the market in Born to buy cow tongue… first thing in the morning.

This building is right on the south side of the market. It’s really cool, with the one curved wall and the old-school wooden shutters.

The sun’s not completely up yet. I like being out before the shops are open. Just the market, the street sweepers and some people heading to work.

There’s an expression in Catalan: Roda al món i torna al Born. I learned it when I was up in the Pyrenees.

It’s the longest sentence in Catalan I know, actually: “Travel the world and return to Born.”

‘Cause Born is a pretty nice area.

Next up…

The first day of the project, I went out looking for strong shadows. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, and there were none.

So I stopped at Taberna Iberia for a beer.

It’s one of my favorite restaurants in Barceloneta.

I was sitting on the terraza, and as soon as the waiter brought me my beer – “una mediana” as they call it up there – the sun came out for a moment.

So I got to be that dork who was standing over the table, influencer style, trying to take a picture of my drink.

(Well, at least it wasn’t a matcha latte with a heart drawn on the top in foam or something.)

Best Barcelona architecture and tree photos in black and white

In case you haven’t figured this out yet, I’ll do virtually anything for SEO. And that headline there is just a case in point.

Hopefully some bot will peep the words “Barcelona” and “photos” and decide to rank me on Google.

Then, I’ll start a new life in which I skateboard down the beachfront in a Supreme t-shirt with a look of calculated disdain for the rest of humanity drawn across my wickedly handsome face… I’ll get on the guest list for all the best clubs – or at least the ones that are open at 8 PM. I’ll crush my enemies both online and off, till they wish they’d never heard of Mr Chorizo.

Oh, sorry… Shouldn’t have said that out loud.

Here’s a tree…

City Hall sent some people out to prune all the trees along the beach during winter. All the terrazas were closed for the month of January as a result.

Now we’ve got a lot of these sticks standing there, leafless, with branches twisting in weird directions.

Also, check out my guide to SEO here.

Then there’s the Barceloneta architecture…

This building is on the beach, very close to home. It’s got a cool look to it. Probably some pretty nice views of the ocean, too, if you happen to live there.

In color it’s a bit more visible – there’s one “Estelada” (Catalan independence flag) up on the top row of windows. The Estelada is a popular lifestyle accessory in the barrio.

Last one for today…

Just some palm trees. Because beach life.

Not much to say today… just wanted to share some pictures.

Want more photos of Barcelona and Madrid?

You can see a lot more if you follow me on Instagram.

I usually take pictures of dogs, or buildings, or people walking. It’s not too glamorous. Just little slices of life.

(Okay, okay… occasionally you get to see pics of my handsomeness as well.)

Photogenically yours,

Mr Chorizo.

P.S. If you want more slices of life, but in writing, check out The General Strike, Adventures Without Running Water, or Writer’s Block. Or just click around. I’ve got a lot of stuff up here.

P.P.S. These days, I’m pretty old. But I’ve been waiting for the new Tool album to come out since I was practically a teenager. At this point, I can only expect I’ll be hugely disappointed. I know this has nothing to do with anything Chorizo Chronicles related, but I’m listening to Tool as I finish this article and goddamn. They’re so beyond great that it’s ridiculous.