photobyjohnbo

Lens-Artists Challenge #408—Over the Top

La Sagrada Familia

I don’t know how to define “Over the Top,” but I know it when I see it. This week, Egidio asks us to share what we call over the top. He writes, “…So, for this week’s challenge, I would like to see what you consider over the top (OTT). There is no right or wrong here; OTT is a very personal thing.” You can read his entire challenge post here.

In 2023, we visited Barcelona, and I came away with a true appreciation for what architect Antoni Gaudí was all about. One of our stops was the site of the 1992 Olympics, the Montjuïc Olympic Ring (Anella Olímpica de Montjuïc). Truth is, I was more impressed by the commanding view of the city from the Olympic Pool than by the pool itself. That deck, perched on the hill known as Montjuïc, rises only about 173–178 meters (568–583 feet) above sea level, yet the panorama is unforgettable. Even from that height, La Sagrada Família—Gaudí’s signature work—towers above the city’s rooflines. The design is over the top; the magnitude of the project is over the top; the seven generations it took to construct it were over the top; and even the shadow cast by the Basilica is over the top.

For this image, I took my processing “over the top” by using Lightroom Classic’s masking tools to bring out the details in the Basilica and its shadow, and by cropping the image heavily. The original Samsung photo captured a much wider view of the city, yet even after cropping, I still had a file with over 2K resolution. It almost looks as if I Photoshopped the church to make it larger, but that didn’t happen. All I did was mask the Basilica to increase the tone settings and clarity, making it the obvious subject in the photo.

Park Güell Entrance
Park Güell Entrance

Later that day, we visited Park Güell—a place where Gaudí’s ideas and Eusebi Güell’s ambitions came together in a way that still feels a little offbeat. Güell wanted a private garden community on the hillside, and he gave Gaudí plenty of room to experiment. The result wasn’t the upscale neighborhood Güell imagined, but it left behind a park full of curves, mosaics, odd angles, and structures that seem to lean into their own sense of fun. Walking through it, with people scattered everywhere and the architecture doing its best to ignore straight lines, the whole place felt naturally over the top. It matched the theme without me having to look for it.

This image, also captured with my Samsung S23 Ultra, was intentionally tilted to ensure the tall spire of the foreground building fit within the frame. The result was a photo I never published, because the distortion made it impossible to straighten without losing the feel of the shot. I did publish a version merged as a vertical panorama, but for Egidio’s theme, the whimsy of this tilted angle gave me another chance to go a little over the top. The HDR sky came straight from Samsung’s JPEG processing engine, and I even toned it down a bit because the dark blue patch in the center pulled attention away from the subject. I also removed the overhangs of two buildings on the upper left and right edges using the AI removal tool. Finally, I enhanced the people in the lower right corner to add a bit of human interest to the shot.

Park Güell Fountain
Crowd energy on Gaudí’s Stairway

For my last image, also taken at Park Güell, the Dragon Stairway was restricted to one-way descending traffic that day. The large crowd was directed to walk a different way to access the rooftop terrace. From my spot on the steps, I had a clear view of the fountain that runs down the center of the stairway—a feature fed from the cistern under the Hypostyle Room. With people moving in a steady stream, filling every landing and walkway, the whole scene turned into a joyful chaos. In reviewing the photo for the challenge, I noticed the people sitting on the fountain edge patiently waiting for the girl in the foreground to take their picture. The girl, however, was distracted by something, paying no attention to the subjects of her cell phone photo. What was she looking at?

Again, the Samsung S23 Ultra and my inability to hold the phone level added to the over‑the‑top nature of the photo. In Lightroom, I tried to level the image and straighten the verticals, but doing that drained all the natural energy from the hectic scene. The ultra-wide camera’s distortion of the people in the foreground adds an almost expressionist exaggeration to the scene, fitting the chaotic energy of the staircase. In the end, the tilt, the crowd, and the lens choice worked together to make the moment feel even more over the top. Head on over to Flickr, where you can find my gallery in 2K HD here.

Thanks, Egidio, for a great topic. I’ve read so many interesting takes in the responses. Last week, it was Patti’s Celebrations challenge that brought out all the bright costumes and happy people. Next week, Steve Hyde will guest-host the challenge, which will go live on Saturday, August 15 at noon Eastern Time. Follow him here so you don’t miss it!

If you’re sharing a Lens‑Artists Challenge response for the first time, welcome—we’d love to visit your post. To participate, publish your take on this week’s theme, link back to this page, and add the Lens‑Artists tag so others can discover your work. You’ll find more details on how the challenge works here.

John Steiner

36 comments

  2. Wonderful gallery, John. I agree that Gaudi’s work has many examples of OTT but I love all his architecture.You captured the energy so beautifully in your image of Gaudi’s staircase. I love it! Thank you for the processing wisdom keys.

    Reply

    • Thanks, Suzette! I like Gaudi’s whimsy at Park Guell. Before visiting Barcelona, I hadn’t seen any of his works in person. At the time of our visit, we were too late to order tickets to tour the Basilica, or we would have done that walk-through, as well. I do have exterior street views from our visit.

      Reply

  4. ‘I know it when I see it’ is exactly the right way to frame over-the-top — and Gaudí is such a perfect pick for it. His work is that rare kind of excess that still somehow feels completely intentional. That staircase shot everyone’s talking about makes me want to build a whole trip around Barcelona’s architecture.

    Reply

  6. Gaudí is a great choice for an OTT theme! I love your shot of the basilica in particular, it really emphasises the scale of his vision 🙂 When I first glanced at your final shot the head of the young man in the left foreground seemed to merge with the wall behind him and I saw him initially as headless!

    Reply

    • Sarah, you wrote exactly what I first saw when I pulled it up for the re-edit. I considered removing the person, but it added to the feel, and that would have been a mistake.
      This was a fun challenge to process.

      Reply

  13. Last time I was in Barcelona was 1978. There were no tourists. La Sagrada Familia was substantially less finished. Park Güell was uncared for, with masses of missing and/or broken tiles and pieces. Too many tourists are sometimes good for something!

    Reply

  15. Thanks for the fond reminder of our time in Barcelona John – I will admit I was not so enchanted by Gaudi nor do I think a church should be so dominant a spectacle in that beautiful city. Call me an old grouch if you like but I loved Barcelona despite, not because of, those two features! That said, your post is very creative and fun!

    Reply

    • Thanks, Tina! I thought Park Guell to be something akin to an American amusement park, so the comic-book structures added to the charm of the park.
      The Basilica, however, is so over-the top, that the view from the mountain shows the problem. Church spires are always rising over European cities, not the front entrance, the gable over the entrance visible in the photo.

      Reply

  16. Thank you John, we love Barcelona and your pictures are fantastic. Thank you for the memories.

    Eithnea.

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.