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La Mancha, Spain. The iconic windmills of La Mancha didn't knock me off of my horse — or out of my car — but I didn't even consider trying to fight them or mistake them for giants.
The drive south from Madrid takes you through some of the most austere landscape in all of Europe. The meseta, the high central plateau of Spain, stretches to the horizon in waves of ochre and gold. Then, rising from a distant ridge, the windmills appear. These are the giants that Don Quixote mistook for enemies, and standing before them, you can understand his confusion. They possess a strange dignity, a presence that transcends their simple function.
The light on the meseta is legendary among photographers. In the hours after dawn and before sunset, it sculpts the landscape with long shadows and warm tones.
Cervantes immortalized these windmills in 1605, and they have stood as symbols of noble folly ever since. But while Don Quixote was mad to charge them, but there was also a purity in his willingness to fight giants, however imaginary. These windmills have witnessed four centuries of Spanish history, grinding grain, watching armies pass, enduring.
Limited edition Chromaluxe metal print. Matte finish recommended to convey the painterly quality of the La Mancha landscape.
La Mancha, Spain. The iconic windmills of La Mancha didn't knock me off of my horse — or out of my car — but I didn't even consider trying to fight them or mistake them for giants.
The drive south from Madrid takes you through some of the most austere landscape in all of Europe. The meseta, the high central plateau of Spain, stretches to the horizon in waves of ochre and gold. Then, rising from a distant ridge, the windmills appear. These are the giants that Don Quixote mistook for enemies, and standing before them, you can understand his confusion. They possess a strange dignity, a presence that transcends their simple function.
The light on the meseta is legendary among photographers. In the hours after dawn and before sunset, it sculpts the landscape with long shadows and warm tones.
Cervantes immortalized these windmills in 1605, and they have stood as symbols of noble folly ever since. But while Don Quixote was mad to charge them, but there was also a purity in his willingness to fight giants, however imaginary. These windmills have witnessed four centuries of Spanish history, grinding grain, watching armies pass, enduring.
Limited edition Chromaluxe metal print. Matte finish recommended to convey the painterly quality of the La Mancha landscape.
