This one gets a bit meta.

A few years ago I visited Corbusier’s Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamps. It was during a music festival and as I climbed the hill to stand and stare in awe at his creation, accompanied by a string quartet and a summer breeze, my heart lifted, and the tears came.

Last month, (although it feels like last year), S and I visited the Sagrada Familia while we were in Barcelona and ever since I’ve been trying to percolate some kind of response.

All Things

The Sagrada Familia manifests as so many things. It is a consecrated Catholic church, a UNESCO world heritage site, a construction works. It is simultaneously the work of a single visionary architect, and the work of a dedicated team of subsequent architects, sculptors and craftspersons.

The Sagrada Familia is an oddity. A staggering metamorphosis of gothic religious architecture seen through the prism of modernism. It is huge, striking, complex, at times ugly, simple, confusing, and weird.

The ground was broken for Gaudi’s masterpiece in 1882 and it is expected to top out in 2026. To put that into context, the Shard was constructed in three years and The Taj Mahal in twenty. Once the tower of Jesus Christ is complete, the construction of the Sagrada familia will have taken longer than the Parthenon, Colosseum, and the Great Pyramid at Giza combined. It is the longest running construction project currently underway in the world.

Selfie Shtick

A few years ago in Rome I came to a glaring conclusion: the finest photographs of the glories of Rome were going to be taken by local photographers, photographers with year round access and all of their kit to hand. They were the ones who knew when the light was perfect, where to be and when. They were there when a light snow fell, when a lightning storm lit the ruins, or on the quiet evenings that the tourists stayed away.

My photographs of stately Roman architectural artefacts, taken on hot summer days surrounded by tours and trips, were selfies, defining my position in relation to something famous. They proved that I had been somewhere and nothing more.

This was when I stopped photographing Roman buildings, (for the most part), and resolved to shoot street photography, to document that which was happening against the backdrop of Rome.

The light in the forest  – 5D mk IV – 16-35mm f/4

On our Barcelona trip I felt this most keenly when we were at the Sagrada Familia. Everything about our visit was the antithesis of visiting the Barcelona Pavilion, we had pre-booked tickets, an audio guide, and a throng.

Roughly three million people visit it each year, and almost all have cameras. So I took street photographs. There was no point in trying to capture, solve, or explain it – so I photographed the details that moved me.

I loved the way the light played on the doors, the mix of sculptural style, and the light and space inside, but the photo I came to love upon my return is this photo of a steeplejack.

Steeplejack – 5D mk IV – 16-35mm f/4

Relevance and validity

In all of this thought about legacy and creativity, it seems apt to focus on this photograph. Gaudi died with three quarters of the building left to build. Most of his plans and models were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. This thing that he created is now co-owned by those that followed in his footsteps, continuing its design and construction.

I felt glad to have been in the building before it was finished, and I imagine it must feel special to build it. It must be amazing to work on a project that will have a life beyond your own; a thing that will outlast most things. In order to create something as vital, valid and relevant, I concentrate on capturing the moment, ironically so it can have a life beyond the now.

I aspire to a great photography. It’s embarrassing to admit it but I want to be good at this. Better than good, exceptional. That is not always possible, I am limited by my access, equipment, talent, and imagination, although often not in that order.

It is egotistical to imagine that I could create something great, but I assume that anyone who has succeeded in creating greatness has meant to. And they have probably worked for it. Many of the photos I took on my trip have been taken before by others, most could be taken again if not today then one day soon. Steeplejack could not.

You can see more photos below of the Sagrada Familia, as well some random street stuff I shot while I was away. My pictures (and thoughts), on the Barcelona Pavilion are here, my experience with LomoChrome Purple here.