Framedlight

Saturday, our last morning in Majorca, so I got up early and went out to photograph sunrise from the beach. It looked as if it was to be another warm day, but at lunchtime we would be flying home, a journey that was to be a lot less onerous than the one that had brought me here. The first picture is a panorama made from 9 vertical pictures

The evening of Good Friday we went into Pollença so that we could watch an Easter procession which takes place every year in front of the Calvari Chapel. This is at the top of a long flight of  365 stone steps which run up the hill from the main square, and here a re-enactment of the crucifixion takes place. The body of Christ (a marble statue) is then brought down the steps and through the town to the main church. It takes place at 9.00pm, after dark, and the procession down the steps is torch lit. We went into the town at around 7.30 and had a struggle to park. We took a look at the inside of the church in the town where the effigy is taken at the end of the ceremony and afterwards visited a bar at the foot of the steps to while away the time. The occasional hooded figure passed down the street in front of us. Unfortunately Alan and some of his friends never left the bar and missed the whole thing! I walked up the steps so that I was nearly at th...

The last full day we had on Majorca was Good Friday. Overnight all the cafés seemed to have opened and there was an inrush of tourists. As if it knew, the weather changed from cool to warm. Alan wanted to ride his bike for the last time before leaving and I fancied a trip back to the Bóquer Valley, which I could do more or less from the doorstep of the apartment. I took all my camera gear and the tripod but unfortunately forgot to bring any water, and by the time I got back I was frazzled and miserable. Hot weather is not for me. At the start of the walk is an old farmhouse which has fallen into neglect, although now renovations seem to be underway. I stopped to photograph a few details from the front of the house. The light had become very bright and there was too much contrast in the cliffs to do much with snapshot wise. The conditions were very different from earlier in the week when it was cloudy. I persevered and got down to the sea which was calm and a translucent blue. ...

Following our morning in the marsh we returned to the apartment for lunch and met up with Paul a cycling friend of Alan's with whom he was sharing the flat. Paul had been out cycling in the morning and wanted a change, so we took the car east over the mountains to the little town of Bunyola from where a tourist train runs to Sollar, close to the coast. Bunyola was lined with some pollarded trees and very fancy street lighting. We went to the station to watch the train coming in but decided to drive to Sollar instead as the fare was so expensive. One of the reasons for the trip to Sollar was that the station building houses a large number of Miró paintings. Although born in Barcelona Miró moved to Majorca during the second world war.  His style is very original and certainly gave me food for thought. We went to the main square and saw the train coming through the heart of the town. It was an opportunity for a little people watching! ...

Alan wanted to go back to the marsh area of s'Albufera. This time it was sunny and warmer. The swallows and swifts were swooping over the reeds and we were entertained by the croaks of the frogs. There were raptors in the distance, but we did not see anything unusual apart from a rather large and ugly purple swamp hen which retreated before I could train my lens on it. I amused myself taking multiple exposures while listening to the frogs. The reserve is close to the largest power station on the island which rises, pale beside the lake. After we left the marsh we crossed the road outside the reserve and walked down to the coast at Alcúdia. The sea looked quite rough and choppy.