palma de mallorca: my street photography playbook
let's be real. most people come to mallorca for the beaches. i come for the way the afternoon light hits 500-year-old sandstone, for the chaos of the markets, and for the stories hidden in the city's labyrinth of backstreets.
i've walked hundreds of kilometers through palma, hunting for those perfect moments where light, architecture, and people collide. this isn't your average tourist guide. this is my personal playbook for real street photography in palma de mallorca.
the shot: the cathedral and the long shadow
everyone has the postcard photo of the cathedral. forget that. the real shot, the one that has soul, happens in the late afternoon when the sun gets low and the day begins to cool. this is when the light turns golden and the shadows become the main characters.
palma´s cathedral la seu
where: the edge of the parc de la mar, facing la seu.
when: the last two hours before sunset. you want the sun low at your back, casting long, sharp shadows across the promenade.
the shot: the trick here isn't the reflection in the water; it's the shadow on the stone. you're waiting for that single figure – a lone walker, a couple, a skater – to move across the wide, empty space. as they do, their shadow will stretch out long and dark before them, a graphic arrow pointing towards the ancient cathedral. it's a shot about contrast: the fleeting, moving shadow against the permanent stone. it connects the human scale in the foreground to the monumental background and tells the story of a single moment at the end of a long, hot day.
the shot: the beautiful chaos of mercat de l'olivar
if you want to feel the pulse of palma, this is it. the olivar market is an assault on the senses in the best possible way. i always head straight for the fish hall.
mercat de l´olivar
where: deep inside the circular fish hall (pescaderia).
when: around 11 am. you want peak chaos.
the shot: get close. this isn't a job for a telephoto lens. it's about capturing the character etched into the fishmongers' faces, the blur of their hands at work, the intense moment a local makes their choice. the light is messy, the floors are wet, and the faces are pure gold. it’s raw, authentic, and everything i love about street photography.
the shot: the slow dance of the stone forest
most people pop into la llotja for five minutes, take a quick photo, and leave. they're missing the entire point. the hall isn't a static room; it's a living thing. it's a giant, stone sundial, and the real show is watching the light perform as it moves across the floor and columns.
la llotja
where: inside the main hall of la llotja de palma. anywhere and everywhere. this is about moving with the light.
when: this isn't a single "when". it's a process.
late morning: the sun starts to pour through the high eastern windows, creating sharp, diagonal beams across the floor.
late afternoon: this is my favorite. the light gets golden and streams in low from the west, casting incredibly long, dramatic shadows from the twisted columns.
the shot: the game here is patience. you're not hunting a person; you're hunting a patch of beautiful light. find the most interesting beam hitting the floor or illuminating one of the slender columns, compose your shot, and wait. sooner or later, someone will wander into it. a tourist looking up in awe, a child running across the stone. that's your subject. they become an actor, spotlit on a stage that's been prepared for them by the sun and centuries of architecture. it's about capturing a small, human moment made epic by the scale and the light of this incredible space.
the shot: the golden hour glow in calatrava
this is my secret weapon when the tourist spots are driving me crazy. in the late afternoon, these quiet alleys transform. the harsh midday sun is gone, replaced by a warm, golden glow that feels like honey pouring over the ancient stone.
calatrava
where: the narrow alleys around the banys àrabs.
when: the last 90 minutes before sunset. the golden hour.
the shot: the game here is to follow the light itself. look for the alleys that run roughly east-west, where the setting sun can stream straight down the corridor. you're hunting for moments where a person is caught in this incredible, warm side-light or backlight. their hair ignites, the side of their face glows, their whole form gets a golden rim that separates them from the deep shadows of the alley. it’s less about graphic drama and more about a soft, timeless, almost painterly mood. it’s intimate, quiet, and pure mediterranean magic.
want to shoot together?
so that’s a peek into my palma playbook. a few of the scenes that get my heart racing.
reading about it is one thing, but being there, feeling the rhythm of a street and knowing when to lift the camera... that’s the real skill. it's about building your eye and your confidence.
that’s what my street photography workshops are all about. it's not a boring class. it's just me and a very small group, hitting these streets and others, and diving deep into how to see and capture moments that most people just walk past. we work on building a narrative, mastering light, and finding your own unique voice in the chaos.
if that sounds like your kind of thing, i'd be stoked to have you along.
check out the workshop details here and let's go shoot palma together.
