Bible stories in Barcelona

Details of carvings on one of the gigantic doors on the passion facade of that Antoni Gaudi classic – La Sagrada Familia. The carvings portray different stories from the bible. This structure has been under construction since the 1880. More fantastic pictures from this basilica to follow soon!

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Details of carvings on the door of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Please click on the picture for more viewing options on Flickr.

Tulip – 1

A tulip from my garden. I love the hint of yellow on the deep colours of the tulip suggesting a flame!

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Camera Settings: ISO100, f/10, 1/20
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens
Camera: Nikon D7000

Now you see it, now you don’t

Now here’s an experiment at removing those irritating lines and wires that make their way into every photo (especially those in cities). Having read about Snapheal CK, I bit the bullet and bought a copy of the license. And the results are below to compare. Snapheal makes removing lines, wires and other unwanted features from a picture a doddle. Interestingly enough, the algorithm underneath the hood does a brilliant job and understanding the background patterns so that there are no ghosts left from the removal! Of course, nothing is perfect and one shouldn’t expect miracles and nothing can rescue a badly composed photograph.

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The photos above are of Casa Bruno Cuadros (a famous umbrella shop in the La Rambla area of Barcelona), and show the photos before and after treatment with Snapheal CK.

View from a bullring!

The Les Arenes Bullring in Barcelona is now no longer a bullfighting arena but instead has been converted to a shopping centre and a great eating place on the roof. The view from the top provides lovely views of Placa Espanya and Palau Nacional (that houses the National Museum of Art). Some views below.

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View of a park near Placa Espanya.
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Palau Nacional and Placa Espanya
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Palau Nacional and Placa Espanya, Barcelona

White magnolia

I don’t have space to grow a full magnolia tree in the garden so I have these in large pots. The magnolia flowers are therefore smaller than one would find in trees. This is a white magnolia that has been in bloom since mid-March.

 

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White Magnolia – See more viewing options on Flickr.

f/6.3, 1/500, ISO100, 105mm macro lens.

St. Paul’s and the Millennium Bridge

On a warm winters day (as have most days been in the UK this December). Shot from the Tate Modern Gallery end of the Millennium Bridge.

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See more viewing options on Flickr (https://flic.kr/p/CB1R7L)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purple Beans!!

Home grown foods are tasty, and some have very pretty flowers too – like these purple bean flowers. This is the first year I’ve grown these and now I harvest more than half-a-kilo of delicious fresh purple beans every two days!

Purple beans
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