Photos With a Story Behind Them

I was doing some panning shots to the birds at 1/30 when I heard a girl screaming like hell. I looked to where the girl was and I saw two thin guys running really fast towards me (more or less), the first of them with a purse or something similar under his arm. Acting like if I was watching Marathon runners passing by, I waited until they were close enough and started shooting from the hip.

When they were gone I thought about going to the victim (a tourist, as always; a girl, as always), but I saw two couples of guys Maghribian looking kind (same as the thieves) moving away from there (maybe they had nothing to do with that and they were just sapping from the “racism” of the police) and I got paranoiac: “They’ve seen me shooting”, “They will watch me talking to the girl and then will follow me and…”.

Yeah, I’m not that brave. Furthermore I live close to where all that happened, and I had seen those guys a few times right in front my house… So I went home watching my back every now and then.

And, yeah, I already gave the photos to the police…

A couple of weeks ago I found casually in my hard disk a picture where a boy was walking with an old woman, and he was taking her crutches. Then I realized I already had a few photos where crutches apreared and I thought that would be a good extra-excuse while I walk Barcelona shooting. Of course, since then I see crutches everywere.

A week later I walked a couple of hours with my camera, shooting from home to a restaurant in Poblenou (Barcelona) where I took some pictures for their website. And when I was almost there I saw a woman with a pink shirt and a crutch waiting for the traffic lights to turn green. I looked at her and thought: “Nothing to shoot”. But on the other sidewalk there was another woman, with also with a pink shirt and a crutch. “What the fuck!”, I exclaimed in Spanish (“¡No me jodas…!”).

Luckily they took the same direction, and even more fortunately, the woman behind was younger and faster. So I wait until they were close enough. And then a little girl, also in a pink dress, showed up and it was “like the icing on the cake, finishes it completely”, as Van de Velde Roeland said.

Other pics of the set:

See the whole cruthes set here (still work in progress…).

I went out for a walk with my girlfriend (I mean the flesh and blood one, but also with “the other” hanging on my neck). Behind the walls of Barcelona’s Cathedral I saw this young man sitting on the ground, totally stoned.

I approached him with the intention of “stealing him a photo” (as The Lazy Beggers would say…), but when I was just starting to do the shooting, I heard a girl screaming.

I know after a scream (sometimes…) there are chances you’re gonna get a good picture, so I paid attention to the girl.

She was between 12 and 14, and was wearing a folder. But there was also a man,
a tourist, chasing her. He was trying to hold her with one hand, because in the other hand he had his cell phone pointing at her: he wanted to take a picture of her. Meanwhile, the girl was trying to cover her face with the folder.

Then another man appeared, another tourist. He was with the first one.

I didn’t dare to shoot them without reserve (I don’t think anyone would want to appear in a picture grabbing a girl in the middle of the street, and in that moment I still didn’t know what was going on), so I shot without looking, from the waist, but with some tele, because I wasn’t that close. But I think I have a poor aim… Too bad.

But for a few moments, I thought I could shoot them without them noticing it, so I got this picture (the first one). Two pictures in one, one could say.

When finally the tourist went (“She stole my pocked yesterday”, he claimed), I shoot the stoned man and his friend (the dog…), who actually never noticed something was going on around him…

It had been a boring shooting day. I decided to go “hunting” to a different city area, and nothing happened. But to get home I had to cross Les Rambles, the heart of Barcelona.

Once there, I thought I could met my girlfriend there, so I could wait for at least a good shoot, and went to a phone box to call her. Before I called, I turned off my camera and put the lens cap.

When I hanged up I heard somebody screaming as if he was tortured or burning. Then I saw a black man running through the vehicles path. I hided behind the phone box and I took off the cap. But when he passed in front of me and I pushed the button… it was turned off. Ahhhh!

In a few seconds he was far from me, and some police officers where chasing him on motorcycles. I run after all them, but not fast enough to have a good shoot of the moment they catch him.

When I got there, at least there were at least 30 people around, with cell phone cameras and so on. I didn’t dare to get closer, because I was told police officers can take your card.

Now I’m thinking on doing a work about these Barcelona Hawkers, street vendors treated almost like terrorists…

Here there’s another moment of the arrest

I met Pep, El Boig (Pep, The Crazy) in a night bar in Raval, Barcelona. I was there with some friends after a birthday supper, and he just showed up with his suitcase full of little notebooks he made himself at home for a living.

After a little talk, it was clear I had to shoot him. But the problem was that I didn’t carry the camera with me (that was the last time I went out without it; let’s say I learned the lesson…).

So I took his cell phone number (the mobile has no “money” to make calls, because he didn’t remember his own cell phone number and we tried to call us –not me, I don’t own a cell phone myself- and we couldn’t) and said I would call him one of these days to take him some pictures at home, with his Russian cat. And I bought him a notebook, of course.

A week later I hadn’t call him. And I felt I would never do it. I don’t know exactly why. But as I was going to tarot class (this is not the right place to discuss about that… :-<>) with my camera (about two hours, shooting included) I saw him.

At first I didn’t remember his name, but I had it written.. in his own notebook! So I checked his name, went to a more lighted corner (just in case I had to shoot him right there), and pretended a casual encounter.

He, of course, didn’t remember me (he was drank the day I met him), but I showed him her notebook and asked if I could take him some photos. He said: “Yeah, let’s have a bier”.

And the picture you see is the first I took. The only one where he’s not “acting” like a real mad.

By the way, I payed his bier and bought another notebook… It seems he went shopping groceries a few hours before with 30€ in his pocked and now he had… 3€. “My wife is gonna kill me”, he claimed. And I couldn’t let that happen…

What should I say? I was coming back home on my bike (yeah, and the camera) and I saw a naked man sit on a chair in middle of the street, smoking and sunbathing.

A car police had stopped by, so I couldn’t go just go home as if I hadn’t seen anything. I parked and started shooting in the distance. The police officers went (in Barcelona nudism is allowed, except if you sit in public furniture, because of hygienic reasons…), and I said to myself: “This guy might be crazy… But what can I loose?”. Not much, was my answer. So I went to talk to him and said: “Maybe this sounds crazy to you, but I’d like to take you some pictures.” He said no problem, “but first I gotta talk to the police”. Another police car had stopped and was going to us.

After they were gone (don’t they know the regulations?) I started talking and shooting. Ha said he could stand up if I wanted to, but I prefered him to be as natural as he was. And, of course, I knew there wasn’t enough to shoot a naked man on the street. I needed a story. I needed some actors. And I waited until they acted as I was expecting…

By the way, in Barcelona nudism is allowed… in case you use your own chair. No kidin’.

El Gato plays blues in Plaça del Sol (Gràcia) on weekends (properly dressed…), and sleeps in a cash point. He is from France and apparently he is pretty happy, maybe because he feels free. "I just need 3 € per day, except if I drink".

And I saw him again the other day…

I was in Les Rambles, in Barcelona, and I saw these four girls with these really short skirts and trousers. Then I saw they were walking towards a carriage driver, and I guessed something was gonna happened. And what happened was that a dust man just showed up and made the things even more interesting (in this country dust man and troweles are well known for talking to every girl…).

As I anticipated, she started to flirt with them… and they seemed to be as happy as I was…

(Have you notest the heart in the tree?)

I was coming back home on my bike and in Pelai Street I saw a few girls dressed like Jodie Foster in Maverick (Far West Style). They were coming out from a hotel. As I always take my camera with me (except when I go to Caprabo –now Erosky-, a supermarket where the security guard doesn’t allow me to get in with my Lowepro Slingshot 100 AW backpack…), I stopped on the other sidewalk and waited until I saw which direction they were heading to.

Then I ridded fast until the next corner, parked my bike, prepared my camera and waited… I started shooting too early, and the bride saw me immediately (she was a bit embarrassed, and looking everywhere all the time); that’s whay she walked along, head bowed.

By the whay… Why isn’t it a good shoot? Becouse I cutted off her foot!

A few days before I took this picture, I shooted the arrest of one of these poor hawkers (street vendors). I started thinking abaout working in a set of pictures about them. Then I was walking along in Passeig de Gràcia and I saw a few of these street workers walking towards me. I decided to sit down in a bench and wait for them to pass by (I mean shoot them), but fortunately they stopped right in front of me. “Uhhhhhh!”, I said to myself, and started shooting, but in the “blind” style. So just 2 or 3 photos are worth it.

I decided to wait until they run chased by the police, but that never happened. A police car passed by, they packed and they were off without rush.

Maybe next time. I mean maybe next time I talk to them and start my work…

Yes, I shoot beggars and homeless. Many people think that’s not ethical, gratuitous and so on. Maybe they are right. I just know I shoot everything that calls me for a shoot. That’s all. From a beggar to a man in a suit with a cell phone in a doggy style.

Or even without the doggy style thing.

Anyway, I focused my interest in this woman. I don’t know if it was because the light or what, but I stood a few meters behind, just waiting (as always) for something to happen. Until a well dressed woman aproached her (then I woke up), talked to her (then I started shooting, walking towards them), gave her some coins and… she caressed her, while I was hating all the people didn’t even saw that really-really moving moment and were walking between the woman and me.

What a great moment.