On my trip to Spain this summer, I loved learning about and seeing the work of so many Spanish painters and architects. As I begin to soak up the art, I feel I get such a better sense of the history and personality of a place. On this trip, I was delighted to stumble across the work of two Spanish documentary photographers.

I came across this book by Spanish photographer Fernando Maquieira in a bookstore at the Alhambra in Granada. This book caught my eye because it was a documentary collection of tourists encountering the Alhambra. Sometimes when I'm visiting a famous place, and trying to photograph it, I wish there weren't so many people around... But Maquierira actually incorporates the tourists into the place, making them a part of the story of the place. I purchased his book the day before we visited the Alhambra and found that his photographs enriched my perspective of place. Instead of trying to see the place in spite of the people, I began to observe the inhabitants as part of the place.

If you're interested, you can see more of his work here:
http://www.fernandomaquieira.com/index.php?/projects/anima/