Pic(k) of the week 7: CASA MILA - LA PEDRERA BARCELONA

Often referred to as the "city of Gaudi", Barcelona is without a doubt one of my favorite European cities. Before he devoted all of his attention to completing the Sagrada Familia, ingenious architect Antoni Gaudí's last private residence was Casa Milà.

Popularly known as La Pedredra (open quarry), the house was completed in 1912 and is a prime example of Catalan Modernism architecture. 

The history of this house begins like the history of every residential building. At the start of the 20th century,  a couple named Milà, decides to build a house on their 2,000 square metres large property on the noble Passeig de Gràcia. It was supposed to become a special house, which stands out in the modern Eixample district. 

Not visible in the image below is the highlight of the building which is without a doubt the roof. Not only the outstanding view over the city attracts attention to the many visitors. But the chimneys, ventilation shafts and staircases do it with their imaginative colours and shapes. Some chimneys look like medieval knights guarding the roof! Check here for images of the roof.

As the first building of the 20th century, Casa Milà was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1984.

Beside the roof, one of the other photographically interestingly places is the central courtyard seen below. 



Image details:
  • Fujifilm X-T20 with XF14mm f2.8 lens
  • ISO 1600, f8, 3 bracket shots between 1/80s and 1/1250s
  • Photoshop for RAW development and to blend the 3 images together
  • Nik ColorEfex Pro 4 for optimal contrast
After my final edit of the image above was completed, I had a look how much shadow and highlights I could recover from a single RAW file (middle exposure). Not surprisingly the end result was virtually identical, with only a little more shadow detail hidden in the shadows. Proof to the amazing recovery possible with the 24Mpx X-Trans III files of the latest Fujifilm X-series cameras; X-100F, X-Pro2, X-T2 and X-T20.

 Whenever you are in Barcelona, make sure to visit La Pedrera. More info here.

 Remember: "There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature, therefore buildings shall have no straight lines or sharp corners" - Antonio Gaudí
BJORN



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