18 September, 2007

Barcelona Beach: Day vs. Night



Since I have been in Barcelona, I haven't had a chance to go to the beach and just look around. This project gave me the opportunity to explore the beach and look closer and find whatyou cannot see with a human eye. I started my journey of the beach on the south side in the afternoon. I explored the way people acted, the direction in which they were traveling, the water, the sand, and even the noise. After actually sitting down with the crowd on the south end, my video camera and I made our way to the north side of the beach. I concentrated on the same characteristics. After my journey was complete in the afternoon, I came back to the beach later in the day. I came back arounddusk, where you could still see through the video camera lens.

Once again, I started on the south side and made my way to the north end of the beach. I concentrated on some of the same characteristics as earlier in the day. I began to realize some drastic differences. One major difference was the atmosphere of the beach. With less people, the beach seems more calm. I also realized more people being physical during dusk/night than during the day. Another major difference was the amount of litter on the sand. Earlier in the day, all you saw were cigarettes or can tabs in the sand. During the night, there were full two liter coke bottles, big plastic bags blowing in the wind, and beer cans. As it got darker and darker, the artificial lights came on around the beach. These artificial lights gave the beach a different, almost fake feeling. A beach is known for its sun and natural light. Adding artificial light to a beach takes away from one of its many unique characteristics. Another major difference was the noise. During the day, you would hear a lot of screaming, laughing, and people talking. During the night, all you would hear would be the waves from the water. So I found enjoyable characteristics in both my day and night visit. Maybe I will have to make a couple more trips to the beach to find out what part of the day I like more!!

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