Barcelona’s famous attractions appear as mini-planets in this quirky photo project

Incredible 360 degree images have made some of Barcelona’s most famous tourist attractions look like mini-planets.  The striking photographs were taken by Brazilian photographer Bruno Alencastro who is now living in the city.

The series of images show Sagrada Familia like you’ve never seen it before as the surrounding neighbourhood curves around it to make a globe, FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium and the famous Las Ramblas walkway are also given similar treatment.

Other spectacular snaps in the same style show the Bunkers – an old military base which overlooks Barcelona, Mount Tibidabo and the amusement park located there, as well as Cituadella Park.  “I am living right next to the Sagrada Familia and every day, from my window, I see thousands of tourists coming from all sides and almost always making the same photos of the temple of Gaudí,” he said.

“To try to take a different picture – and not repeat those pictures – I went in search of another angle for that postcard. This was the first photograph I made of the sky and 360 degrees. The result pleased me so much that I decided to repeat the technique in the main sights of Barcelona.

“Technically, we call it an equiangular image – in this case, it presents the stereographic projection format which resembles the shape of a “small planet”. My biggest difficulty was with the little light time here in Spain at this time of year. I had already come on vacation in the summers of 2015 and 2016, so I was accustomed to sunshine from 8am to 9pm,” he said.

“In winter, the day starts at almost 9am and the sun sets before 6pm. Therefore, in some places I had to go more than once because the light was already very low (with much shade) and was not to my liking.

“In a world where 90 million photos are shared daily on Instagram, I like images that break this logic of repetition and try to print a new look at things. For me, photography is about experimentation  and innovation.   I have in my favour the fact that I chose a city that is in the heart of many people to develop my project.”