Travel Photography | Valencia's Bullring Spain | Travels With My Camera EP.3 Part 1
Valencia Bullring in Spain. A statue of Manolo Montoliu "One of the greatest bullfighters in the history of Valencia" outside the bullring. Born in 1954, Manolo, was a famous bullfighter and a Banderillero who was killed in 1992 during a bullfight in Seville. Photo © Scott Ramsey.
I love travelling with my cameras and photographing some of the unique cities, landscapes and cultures I discover. In this travel photography blog update, I'm exploring Valencia in Spain and heading to the famous, Valencia Bullring the Plaza de Toros de Valencia.
It was still only day one of my photography trip, and I had already spent the morning exploring Valencia's historic Old Town in Episode Two of Travels With My Camera.
As a professional photographer and photojournalist, I've sometimes found myself covering a story that doesn't sit well with me. However, I do believe stories; however, unpleasant or controversial should be documented and told. This then presents the facts and allows the audience to decide for themselves. Now before I continue, I need to clarify something, I don't agree with bullfighting. However, during this photography trip, I'm aiming to document the city of Valencia, it's people and the culture of Spain. And there's no doubt Bullfighting is a big part of Spain's culture, so although I had no plans to see a bullfight. I did want to have a look at the Bullring as I had heard it was a magnificent building and great for photographs.
So after refuelling at a delightful coffee shop, I discovered in Valencia’s Old Town, I set out to find the famous Bullring.
Valencia Bullring, built between 1850 and 1859 in the neoclassical style, inspired by Roman civil architecture such as the Colosseum in Rome or the Arena of Nîmes. The Valencian architect Sebastián Monleón Estellés built it.
Located right next to Valencia's Railway Station, the Bullring is an imposing building in the heart of the city. And as I explored the streets around the perimeter looking for my next photograph, I recalled the story of Frank Evans, a British Bull Fighter from Salford, England. He had a 40-year career and was named El Inglés (The Englishman) by his Spanish fans. After a quadruple heart transplant and a having a titanium knee fitted he was advised to retire by his doctors, but he didn't and made a return to the Bullring in 2009. Although by then he was renamed the "bus pass bullfighter".
Although the sun was up and the streets where busy, the closed Bullring had an eerie feel about it, which I tried to capture in my photos. You see in recent years public opinion has been changing. Bullfighting has become unpopular, so much so that in 2012 the Catalonia region banned it altogether. So, who knows maybe one day, the bulls will be left in peace, and this magnificent building will be used for a happier form of entertainment. Only time will tell.
Join me in part two when I look around The Valencia Silk Market, a UNESCO world heritage site in the heart of the city.
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Till next time, keep those lenses sparkling and may all your photos be sharp.
Scott.