My Favourite Places To Shoot Street Photography

Introduction

This week I thought I would do more of a pictorial blog post about the places I go and the streets I walk looking for material. I live in the South East of Spain, just outside the city of Orihuela which is situated close to the border of the Alicante and Murcia regions. Orihuela has been my main source of material but I love to go to the cities of Murcia and Alicante when it’s possible.

Orihuela

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orihuela

Orihuela is a small city with somewhere in the region of 35,000 inhabitants. It’s the place I work most often as it is the most accessible to me. I particularly like the old quarter with its narrow streets, old buildings and nostalgic feel. I have walked these streets so much that I know where every patch of light is at certain times of the day. Orihuela doesn’t get a lot of tourism and because it is a small city you tend to get noticed more when walking around with a camera, particularly if you do it often. This is making it harder and harder for me to find new material here but I keep persisting. It is a nice place to visit and someone shooting here for the first time, I’m sure, would see lots of opportunities that I miss due to my familiarity with the city.

Murcia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murcia

When I travel to other cities, whenever possible, I go by train. Public transport is very cheap in Spain so;

1. It saves me money..
2. It eliminates the hassle of trying to park and finding your way around places you don’t know.
3. The train is also an opportunity to capture material in a different environment

Murcia is about 20km from where I live and it costs me €2.70 for a return ticket on the train. I would spend more than that on petrol. The city of Murcia is the capital of the Murcia region and is much larger than Orihuela with a population of nearly 450,000 in 2009. I try to go there at least two or three times a month and it has been a great source of material for me, particularly at night. It is a mixture of old and new. A main High Street with shops and lots of people and an old quarter with narrow streets, quaint shops, nice outdoor cafes and tourist attractions such as the cathedral. It also gets a lot of tourists because of the historical value so you are less conspicuous walking round with a camera, (the tourists can sometimes make for good material also) 😉 . As with Orihuela, I prefer to shoot in the older parts because I prefer that nostalgic feel and the lighting for my compositions. It is a big city and I still have lots of exploring to do and places to see…….if I can drag myself away from my favourite areas.

Alicante

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alicante

What can I say about Alicante? The capital of the Alicante region and the second largest city in the Community of Valencia. I have only been here twice but it is already one of my favourite places to shoot street photography. For me, Alicante has everything! A vibrant and busy main shopping area with lots of activity and interesting people. A beautiful old part of the town with my favourite narrow side streets, street cafes, beautiful lighting and architecture. Then there is the seafront, marina and pier, all full of activity. There is also a nice blend of tourists and locals so you get the best of both worlds in terms of people. In the few hours I have spent there so far I have thoroughly enjoyed it and have managed to capture a lot of images in a short time. I’m hoping that the next time I visit I can spend an entire day there so that I can explore more of the city and also to catch the early morning and evening light. From what I have seen so far I would highly recommend it to any photographers who are living nearby or are planning a visit.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed reading about and seeing the places I go to shoot my street photography. It’s a beautiful area of Spain for all types of photography, not just street. There are some fantastic landscapes and lots of interesting architecture. If anyone is living in the area or planning to visit this part of Spain then please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to meet up with you and go for a photowalk somewhere.

Rob