Building the human tower Photo

Photographer’s Note

A castell is a human tower built traditionally in festivals at many locations within Catalonia, Spain. At these festivals, several colles castelleres or teams often succeed in building and sustain a tower's structure for a certain length of time.

The tradition of building human towers originated in Valls, near the city of Tarragona, in the southern part of Catalonia towards the end of the 18th century. Later it developed a following in other regions of Catalonia and even Majorca, and currently has become very popular in parts of Spain. However, the best and most skilled castellers are still found near Tarragona.

In Catalan the word castell means castle.

A castell is considered a success when stages of its assembling and disassembling, can be done in complete succession. The final assemblement occurs when everyone has climbed into their designated places, where the enxaneta, the last person, often a child has climbed up to the top, and has raised one hand with four fingers erect, said to symbolize the stripes of the Catalan flag. The exaneta then climbs down to the other side of the castell, where every other person of the castell can then climb down in order from highest to lower parts of the castell to safety.

Aside from the people who actually climb to make upper parts of the tower, others are needed to form the pinya, base of the castell, to sustain its weight. These people, often men act as a 'safety net' if the tower structure collapses and people from the upper parts of the tower are then able to fall on them, cushioning their impact when compared directly hitting the ground.

The castell is built in two phases. First, the pinya the base of the tower is formed. People forming the upper levels of the tower move to a position from which they can easily get to their place in the tower. This is done slowly and carefully, and when completed, fellow castellers on ground make a decision if the base is solid enough to continue to build it. Once a go ahead is given, music traditionally accompanied with building such towers is played by music bands, and crowd observers the building quieten down. The upper layers of the tower are built as quickly so the lower castellers who carry the most weight of the castell do not become overly strained given the weight they have to bear. The break up of the tower is often the most risky part of the stage, is done under the clapping and cheering of a crowd.

All info on internet.

leo61, skai, pauloog, bostankorkulugu, carlosmarin, avene has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

yquem46 (7842) 2009-10-05 12:05

Quite an original POV Maria affording a very graphic impression with all thes arms, heads, bodies, sols ... pushing in the same direction
Excellent
regards
patrick

myeyes (33) 2009-10-05 12:07

Graphic formation and the mood of human presence is so powerful in this photo. you framed it very well and captured the mood of a crowd as a uniformed body.

devimeuxbe (55865) 2009-10-05 12:08

Hi maria
very very nice picture. This is a real modern art. I like all, the cropping, the pov and the colors. Excellent report also.
Well done
Bertrand

sonkai (1017) 2009-10-05 12:10

Hola Maria,
Mi comentario va en la misma línea que el de Patrick,creo que este punto de vista,con tantas lineas naturales dirigiendo la mirada,le da mucha fuerza a la foto,tambien el tonos prácticamente tricolor.Y qué sensación de claustrofobia,no?
Un saludo,
Sonsoles

leo61 (43384) 2009-10-05 12:12

Hi Maria!
A great shot from this event.
I like a lot these arms buildind these diagonals.
Very interesting note,too.
Regards,Leo

skai (143) 2009-10-05 12:15

Hi Maria, this is a picture with incredible intensity, the tight composition is perfect with all lines towards the center of action in the upper corner almost hidden from view.

Glint (3042) 2009-10-05 12:22

hello Maria,
excellent POV. Were you on top of another castell? ;))
Good crop and dynamics created by the diagonal lines of arms.
Bev

batalay (20876) 2009-10-05 12:27

Hello Maria Bianca,

What an extraordinary formation and density of human arms, and humanity in general. Your highly informative note complements the photo most effectively, creating a very good Trekearth package. I was in Barcelona in late August, and it has become one of my favorite ports in the Mediterranean.

Warm regards from Virginia,

Bulent

maglex (1562) 2009-10-05 12:33

HI MAria, beautifully captured this special event. I like the repetitions of the arms and the intense show of team work. The hands are very well captured. Regards, Alex

OLF (3900) 2009-10-05 12:56

Hi Maria,
Just perfect pov here, a very good and graphical composition.
Very well done!
Regards,
Olivier

InasiaJones (20102) 2009-10-05 13:05

Hi Maria,

Great point of view over this human pyramid, where the numerous harms converge in the upper right corner of the frame.

The red colour is a great accent with the skin tones.

Cheers!

André

pauloog (6436) 2009-10-05 14:35

Hello Maria,
A fantastic sight, these graphical lines composed of heads and arms...
the red shirts and scarfs give a good unity to the view as well.
Regards,
Paul

Bartleby (4836) 2009-10-05 14:41

Ola Maria,
very powerful image! All those arms converging to a center...very graphic. And the not seeing what it is exactly that they do is all the more enticing.

Best,

Philippe

LOOOK13 (2774) 2009-10-05 14:50

Salut.
Trés belle photo, une masse humaine impréssionante, le rouge est dominant, ton cadrage sérré est bien soigné, mais ou vont ses mains?
Bravo.

bostankorkulugu (33520) 2009-10-05 16:54

simply amazing maria... the pov, the tight framing, the diagonal setting... they all rule, congrats dear...

carlosmarin (607) 2009-10-06 4:53

Hola Maria,
Interesante encuadre de la foto de un Castell, en que en lugar de destacar la torre y el "enxeneta" muestra la base con el esfuerzo colectivo, todo un símbolo de los castellers.
Las líneas radiales que forman los brazos y el color rojo dominante, crean una buena composición.
Un saludo,
Carlos

angie-barcelona (1849) 2009-10-06 10:10

Hola Maria!

tenía pendiente votarte esta fotografía. Te felicito por la idea, el detalle de fotografiar sólo a un grupo de las personas que debían aguantar el castell es realmente bueno!!!

Un abrazo,

Gemma

yaya13baut (2289) 2009-10-06 11:03

hola Maria,
impressive POV of this famous traditional demonstration of Catalonia and good frame on a part of it.
we can easily see the effort of the men carrying the human building.
a living and colourful scene.
Yannis

brandstaetter (14076) 2009-10-06 11:43

Also this one...excellent and I wonder how you did it.. from a second (ladies) tower ? :)
Cheers Chris

papera (5254) 2009-10-06 13:42

hola maria,
whenever I am in Spain I always come to late (or too early) to follow these festivals...
the graphic patterns of the bodies and the predominant red colour give a lot of power to the photo - it feels as if the upper right corner is the tap hole of a giant tub that sucks in all the bodies, as if they were water flowing into it...
c.

BennyV (4646) 2009-10-07 6:19

Excellent shot, Maria. I noticed your next upload earlier, but this one is much beter. Very strong compoisition work, and I like those tightly packed frames. Good picture.

benny

avene (10944) 2009-10-07 14:58

hello Maria,
the tight framing works really well to convey the sense of dense crowd, and I like a lot how you have put the emphasis on the arms all pointing in onde direction, there's almost something Biblical in these joint efforts. great shot, great note.

best,
Kristine

Rafer (4264) 2009-10-08 13:26

No he podido criticar tu foto hasta ahora pero lo hago observando una composición muy aprovechada y muy oportuna desde un punto de vista alto, que es lo suyo...felicidades por esa calidad...P.D. publicaré una mia con el mismo tema...

coco (27802) 2009-10-16 10:46

Hola otra vez, María.

Parecida a la anterior, pero también un gran trabajo y una gran foto.

Un beso.

eversmile (6061) 2009-10-27 2:25

Hi Maria

This one is fantastic! A masterpiece. The high POV gives an excellent dynamic and draw a very artistic abstraction with bodies. The graphic effect is surprising and attractive. The colors, well coordinated together, help to create a sensation of unity. Excellent work, Maria!
Congratulations!
Regards
Marine