Somebody's boot imprint, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Somebody's boot imprint, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, originally uploaded by - di.

I noticed these in the concrete, somewhere close to the gift shop at Sagrada Familia and they made me smile ... a small fossil for some archaeologist to find in a few hundred years maybe.

Sagrada Familia magic, Barcelona

Sagrada Familia magic, Barcelona, originally uploaded by - di.

I think this is what most fascinated me ... walking around a curve or being in that place in that point in time so that the light did this.

I found it staggeringly beautiful and now here I am, like a child playing with pretty stones found on a beach, as I work through the photographs, feeling the magic again and again.

The image of Jesus, Façade of the Passion, Salgrada Familia, Barcelona

The image of Jesus, Façade of the Passion, Salgrada Familia, Barcelona, originally uploaded by - di.

For some reason, I find sculpture almost as beautiful to photograph as people ... I have no idea why. I guess it is about light and transformations.

People are a little more self-conscious and I try to respect them in ways sculpture neither needs nor asks for ... so, I sat a while and studied this image of Jesus, examining the light some.

Later I read that this particular image sustains the optical illusion of always looking in the direction of those observing it.

I thought the work stunning.

From, The Guide to the Passion Facades, Salgrada Familia

The written word, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, originally uploaded by - di.

I bought 2 books by artists involved in work on the Church of the Sagrada Familia. I loved this door with its words and went back to the books to see how the door had been written up.

Josep Maria Subirachs wrote of his work: I have always believed that the central double door should synthesize the entire work of the façade . I finally found the theme that I think is suitable: I reproduce the texts of the Gospel illustrated by the sculptural groups. The two massive doors separated by the mullion, will be like two immense open books; yet the background texture, with over 8,000 letters melted in bronze, will not distract attention from the figure of the flagellation, which is located in front.

Construction in Sagrada Familia

Construction in Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, originally uploaded by - di.

If it wasn't 10euro to enter Sagrada Familia, I think I would like to visit each day to try and photograph what the light does with the material it is given to work with ...

Then again, I guess commuting from Belgium would be silly.

And sometimes, in the church of the Sagrada Familia

The Church of Sagrada Familia, with smoke from the workmens fire, Barcelona, originally uploaded by - di.

Sometimes you wander into the church just as the light is at a particular angle and slices up the smoke from the workmens fire.

It was heavenly in there today ...

Gaudi's Paint ...

Gaudi's Paint, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, originally uploaded by - di.

I bought 2 small booklets today, both written by artists working on Sagrada Familia.

Josep Maria Subirachs Guide to the Passion Facade and Joan Vila-Grau on The Stained-Glass Windows.

It was in the book by Josep that I found this beautiful description of the light I found inside the Sagrada Familia this morning.

In a piece titled, The Sun, The Best Painter he wrote: Gaudi is a master of light who knows all the resources needed to create heart-captivating atmosphere, and knows how to cover the windows, if need be, with colour, or how to simply guide the light over pure architectural surfaces.

He ends with a quote from Ignasi Puig Boada: The elements of the windows transform the Church walls with a palpitating light, as if the light, working like water flowing over stone, had dug into the thickness of the walls in a process of slow and polyform erosion.

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Detail, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, originally uploaded by - di.

And so it seems that I am one of the few people in the world who didn't know the genius of Antoni Gaudi, his ideas about Nature and how he incorporated them in the famous Temple Expiatori Sagrada Familia.

I wandered there this morning and stayed the entire morning, watching the light change ... watching it stream through the stain-glass windows by Joan Vila-Grau and play on Gaudi's tree-like pillars.

It was truly stunning but knowing I had to locate a supermarket - shampoo, conditioner and deoderant were left out of my hand luggage - I finally found the strength to walk away from the surreal and stunning landscape of Gaudi and re-entered the world.

A small taste for you ...