Are photos created or discovered?

One thing I love about mobile phones is that you always have a good camera with you. Which is great as you never know when you will need it and often times you only have one chance for the shot.

Sometimes you can plan and craft the details to create a photo. Other times the photo is already there, just waiting to be taken.

Time to think all by yourself

 

Serenity in Alcalá (ii)

 

Muchísimos años sin vernos (demasiados) y lo primero que hicimos fue disfrutar de una exposición de Quino en la Capilla del Oidor, luego dar un paseo por el centro de Alcalá y finalmente ir a cenar para darnos cuenta que era como si no hubiera pasado el tiempo.

Serenity in Alcalá

 

Two years without going back to Spain. About to get back home now with a handful of nice photos and a load of memories

Serenity under the sun

We are playing a lot of badminton these days in the garden. And a lot of reading.

I didn't notice my daughter taking the photo while I was reading this book.

Perspectiva

Fame Dreams

Another photowalk with colleagues, another bunch of nice photos. I need to do this more often.

Serenity in a pub

Last week I was back in UK for a few days. One evening a fairly international group, comprising seven nationalities out of seven people, went out for dinner to a really nice pub called The Christmas Steps. I noticed this lady next to our table and politely asked if I could take a photo for my serenity series. 

Serenity with a twist

It´s been a while since I last went for a photowalk. Yesterday a couple of colleagues and I spent two hours walking from Treptower Park to the East Side Gallery. When we were about to go home I saw this guy reading and asked him if I could take a photo, which he agreed to.

After I took the photo he asked me if I was going to post it somewhere so I came closer to give the address of this blog, and then I noticed that he had his mobile on top of the open book!

Serenity in CoderDojo

Last photo was about starting a book and this one shows one almost finished. I guess serenity and serendipity are not that far away.

Starting a new book

Against all odds

I spent more time than I would have liked to in several airports last week. Paper books are quickly becoming a rarity. And people reading on electronic devices don´t seem to show the same level of concentration. Right after I took this photo, another lady took the empty seat next to me. She was reading something on her iPad and, at short intervals, having a whatsapp conversation. Not quite the same.

Saturday night

 While you are reading this, somebody, somewhere, is learning something...

Gejagt

Before I go on holidays, I always make sure I have a few books added to my kindle, either programming books or novels. In this case, I was reading one from Cory Doctorow´s novels. Obviously I did not take this photo myself. It was my daughter who did, and true to the serenity project, I was deep into the book and never noticed it.

Biblioteca del Colegio Trinitarios

This library is in what used to be a church, and I like the idea of the altar being replaced by a desk and the retable by shelves with books. Although it was never one of my favourite libraries, I have fond memories of this place because this is one of the places where I prepared the very last exam before I got my degree. I had already finished my final degree thesis in Cranfield University as an exchange student and I got back home a few days in advance to prepare the exam for Helicopters, basically reviewing this book, which I still have in my shelf (!).

I have to say that, in my memory, this library was a lot bigger than it actually is.

Biblioteca de la Facultad de Derecho, UAH

I was recently back in Alcalá de Henares and decided to pay a visit to a couple of libraries in which I spent countless hours many years ago.

Erwin Schrödinger Zentrum

I would have loved to have this library close by in the mid and late nineties.

Playground

Any place is a good place to read a book...

Serenity in a bus stop

For months I´ve had in my mind a very similar photo to this one, somebody reading a book on a deserted bus stop, preferably with heavy rain or snow. One thing I was not sure how to deal with was the big ads in the bus stops, which could end up being quite distracting for the final composition of the scene. This evening, as I was driving back from work, I spotted this lady reading a book while waiting for the bus. I parked and walked back a bit to take this shot from across the street with my phone. Everything happened in a few seconds and as I was driving away, the next bus arrived.

BaFin