Exactly one year on, I am delighted to be back on the ManfrottoImagineMore Blog.
November 2013: having just moved back to Italy after two years living in France, I told the story of my experience of living abroad in the project Expat Life.

November 2014: although settled in Rome, the desire to travel and tell stories remains undiminished. During the month of November, I have four posts available to me in which tell you about a trip to Valencia I made at the end of October, in a Spain from which summer was reluctant to leave. I set off, keeping in mind that which a photography teacher had told me during a course I took:

“with photography, you shouldn’t just provide a representation but you should also manage to say something about what you see”.

A change in perspective that initially threw me off balance, yet also definitely aroused my curiosity. A difficult challenge; accepted and in progress.
I realised that I nearly always go through the same series of elements in my approach to photography, especially when I’m travelling. The first is usually the choice of where to take the first pictures; a place with which to become familiar, a comfort zone, where I already know I will feel at home.

When I first visit a city, one of my first must-sees is nearly always the local market. In Valencia, both the Mercato Central and the Mercato Colon, although very different from each other, met my expectations with a warm embrace.
The Mercato Central is a traditional food market, one of those that is incredibly crowded on a Saturday morning, rich with intense colours and smells. The atmosphere you breathe among the stalls very much reflects the motto that hangs above the heads of the customers: “Preferimos las SONRISAS a los codigos de barras” (We prefer a smile to a barcode)
The Mercato Colon, however, is an age-old market in which only two of the traditional stalls remain: one selling fruit, another fish. The rest of the building has been transformed into a place of social gathering, ideal for having a coffee or a traditional ‘orzata’, where you can catch up with your friends in a bright and welcoming atmosphere.

In any event, the main subjects are always the many faces with their many different expressions. The crowded and busy environment often enables you to click away freely with your camera, even for those of you who, like me, are initially rather hesitant about taking pictures of other people’s lives. Blending in among the crowded stalls, it’s easy to feel almost invisible and steal the images you want.

Once I’ve broken the ice with the colours, lights and faces at the market, it’s time for the first discovery of the city, whose old town centre is spread between the two markets.

After a first exploratory tour of Valencia, you quickly realise that the perfect way of getting around the city quickly and pleasurably is by bicycle. They are everywhere and are used by both tourists and residents alike. The view you get from a bike ride is one of movement, alternative, interesting; but I’ll tell you all about it in the next post.

Bianca Spina

My name is Bianca, I’m from Naples but I live in Rome. A blogger with big, red glasses, I’m naturally Inquisitive, Absent-Minded and Shy. I love colours, walking and taking photographs; I am won over by the inescapable charm of kindness and a smile, and it’s not hard to make me blush.

Blog: volevochiamarlefrida.blogspot.it

Twitter: twitter.com/biancume

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