Two young baboons in their enclosure in Bioparc Valencia, caught in a playful moment.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 120mm |
| ISO | 250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
Tag Archives: Valencia
A Striped Antelope at Valencia Zoo
A young antelope stands in water at Bioparc Valencia, Spain.
The animal in the photo is a sitatunga, a type of antelope known for its semiaquatic lifestyle. Its splayed hooves help it walk easily through marshy and swampy habitats.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 205mm |
| ISO | 250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
City Life Through Generations
What caught my eye initially was the two older gentlemen in the foreground, but I love that the riders of the bike are wearing similarly coloured clothes. Dark and bright, both.
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
Graceful Flamingos by the Waterfall
Three flamingos at Bioparc Valencia, October 2023.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 240mm |
| ISO | 1250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
Urban Geometry in Valencia
An interesting building that caught my attention on the C. del Mar in Valencia. Just around the corner from the Placa de la Reina.
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
All Stripes and Horns
A Bongo Antelope at Bioparc Valencia was relaxing under the shade when he looked behind at the humans visiting. The baboons in an enclosure nearby were getting most of the attention, though.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 240mm |
| ISO | 160 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
Plaid Hat Diplomacy in Valencia
A hand raised in greeting, with a smiling face, or is it a hand raised in anger?
Luckily, it was the former, with the smiling face of a friendly man just out of the shot greeting his friend in the plaid hat.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1500s |
The Bustling Streets of Valencia
If you don’t like crowds, you should avoid Valencia during the Fallas festival. I rarely saw any trouble. The crowds were almost always in good mood or, at the very least, resigned to not moving very fast. It appears that moving fast can be accomplished if you hire someone in a high-vis vest who will barge through the crowd, dragging a well-dressed family behind them to the front of the crowd. I saw that once as I waited for the Mascletà one bright sunny day last week.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 10 |
| Shutter speed | 1/230s |
The Jerusalem Convent-Matemático Marzal Falla
If you visit Valencia during the first 19 days of the month of March you’ll be bombarded by the loud bangs of bangers going off, and fireworks every day. You’ll also come across elaborate Falla, or statues, dotted around the city.
In the past, they were built of papier mache, but these days the main construction material is styrofoam. On the 20th of the March, all the Fallas in the city are burnt to the ground, with only one item from each saved.
The best Falla in 2025 was the one built at Jerusalem Convent-Matemático Marzal, and luckily, I was staying about 100m away. In reality, that didn’t help much because the crowds visiting there during the day meant it was almost impossible to walk past it quickly. The only time the streets were nearly empty was at 5am one morning when I was going to take sunrise photos.
Here’s only a small selection of photos from that area. There’s more to come, mostly of crowded streets, but the Falla will feature again, probably.
| Aperture | ƒ/2.4 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 7.9mm |
| ISO | 50 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
The Valencia Mascletà
Wikipedia says, “A mascletà (pronounced in Valencian: [maskleˈta]) is a pyrotechnic event characterized by the achievement of a noisy and rhythmic composition that features, particularly during daytime, in street festivities; it is typical of the Valencian Community (Spain). It gets its name from the masclets (very loud firecrackers) that are tied by a wick to form a line or firework display. These are usually fastened at a medium height with ropes or raised by cannons.”
They are LOUD. The sound reverberates around the city centre, and you can feel it shake your body, and even into your legs. Quite an experience!
I did try to protect my ears, but it’s two days later, and there’s a remnant of the mascletà still ringing gently in my left ear since this morning when I woke up. Only time will tell if that is permanent.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 640 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
Luminescence in Azure
When you walk into the Oceanogràfic de València in (guess where) Valencia, you’ll spot large glowing tanks of water. They’re underground, presumably to help keep them cool in the hot Spanish climate and unfortunately, most people just walked straight past them.
Now, I’m not a huge fan of jellyfish, but they’re a beautiful animal to watch from a safe, non-touching, distance. So, of course, I took a bunch of photos of them. 🙂
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 2000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
A Thirsty Ostrich
An ostrich at the Valencia Bioparc, near where I photographed this rhino.
Hey look! Another Ostrich!
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 240mm |
| ISO | 4000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |