A hidden Barcelona seen through Photographer Joan Colom Raw Lens

A hidden Barcelona seen through Photographer Joan Colom Raw Lens

Joan Colom was a self-taught photographer who started his photographic journey later in life. Joining the Agrupaci Fotogrfica de Catalunya in 1957, he began capturing the vibrant, gritty life of Barcelona’s Barrio Chino, the city’s shadowy underbelly, with his trusty Leica camera.

Colom’s work, organized into series like La Calle [The Street], El Raval, and El Born, is celebrated for its raw, unfiltered perspective on reality. Disguised in a suit and tie, with his camera unobtrusively hanging from his wrist, Colom captured moments without drawing attention, often shooting from hip height to maintain spontaneity. His images reveal the everyday lives of children, merchants, and eccentric characters, and as he ventured deeper into the red-light district, he surreptitiously documented the lives of pr*stitutes and their clients.

Despite retiring as a bookkeeper in 1986, Colom’s passion for photography catapulted him to prominence among Spain’s top innovators. Co-founding the avant-garde El Mussol group in 1960, his work gained recognition over time, culminating in the prestigious Premio Nacional de Fotografa in 2002. Initially met with resistance from local authorities who saw it as negative publicity, Colom’s photography now stands as a crucial record of Barcelona’s social history.

Credits:- Catastrophe

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#JoanColom #StreetPhotography #SpanishPhotographer #DocumentaryPhotography #BarcelonaStreets #HumanCondition #UrbanLife #IconicPhotographer #BlackAndWhitePhotography #Photojournalism #CandidPhotography #ArtPhotography #HistoricPhotographer #CatalanArt #StreetScenes #PhotographyLegend