Back to Start

(1/200, f11, iso-200, 19mm)

Last October I announced in a post called ‘Fisherman Style‘ that I would be taking it easier than a photo a day, but also to go venture into old photos which I like but didn’t get any attention then because I was still the only one reading my blog at that time. Some of the photos from those times I will revisit, remaster and repost once in a while like I promised.

Even before I started posting photos daily from august 2011 I already had some photos up here; The one above was actually the second photo on this blog and I can imagine nobody went 433 published photos back in time to 14 April 2011, so here it is again! At that time I wasn’t tagging, linking or titling my posts yet, but it’s taken in the semi desert called Bardenas Reales about 100km west of Zaragoza.

The photo below is the first photo that I ever published and also one of the reasons I thought I sometimes visited and photographed places with a result that was uniquely mine: I called it eYe.

This one was taken on the fenced ground of The Sanatorium of Agramonte; first this was a luxurious hotel but after all personnel were assasinated in the Spanish Civil War, dictator Franco decided to turn this place high upon Mountain Moncayo into an anti-tuberculosis institute.
I revisited this place many times in the two years I lived in Zaragoza. For the Spanish this is a haunted place, but although the forest is taken over and there are sounds of nature and echoes everywhere inside this building, I was only intrigued by its history and crumbling state…

(1/160, f7.1, iso-200, 24mm)

Tags: Abandoned, Aragon, B&W, Bardenas, Chair, Desert, Exploration, Eye, Landscape, Light, Moncayo, Mountains, Nature, Photo, Photography, Reales, Sanatorium, Spain, Texture, Urban, wall, Window

68 thoughts on “Back to Start”

vatelechuza on March 27, 2013 at 01:56 said:

Daliniano! Que magnioficas capturas! que cámaras usas?? Magnifico trabajo!

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- rondje on March 27, 2013 at 11:51 said:
  
  Hola José, muchas gracias, mi cámara es un Canon 550D ahora,pero creo estas capturas fueron con mi vieja cámara, un 350D.
  Saludos cordiales, Ron.
  
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disperser on March 25, 2013 at 13:50 said:

Trying to figure out if the lower photo is photoshopped, or a representation of what was actually there. The continuation of the vertical line onto the forward wall is what gave me pause.

Either way, very visual piece . . . if you’ll pardon the pun.

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- rondje on March 25, 2013 at 15:43 said:
  
  Hola Disperser (great name! read the explanation on your blog),
  That photo is not shopped, i guess it was a visual ´joke´ by theartist who made more eyes around this place, but it´s cool you noticed!
  I would never ever add or distract things from my photos, which is a hassle sometimes with all the electricity poles in the Spanish landscape, but apart from some color/ light/ detail or any thing, I want the photo to be the situation as I saw it!
  
  Thanks for your thoughts and thorough eye (oops, another pun, sorry too)
  Greetings, Ron.
  
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  - disperser on March 25, 2013 at 15:52 said:
    
    Good to know. It must be even more striking to see a very realistic eye looking back at you . . .
    
    As for photoshopping, I too am reluctant to change the content. We all post-process, of course, but I don’t add or delete stuff from my photos.
    
    If I do manipulate something, it’s explained, and it’s usually for a joke. That said, I do plan eventually to get into composite photographs, as some artists do amazing work coming up with surreal compositions.
    
    Don’t know I have that kind of expertise, but someday. . .
    
    Very impressed with your captures. Looking forward to further exploration and future works.
    
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    - rondje on March 25, 2013 at 15:58 said:
      
      Thanks, changed from a photo a day since august to less quantity, more quality,i hope!
      I agree with you on composites, but not for me, i like to work with available light and scenes. Most of the times with a result of the scene in mind, so try to get as close with my photo-taking as possible and do the rest in post-process, sometimes thats nothing, sometimes a little more, but never altering anything else too.
      There were more eyes in this ´haunted´ (for Spaniards) place, but this was the best for me 🙂
      have a great day, good luck with everything, Ron.
      
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  - disperser on March 25, 2013 at 15:53 said:
    
    Oh yeah . . . love the blog’s name. One of my favorite movies, and great music to boot.
    
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    - rondje on March 25, 2013 at 16:03 said:
      
      Oh,i meant your name: Disperser, and your explanation/ anecdote where it comes from, like it a lot!
      but good to hear you like mine too 😉
      
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      - disperser on March 25, 2013 at 16:31 said:
        
        I got the comment about my name, but wanted to acknowledge your fine effort.
        
        In Italian, Il Buono, il Brutto, il lCattivo . . . don’t know why they changed the English title to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but have to agree the reordering of the adjectives between languages reads better reads better in each.
        
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paranoiasnfm on March 6, 2013 at 19:12 said:

Amazing W&B! 🙂

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- rondje on March 7, 2013 at 20:13 said:
  
  Thanks, white & black? 😉 glad to hear you like em, greetings, Ron
  
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  - paranoiasnfm on March 7, 2013 at 23:23 said:
    
    Yah, black and white. 🙂
    
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    - rondje on March 8, 2013 at 01:24 said:
      
      Maybe better to sometimes put the white first, i liked it!
      
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basilBLOGinc on March 5, 2013 at 06:56 said:

wow..what stark beautiful images! gorgeous!

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- rondje on March 7, 2013 at 20:09 said:
  
  Thanks a lot, Basil, very cool of you to say. All the best, Ron.
  
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Emilie Vardaman on February 18, 2013 at 14:48 said:

I love your photos. As an aspiring photographer, they inspire me a lot. You’ve got a new subscriber!

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- rondje on March 7, 2013 at 20:09 said:
  
  Thank you, Emile. Hope you still liek what you see, i´m still learning and trying and improving hopefully too
  Greetings, Ron.
  
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erassima on February 10, 2013 at 17:00 said:

Wonderful surrealistic feel.

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- rondje on March 7, 2013 at 20:07 said:
  
  Dank je, surrealistische plek ook: verlaten sanatorium in bos dat de boel weer terug neemt…
  
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Les Petits Pas de Juls on February 1, 2013 at 01:03 said:

fantastic photos! I’ll stick around a bit! I’m intrigued… 😉

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- rondje on February 4, 2013 at 17:27 said:
  
  Thanks very much, Julie, nice to hear, you’re always welcome 🙂
  
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Kamila Natkaniec on January 29, 2013 at 21:30 said:

Fantastic ! Places on your photos are really amazing.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:40 said:
  
  Thanks a lot, Kamila, I’m glad these places are so amazing, makes me want to explore them and new ones more and more 🙂
  Greetings,
  Ron
  
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yoshizen on January 29, 2013 at 14:06 said:

On top of good photography, I like your eyes to be a surrealist most.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:39 said:
  
  Thank you, Yoshi, I suppose surrealistic art is one of the styles I really like 😉
  
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Emilio on January 28, 2013 at 21:55 said:

That first image is amazing in every aspect.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:34 said:
  
  Gracias, Emilio, great you like the scene and how I tried to capture it 🙂
  
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melmannphoto on January 27, 2013 at 00:00 said:

Love the B&W – really allows me to focus on the forms and shapes.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:32 said:
  
  Thanks, Mel, totally agree with you; getting rid of the colors made these stronger in my opinion…
  
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drawandshoot on January 26, 2013 at 05:35 said:

These are very strong and interesting images.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:31 said:
  
  Thank you, Karen, that’s very nice to hear from someone with a great eye for atmosphere!
  Greeting, Ron.
  
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Luddy's Lens on January 24, 2013 at 20:03 said:

That first image — the chair mimicking the pattern of the ground while addressing the mesa, I love that whole scene!

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:20 said:
  
  Gracias, Luddy, I noticed that while I was already framing the shot and then made sure some of the reflection came out too; thanks for noticing!
  Greetz, Ron
  
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Derrick Birdsall on January 24, 2013 at 05:11 said:

Love that first one!

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:18 said:
  
  Thanks, Derrick
  
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bluebrightly on January 23, 2013 at 18:55 said:

Wonderful photographs, and I think it’s a good idea to go back and re-post some from before anyone was watching. The textures are very appealing.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:18 said:
  
  Thank you, Lynn. will go through em and see which ones I still think good enough to show, but good to know you like my first two shots!
  
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Truels on January 23, 2013 at 14:55 said:

Hello – from the winter-cold North – Denmark….! Thanks for your “like” 🙂 – I was very surprised reading and watching your amazing blog here: Great photos!!!! I will follow you from now – and I hope many others will do the same!!

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:16 said:
  
  Hello Truels, thanks for your compliment, great to hear you like it!
  lots of warmth from the middle of Spain to you!
  Greetings, Ron
  
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Syncopated Eyeball on January 23, 2013 at 08:39 said:

Ahh! I doubt you’ll be surprised that I love that second one.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:03 said:
  
  Not too much, no, but still very happy to hear it straight from you 😉
  
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grumpytykepix on January 23, 2013 at 07:57 said:

Hi. Thanks for the ‘like’ on my post. Really superb pictures here – exactly what I am trying to achieve but some way to go. They remind me too that I must come again to Spain (I was last there nearly 40 years ago when I lived there for a year – tinto at 3 pesetas a glass!). Less than once a day is good – I’ve a better chance of seeing them all. I’ll be back.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:11 said:
  
  Hi, thank you for the compliment. Spain is still pretty cheap away from the biggest cities, no 3 pesetas but 80 cent for a well filled glass of good wine is still good enough for me 😉
  I’ll take it slow with the reposting and will only go through best of em, I hope…
  
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tmso on January 23, 2013 at 03:24 said:

Wow – these are both awesome. And I thought you were getting better! I see now that you are just awesome. 😉

What is in that water hole in the desert?

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:05 said:
  
  Haha, thank you very much, Nila, guess I’m doing some radical censoring on the old ones, but great you like em!
  There’s a chair slowly drowning there, couldn’t reach it…
  
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  - tmso on January 30, 2013 at 20:40 said:
    
    I thought it was a chair, but wasn’t sure. Thanks.
    
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john todaro on January 22, 2013 at 22:46 said:

Love that window image Ron- it would make a really nice print.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 19:01 said:
  
  Definitely does look good as I printed it long time ago as it is 😉
  Thanks for the heads up, John!
  
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Bashar A. on January 22, 2013 at 22:30 said:

I looooooooooooooooove the first image 🙂

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:57 said:
  
  Thanks, Bashar. great to hear that!
  
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margaret21 on January 22, 2013 at 21:12 said:

Thanks so much for re-posting these shots. Many I remember – some are ‘before my time’. I must tell you that I really look forward to seeing your posts. What I most appreciate is your ‘eye’ – your ability to see a great shot, a great story, in something which so many of us might completely disregard. Add to that the painterly qualities your pictures so often have, whether in colour or black and white, their composition, their lighting, and there’s always something special there. These days I find myself thinking of your work as I go round and about with my camera. It’s made me want to be more than a taker-of-snaps. Thank you.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:55 said:
  
  Wow, thank you so much, Margaret, what a huge compliment! I guess I’m also lucky to be able to spend most my time on finding location (or sightseeing you could say) and photographing. But I’m very flattered by your comments, cuz apart from the technicality it’s all about the fact that people see the story, like you said, in it; also lucky that this country seems to have lots of stories in its nearby and far away histories!
  Thanks so much for your support and best to you
  Greetings,
  Ron
  
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johanstellerphotography on January 22, 2013 at 19:28 said:

incredibly beautiful

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:41 said:
  
  Thank you very much, Johan, love to hear that 🙂
  
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Chris Breebaart on January 22, 2013 at 18:05 said:

Hi Ron! Bring it on!! I live to see your old work published again or the first time! These two are beautiful! Niets mis met hergebruik!
(We are both Dutch: nothing wrong with reusing!)

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:40 said:
  
  Hi Chris, Dank je en er zullen nog zeker veel voorbij komen, want inmiddels al aan de 435 posts, dus kan ver terug, maar wel een selectie die ik nu ook nog zou posten 😉 groet, Ron
  
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ckponderings on January 22, 2013 at 18:02 said:

Nicely revisited/rescued images! 😀

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:39 said:
  
  Thanks a lot, CK, well I hoped they were good enough to start with and not yet dying on me 😉
  But definitely changed my view of things a bit since then…
  Greetings,
  Ron
  
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mobius faith on January 22, 2013 at 16:40 said:

Whoa – these are two knock-out images Ron. REally well done. Superb.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:33 said:
  
  Thanks, Terry, good to know some of my early shots (on the web) get your approval as well 🙂
  
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Louis on January 22, 2013 at 16:31 said:

Fine images – very atmospheric.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:32 said:
  
  Thanks a lot, Louis, both places have so much atmosphere and hoped I caught some of that…
  
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Noeline Smith on January 22, 2013 at 16:22 said:

Great idea to republish these shots as they surely deserve attention. The subjects are intriguing and the light/tones pleasing – great work. Have you got any more like these tucked away? 🙂

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:31 said:
  
  Thanks, Noeline, good to know the early days get some attention, definitely more coming up but selecting pretty criticly, I hope 😉
  
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joserasan66 on January 22, 2013 at 16:12 said:

Muy Buena Composición, Es Una Fotografía Buenisima, Al Menos Para Mí…

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:30 said:
  
  Gracias por tu cumplido, Jose.
  
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Melinda Green Harvey on January 22, 2013 at 14:54 said:

Thanks for posting these older shots! They are very good.

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- rondje on January 30, 2013 at 18:29 said:
  
  Thanks, Melinda, you know by now how much I like your appreciation 😉
  
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