Page 8 - Cape-Camera-September-2022

September 2022 Cape Camera

Member Travelogue

A Photographer’s delight: The City of Arts and Sciences
by Kim Stevens

I first became entranced by Santiago Calatrava’s architectural All this translates into a
designs when I visited the Oculus, which is a metro station hub photographer’s dream!
erected at the Ground Zero site in New York. The exterior is built If you are into architec-
to resemble a dove leaving a child's hands. The white ribs of the tural photography and
building over the transport hub evoke the sense that one is in abstraction this loca-
the belly of a whale and the angle of the skylights are such that tion is a MUST on your
on 9/11 every year at 10.28 am the entire main hall is bathed in bucket list!
sunlight. The area is easily acces-
On researching Calatrava I learned that his magnus opus was sible and safe to walk
the City of Arts and Sciences in his birthplace, Valencia in Spain around at any hour.
and was built between 1996 and 2009. There are so many com-
I signed up to attend a photo tour with Lee Frost in May 2020 to positions to be had and
experience this, but with the onset of Covid, the tour dates were I feel that I only scraped
rolled over many times. At last, in May this year, Spain was open the surface of what is
to South African travellers and I was able to fulfill this dream! possible.
'Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias' is a large-scale urban recrea- One can photograph
tion centre for arts and sciences and consists of an Opera house, throughout the day
a Planetarium, a Science museum, a Oceanarium, a Conven- and use all lenses from
tion centre, plaza and other walkways, bridges and gardens. It 14mm to 200mm to cre- Cone and bridge abstract
stretches over two kilometres and was built on the site of a dry ate many different images. I also used my infra red camera in
river that had been rerouted and was aimed at restoring a ne- the daytime to create high contrast B&W photos.
glected part of the city. The buildings are lit up at night and the reflections in the water
Respecting the tradition of the Mediterranean sea, light blue was eye candy for me!
and white tones are employed everywhere and this blends One can also visit other areas of the old city and experience
with the futuristic designs of Calatrava's magnificent structures magnificent cathedrals and markets as well as graffiti-rich back
linked by waterways. streets and city life. A delight to visit…stay tuned as I may or-
ganise a trip there in September 2023!

Opera house
Lights on!

Dali street art Diagonals
8 Cape Town Photographic Society