Barcelona Photographer Photography Tours

Barcelona Photographer is organised to ensure that our photographers demonstrate their finest qualities to our clients who wish to discover an alternative Barcelona to that portrayed in the tourist guides.
We offer you a tailor-made photography tour which is a short version of our intensive weekend course.

This 4hrs tour leads you through Barcelona’s old town, a destination rich in luscious visuals, picking out photogenic locations that are ideal for demonstrating and practicing various photographic techniques. You will discover the Gothic charm of Barcelona’s Cathedral, the hidden plazas and tranquil narrow lanes deep in the heart of the Barri Gòtic (Gothic district), the contrasting bustle and life of Las Ramblas and much more.

At the moment we are offering Barcelona by day tours which we normally start at 9 o’clock in the morning or well at 4pm. This is a personalized tour and can be done at your convenience. You are free to choose another time to start the tour.

You will discover Barcelona through the eyes of a professional photographer, and receive personalized instruction on how to take fantastic photographs, with Barcelona Photographer’s professional photography guides. The itinerary is designed by Director of Photography, Katherin Wermke (English,Spanish and German). She has worked for a number of different fashion magazines and publishing groups and is a constant lecturer at Institut d’ Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya (IEFC), the Catalan Photography Institute.

To get a better idea about our photo tours, please visit the documentary about the tour on our home page: www.barcelonaphotographer.com

La Mercè festivities 2011

La Mercè festivities (from 22 to 25 September), they will once again be offering a broad, varied programme featuring traditional activities, spectacles, shows and plenty of entertainment.

The Correfoc (fire run) is premiering a new Porta de l’Infern (Hell’s Gate), which will extend across Via Laietana, until it becomes a hell’s wall, to quote Xavier Cordomí, the artistic director of Tradicional.

Dance companies and contemporary dancers will be performing at Ciutadella park to the chimes of a travelling carillon, a very unusual instrument hailing from the city of Douai. What’s more, the Mercè Dansa display will once again be taking over the stage opposite the Cathedral.

The La Mercé parade is expected to be the largest ever, with participants joining in from all over Catalonia.

Ciutadella park is one of the main settings of La Mercè. During the day it becomes a Dance and Street-Theatre Park and during the night, the Lights Park, with shows making use of new technologies.

These two approaches meet in El Llac dels Cignes (Swan Lake), one of the star shows of the La Mercè, combining dance with spectacular screenings at the park’s fountain, among other surprises. This is a local production featuring over a hundred dancers, whose main figures come from the Mariinsky Theatre of St Petersburg, the guest city at this year’s La Mercè.

The music programme’s details are not yet out but most of the groups taking part have already been announced, with the venue being shared between BAM and Mercè Música.

Antònia Font, Javiera Mena, Mazoni, Els Pets, El Columpio Asesino, Fangoria, Antonio Carmona, Anímic, Astrud & Col·lectiu Brossa and Gràcia Power are just some of the groups who’ll be playing at the La Mercè festival.

As for the Pyromusical, which will conclude the festivities once again, this year tribute will be paid to the four Puig i Cadafalch columns.

Dancing Egg during Corpus Christi Festival

The Corpus Christi festival is the oldest in Barcelona. The procession dates back to 1320 and the dancing egg, one of Barcelona’s most authentic traditions, has been celebrated since 1637.

This year the festival starts on Thursday, 23 June, with an open day at the City Hall, Palau de Capitania, Palau Centelles, Ateneu Barcelonès, City History Archives-Archdeacon’s House (Casa de l’Ardiaca) Museu Frederic Marés and the Casa dels Entremesos.

Also on Thursday but continuing until Sunday you will be able to see how eggs dance over fountain jets in cloisters and gardens from 10 am to 8 pm.

That means in the Museu Frederic Marès garden, at the City History Archives-Archdeacon’s House, in the Cathedral cloister, the Santa Anna church cloister, the Puríssima Concepció basilica cloister and the Sant Jeroni de Montbau parish church.

The origins of this tradition, which dates back to the 17th century, is uncertain. One interpretation is it symbolises the exaltation of the Eucharist, represented by the egg, while other versions see the fullness of spring in it, an explosion of fertility and life.

This hotel (SOHO) is great for many reasons

We would like to tell how this hotel is fabulous and how Barcelona has a lot to offer to any tourist in the world. It was just amazing! We spent 8 nights at the SOHO Hotel in July 2010

This hotel is great for many reasons:

1. The location is great; It is a 5 minutes walk from the University and about 8 minutes from Plaza Cataluyna. It is half-way between Sagrada Familia and Cathedral of Barcelona. There is a metro station, Urgell, just in front of the hotel (or very very close).

2. The staff is wonderful and always willing to help. You could learn and practice Catalan with them for those who like languages. They are fluent in English and Spanish.

3. The room was great. It is rated a 3-stars hotel. Indeed it is a 4-stars hotel without a doubt at the price of a 3-stars.

4. We took breakfast for two mornings. The food is great and the menu is quite extensive for a breakfast.

5. We were in Barcelona when the weather was between 35 to 38 celsius for the whole week. Before going to dinner, we enjoyed the big jacuzzi (or the small swimming pool) each day. This facility is again just great.

6. After a long travel from Canada, we took the AEROBUS at 5.05 euros from the airport to the hotel. No taxi is needed. The bus goes on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, the same street of the hotel. So you just need to watch the numbers to be dropped practically in front of the hotel. SOHO hotel is located at 543-545 Gran Via.

7. The hotel and the room were very clean. The design of the room is unique. The air conditionned worked perfectly well

8. It was a special occasion as we celebrated my wife’s birthday. If you have a chance, buy tickets to see a concert or a show at the Palau Musica Catalina (metro Urquinaona). We went to see a concert of spanish/catalan guitar. The price was reasonable.

9. I would recommend to anyone a stay at the SOHO hotel with no reservation.

Experience written by Jean-Claude, July 2010.