Valencia is the first trip where I planned to go alone for, and it was one of the best trips I had embarked on. For Spain, most people prefer to go to Barcelona, which is understandable, but I do think that no one should ever miss Valencia.

In my opinion, the one thing you have to see in Valencia is Santiago Calatrava’s Ciudad de las Artest y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences). It is a wonder to behold, with many surrealistic buildings – a delight of curves, lines and beautiful architecture.

Whether it is in the daytime, or at night, you can expect to have a photographic opportunity somehow in this maze of sprawling concrete that I could not tire of. I spent nearly 3 of my 5 days there camped around the place waiting for the right light, and I did not feel bored at all.

The City consists of the Palau de les Arts Renia Sofia, an dome shaped arts complex that houses public performances (first picture in the back); the Hemisferic, an IMAX cinema (first picture, in foreground); the spikey Museo de las Ciencias Principe Felipe, a science museum (second picture); as well as the Oceangraphic, an aquarium. There is a wealth of things to look at even if one is not really into architecture or photography, for all ages alike!

The Oceangraphic is home to many marine animals, among which include the beluga whale, a very photogenic creature as can be seen above.

When I was there, I also managed to visit the La Lonja, which is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. This used to be a commodity exchange and meeting place for merchants. The rib vaulted ceiling supported by what is known as helicodal columns can be quite surreal, and the chandeliers hanging around lend a special touch to the place.

If you want something less common, you can venture to Lake Albufera, a freshwater lagoon about 15 km south of Valencia. There is a very simple jetty which offers beautiful views of the sunset, along with opportunities to shoot birds (but I do not have the necessary equipment to do so properly) if that is your cup of tea.

*****

Cheoh Wee Keat is currently a student studying in London who has picked up photography for nearly three years now. He shoots to forget everything else, and finds that photography can be a very good excuse to travel around more. He wishes that more people had heard of his camera brand (Pentax) so that he does not have to explain that it does exist, and hopes that one day, he will be able to visit every section of coastline in the world.

Website: http://www.pbase.com/night86mare

Greg Widmeyer is an amateur photographer.  During the day, he’s a market researcher; analyzing data and writing reports.  He enjoys traveling with his family and photography…particularly landscape and nature photography.  After many years’ hiatus, he’s recently discovered digital photography and trying to learn about post-processing raw files.

The Walled-City of Segovia Spain

If you’re ever in Madrid and need a break from the art museums, typical tourist sites, and high-end Spanish cuisine, schedule time for a day trip to Segovia. It’s a picturesque, walled-city just an hour north of town with a long history. One can uncover sights and reminders dating back to the Romans, the Moors, a Jewish community, and medieval Spaniards.

Getting there can be half the fun. Of course, you could rent a car or take the high-speed train, but we choose to take the bus. Most of the passengers are locals, so communicating can be a little problem. Just make sure you brush-up on a little Spanish so you can buy the right ticket, board the correct bus, and disembark at the proper stop (“tres billetes al Segovia, por favor”). There is an express bus route (La Sepulvedana bus from Paseo de la Florida), with only a few stops, that gets you from Madrid to Segovia in an hour. You’ll see views of the Spanish countryside—sometimes beautiful and sometimes industrial along this route. The walk from the bus station in modern Segovia to the ancient city is a short 5 minute walk. If you take the train from Madrid instead, its station is a 20 minute walk away and probably worth a cab ride. There will be plenty of walking within the walls of the hilly town.

Leaving the bus stop, walking north in present-day Segovia it looks like a normal, small city. Stop by the small information booth to get a map and make inquiries. Continue just steps further, and seemingly out of place, standing in front of you is an ancient Roman aqueduct 30m high and over 800m long. Amazing that so much of it is still standing after nearly 2000 years.

Turning west, you ascend into the walled city. Of course you’re directed up the winding narrow main street, with a variety of tourist shops. But keep going, there are many other side streets to wander with quirky little shops and local restaurants to explore. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to take pictures of unique doorways, street corners, or the local residents. We even happened upon a little restaurant that served hamburgers (American style). The town is so picturesque; you even have “a view” from the restaurant bathroom out to the Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains.

The local Alcazar, Arabic for Spanish castle, is located in one corner of the walled-city overlooking the ancient fields of farm and pasture. You can tour the castle for a small fee to see how the nobles of the day lived and take pictures of the city and surrounding countryside. But don’t limit yourself to just staying inside the fortification. Many good views of the city are also available from outside of the walled-city.

And what would a European city be without cathedrals and churches. Segovia has its share. One of the largest examples of gothic churches in Europe is the Cathedral of Segovia (are all the churches in Europe under repair?). Outside the city walls, is the Church of Vera Cruz, a circular church erected by the Knights Templar.

We visited during the month of March and were rewarded with beautiful blue skies. Weather this time of year is typically sunny with cool temperatures (high in the mid 60s F) and is an ideal time to visit before the spring rain season or summer heat. As an additional locale to the well-traveled, big cities of Spain, I recommend you make a visit to photograph Segovia.

By Claire

People with families, who also have the photography bug, have to make compromises. It means that on some trips they come too and you have to be cunning to ensure you feed your addiction.

It wasn’t hard to sell the idea of a trip to Granada to my husband, the history and sheer beauty of the Alhambra was enough. The promise of a short drive and a week in a villa with pool on the coast of Spain enticed my son. Mission accomplished.

I was fortunate enough to return here a second time but in spring instead of summer.

Why Go?

The Alhambra (in Arabic “the red fortress”) is a palace and fortress complex  built by the Moorish monarchs of Granada in Southern Spain. It occupies a fine vantage point on the southeastern border of the city of Granada. It is justifiably one of Spain’s major tourist attractions. It exudes history, has hidden corners and magnificent artifacts.

The main way to get a sense of the scale of this place is to wander into Granada and look back. The best photographs I’ve seen have been taken at dusk when it is floodlit. I unfortunately did not have this opportunity as this is dining time for the family and they hid my camera! If someone has a good shot of this I will happily add a link here.

My aim was to capture images from inside the complex. The walls of the Alhambra are full of calligraphic decoration, cursive and kufic writings.

The gardens and fountains are an oasis that would be worth a visit alone.

The entire site covers an area of about 142,000 m². It is huge.

Its most westerly feature is the dazzling alcazaba whilst the rest of the plateau comprises a number of palaces, enclosed by a wall with thirteen towers. The views from here are stunning, especially looking towards the Sierra Nevada (good skiing here).

Granada is a city well worth a visit too. This shot was taken from the Alhambra, it is a compact city with several “districts” that have their own personality.

In addition there are several fine cathedrals.

Highlights of my trip:

Bliss is a day of photography with the family with no one complaining about my “clicking” . They were totally engrossed. During the spring trip it was the light just before the site closed, it turned a rosy red and the buildings glowed.

Lowlights:

Tripods are NOT allowed. This creates challenges inside the palaces. Due to the fantastic sunshine we had on both occasions the contrast range makes exposure difficult. The dawn start with the family – but I’ll tell you how to avoid this.

When to Go:

Avoid summer if you can. Whilst the first trip with family was great to get a sense of the history, one of the reasons I returned was to see it in less harsh light. Intense sun bleaches colour from a scene and the long views towards the mountains were full of haze. The temperature during the summer is also a challenge, though the inside areas were designed with this in mind and are a pleasant escape. In spring it was sunny but cool, the quality of the light much better. As some of the pictures show, with a little patience you can have a view free of people.

Access:

There are a limited number of tickets on sale every day and only 30% of these can be acquired at the ticket offices without a prior booking. The massive influx of people during the high season means that it is important to book ahead and this can be done on the Internet. During my first visit we didn’t know this and queued from dawn in order to ensure we got in. When I returned in spring I booked in advance but it was considerably quieter and was probably unnecessary. You are given “time slots” for admission to cut down on queuing time and to control the flow of people. It works well.

Parts of  this may make it sound awful, but this is a massive site. During my spring visit it felt empty, once inside.

If you are exploring Granada you don’t need a car, if you get foot weary taxis are cheap. There is a huge car park for the Alhambra that is easy to find and you can park overnight, which is what we did having found a hotel within walking distance.

How to Get There:

We flew to Malaga and hired a car as we were travelling onwards. The drive was an easy few hours. As I said above a car is not needed if you just want to explore Granada and there are excellent train and bus links to the city.

Where to Stay:

Take your pick from hundreds of hotels that can be found online. Aim for one within the historic quarter. We found a very reasonably priced hotel that was a 10-minute walk from the entrance to the Alhambra. We just parked the car in the Alhambra car park, walked a bit and found it. There are also some hostels along the same street that looked fun (and cheap when all you want is a bed for the night). This site will help you find something that is close to the action.  They advertise tours, this may be a good idea, one day learning and one day photographing.

Advice for travellers:

Spain is very relaxed. Granada is a city but feels more like a town, if you’ve been to Barcelona expect something entirely different, this feels safe and within two days you really know your way around. Try and find time to wander.

Visiting the Alhambra isn’t really a day excursion. If you can, plan for two.

Equipment for this trip:

Wide angle for the vistas from the walls and some indoor shots.

A moderate zoom such as the Canon 28-105 for details of buildings.

Tripods not allowed so a fast lens is useful indoors.

A grad for the long shots.

Ice cream for the kids.

Research:

Important on any trip, in this case you could just turn up but you’d struggle to understand what you are looking at. You can hire a recorded tour but they drive me mad, I have enough equipment to carry. Use the Internet, a good guidebook or go a day in advance on a tour.

When The Light is good:

Good light here means overcast unless you are there early or late but opening hours restrict you. However, I believe that they do an evening garden opening that may be worth exploring. In February the good light arrives as you have to make your way out – linger.

Blue skies – then seek long views over Granada

When the Light is Bad:

Bad light is when the sun is at its zenith (and several hours each side). Head inside the palaces.

And for the rest of the family:

In the evening go and watch a “zambra”, a form of flamenco that is danced in caves of the Sacromonte, the gypsy district, (where some people still live). We visited one and I wish I had my camera with me. Sit in the many plazas and watch the world go by. Find small cafes well away from the tourist areas – the food is better and cheaper. In the evening buy them good paella and make your excuses (sunburn maybe?) and go find the shot from the town up to the citadel

Will I Go Again?

If I’m nearby, yes. I’ve only scratched the surface. I want that night shot. I do however have my eye on Ronda, another location worth some time in this region that I I’ve visited briefly in bad light and it has great potential. I already know how I’ll convince my husband to join me – the restaurants are first class.

If you’ve only ever been to Spain in the summer, try a week in February and head inland. It is like a different country.

UK travellers. PTR recommendations for insurance:

Travel insurance and camera insurance.