City of Arts in Valencia

[alexpler]

A few days ago I visited Valencia for the first time. Of all the many interesting spots, City of Arts and Science was my favourite. A complex of diverse museums with futurist architecture surrounded by water. I spent almost 3 hours there and took 150+ shots. These are some of my favourites.

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/500 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/1250 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/1250 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/500 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/1600 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/400 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/1000 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/5.6
• 1/80 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/320 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-7C
• FE 40mm F2.5 G
• 40.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/500 sec
• ISO 100

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

These are all sensational mate! Looks like a photographer's wonderland!

Did the girl on the bike just happen to be riding by..?

 

[alexpler]

These are all sensational mate! Looks like a photographer's wonderland!

Did the girl on the bike just happen to be riding by..?

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes it was full of photographers enjoying the cityscape. Each building and construction changes a lot depending on your position and the direction of the sunlight. It was a really fun session.

As for the girl on the bike she was posing for another photographer (who had a zoom and was presumably shooting portraits of her) and I took advantage of that. She noticed me but now it seems like she was posing for me haha.

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes it was full of photographers enjoying the cityscape. Each building and construction changes a lot depending on your position and the direction of the sunlight. It was a really fun session.

As for the girl on the bike she was posing for another photographer (who had a zoom and was presumably shooting portraits of her) and I took advantage of that. She noticed me but now it seems like she was posing for me haha.

She was definitely posing for you my man!

 

[alexpler]

She was definitely posing for you my man!

Funny thing is that just a couple of years ago I avoided having any person in my shots, I preferred waiting for a quiet moment. All my shots from that time look lonely and abandoned places (even cities that are famous for its crowds, like Rome).

But now I enjoy having people in the shot, I think they can add flavour to an otherwise flat image, and also they can give you some sense of scale.

 

[evacguy]

A few days ago I visited Valencia for the first time. Of all the many interesting spots, City of Arts and Science was my favourite. A complex of diverse museums with futurist architecture surrounded by water. I spent almost 3 hours there and took 150+ shots. These are some of my favourites.

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I really like this series of shots, the sixth is my favourite, looks like the bones of a fish and I love the blue sky in the background, makes the skeletal structure stand out.

 

[alexpler]

I really like this series of shots, the sixth is my favourite, looks like the bones of a fish and I love the blue sky in the background, makes the skeletal structure stand out.

Thanks Ed! Yes I thought it reassembled some fish bones as well. It was an interesting construction from the inside, it felt really organic despite the futuristic looks. Shots 5 and 8 are from that same building.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Very nice. That first shot looks like Darth Vader in colour

 

[alexpler]

Very nice. That first shot looks like Darth Vader in colour

Thank you Kev. Haha he's the Clearth Vader. I'm particularly fond of that shot, that's why I put it first.

 

[evacguy]

Thanks Ed! Yes I thought it reassembled some fish bones as well. It was an interesting construction from the inside, it felt really organic despite the futuristic looks. Shots 5 and 8 are from that same building.

These are all shot with a 40mm, I guess you cropped the photographs quite a bit?

 

[alexpler]

These are all shot with a 40mm, I guess you cropped the photographs quite a bit?

Actually none of these pictures are cropped and except for the colour edition they are all just like I shot them with the 40mm.

As they say, my feet are my zoom. There are sometimes where I wish that I had a wider lens (shot 7 could have been less tight with a 24 or 35mm, as my position was limited because of a highway fence, the one that appears in shot 1) and sometimes I wish I could zoom in. But most of the time the 40mm covers my needs for street and travel.

 

[alexpler]

Excellent set Alex!

Thank you Tim. I appreciate your comment.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

These are great shots! You're really good with that 40mm prime lens, it inspires me to try more day trips with a single prime lens. Perhaps I can lighten my travel kit in the future...

 

[alexpler]

These are great shots! You're really good with that 40mm prime lens, it inspires me to try more day trips with a single prime lens. Perhaps I can lighten my travel kit in the future...

Thanks for the feedback Chris. I was considering getting that 20-70 f4 they all are talking about as certainly I could benefit from the wide end and the compression at 70mm, but the more I use the 40mm the more I enjoy it.

Although it took some time to get used to it, this lens can be more versatile than it would seem at first. Sometimes it's quite a challenge to get a certain shot with the limitation of a fixed view but that's something that I enjoy, finding a way to get it.

Also I guess it all depend on your needs. For landscape, sports or wildlife it won't be a good option but for casual travel and street it's about perfect. Sometimes I think about the shots that I'm losing for not having a zoom lens, but then I think that I would lose many other shots if my kit wasn't as light and discreet as it is now.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Thanks for the feedback Chris. I was considering getting that 20-70 f4 they all are talking about as certainly I could benefit from the wide end and the compression at 70mm, but the more I use the 40mm the more I enjoy it.

It took some time to get used to it but it can be more versatile than it would seem at first. Sometimes it's quite a challenge to get a certain shot with the limitation of a fixed view but that's something that I enjoy, finding a way to get it.

Also I guess it all depend on your needs. For landscape, sports or wildlife it won't be a good option but for casual travel and street it's about perfect. Sometimes I think about the shots that I'm losing for not having a zoom lens, but then I think that I would lose many other shots if my kit wasn't as light and discreet as it is now.

I feel like I don't have the time to "slow down and enjoy the process of zooming with my feet" as I am often chasing after the child. However, I use that as an excuse too often, and I am enjoying your results with a single focal length. I have a 35mm (equivalent to 50mm on your full frame camera), perhaps I will start there, though I feel that it might be too tight.

 

[alexpler]

I feel like I don't have the time to "slow down and enjoy the process of zooming with my feet" as I am often chasing after the child. However, I use that as an excuse too often, and I am enjoying your results with a single focal length. I have a 35mm (equivalent to 50mm on your full frame camera), perhaps I will start there, though I feel that it might be too tight.

That can be a fun training, to dedicate some shooting sessions to the 35mm and see how it suits you. Better practising now in an environment that you know well than during a travel. I'll keep an eye on your experiments haha.

 

[Landshark99]

really nice images

 

[alexpler]

really nice images

Thanks Bob! I was having a great time and I guess that shows in the images.