Picture This: Louis Bever In Barcelona - 'Beers, Bikes and Atrocious Spanish'
Picture This is a series by creatives, photographers, friends and lovers that belong to the worldwide Biancissimo family. In every episode of this series one of these talented people will take us on a visual journey of their own.
My good friend and talented photographer Louis Leon Bever is back and this time this street-smart beast went trough Barcelona and came back with another load of beautiful rolls. Film is not dead and Louis is more alive than ever. Let's go:
'Beers, Bikes and Atrocious Spanish'
I thought I'd name the photo series this name as I was doing at least 2 of the things during my trip to Barcelona. When I was drinking beer, I was riding bikes and speaking Spanish horrendously. If I was not speaking Spanish horrendously, I was drinking alcoholic beverages on a bike. If I wasn't on a bike? I was intoxicated and my Spanish made half of the Spanish nation weep.
After going to the GP in November 2016 I was diagnosed with severe anxiety with a hint of OCD. Absolutely lovely. The doctor jokingly said go on holiday. So I booked flights to shoot a series in Morocco and Spain a day later. This was my second trip. Also I had never gone on holiday by myself and I was soiling my undies. It turns out it was great and I could do what I want and go where I wanted without upsetting anyone.
I hopped onto the plane with just hand luggage. My Leica, rolls of Portra and Ektar for the beautiful Spanish sun which would compliment my pictures immaculately. My vintage Lacoste half zip, a pair of Wallabees and my blue Ralph Lauren cap which has been covered in alcohol, spot cream from when I had a face like a double pepperoni pizza.
The trip was amazing. The sun was shining, the P20 sun cream was on and I was ready to shoot. I was obsessed with the winding streets of Barcelona accompanied by pockets of light spilling out onto pedestrians and hanging washing. I couldn't stop snapping away and the people were intriguing. If someone caught my eye, my shutter would snap quicker than a my patience as a 14 year old. I loved it.
The sun definitely contained a magic potion as I couldn't stop smiling. It may have been the 50 cent Estrella pint cans that I drank quicker than Chris Froome with a bottle of water after completing the Tour de France.
It was great as I had other friends who were in Barcelona who were lovely. We drank beer on the beach, laughed and they showed me their tattoos which they had done during the holiday.
The first morning I decided to throw on my suede Clarks Wallabees, an old Supreme oxford shirt and a pair of trousers that looked like pyjamas. They were socially acceptable pyjamas that I could wear in public. Also ridiculously comfy.
Builders, Business people, elderly people, young people, old lovers, young lovers dogs, cars, cows. They all caught my eye. The Ektar and Portra brought out this golden tint which made the whole trip look like a dream. It was a lot different to Morocco as I could snap away without getting into trouble even if I didn't intend to.
People were slightly baffled that I travelled alone but I feel as if I would just irritate people by running off trying to get the perfect shot. It was great, I went during Sant Jordi which is Spain's story of love where men by their wives/girlfriends a rose and the wife/girlfriend buys the fella a book. Lord knows why a book. I would prefer a roll of film or a coffee but there you go. Couples would queue for hours to get the best flowers or the most amazing books. Intriguing.
The food was phenomenal too. I try to eat in Spanish only places and it's great. I had a lot of Tapas. It was delicious but I find the whole experience quite stressful. Reaching over, sharing food and the table is always far too small. Anxiety in a meal really but sometimes you have to bite the bullet.
On the last day I was slightly sunburnt, exhausted as I refuse to take public transport when the weather is fantastic and full of Serotonin. I had shot 6 rolls of film and was keen to see the results. Lord knows what I had taken as I have the memory of a gullible goldfish. The results pleasantly surprised me.
I spent my evenings either drinking beer with my english friends or playing scrabble for the first time with American backpackers. I don't like scrabble. I enjoyed the company but the game just made me far too competitive. I tried to motivate the other players as if it were Manchester City trying to win the Premier League back in 2013. Quite sad really but they appreciated the enthusiasm and positivity.
I also wrote a diary which contains my thoughts during the trip. I decided to write my thoughts down in a moleskin after my appointment to the GP and it is great. I like to read back on them. I decided to scan my moleskin during the trip.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I'm sitting in my studio flat in Liverpool organising my next series in Paris. It will be full of cliche couples embracing each other in the Parisian streets but with a twist. Keep your eyes peeled like potatoes!