This is the first image made in 2019 I feature on this blog. I took a shot of this old train station on a very foggy and cold day.
Train Station, Pobra do Brollon, January 2019
in photographs
black and white
Death, Alentejo, December 2018
in photographs
While exploring the beautiful Alentejo, I stumbled upon this dead sheep. Alone in the middle of a field, I spent some time looking at it before deciding to take a few exposures.
It was an unexpected and powerful scene and I wanted to take a few minutes before moving on.
Lone Tree, Alentejo, December 2018
in photographs
One of the many beautiful tress you can find in this region of Portugal.
Roads of the Alentejo, December 2018
in photographs
Foggy day on one of the many roads of the beautiful Alentejo.
Two Sides, Mértola, December 2018
in photographs
I had Mértola on my list of places to visit for a while. On my way there, I drove through the Guadiana Valley Natural Park, where I saw signs on the road warning about lynx. Now, that was something new to me!
This is an image of a little chapel on top of a hill, just out of town. The light was harsh allowing only for very high contrast shots. This was what I came up with.
Urriellu, Asturias, September 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500, 16-70mm f/4 Zeiss
Settings: 16mm, ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/160sec
I've been going through some old images I never had time to work on, and I'm finding a few I really like.
Like this one, taken up in the mountains when the Sun was already setting behind the peaks of Picos de Europa National Park, in Asturias, Spain.
I really can't wait to visit the mountains this winter. Soon!
Oak, Algarve, December 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500, Sigma 16mm f/1.4
Settings: ISO 160, f/2, 1/60sec
I went on a little hike to get some fresh air and try to get the inspiration I've been lacking lately. I picked a nearby trail through the hills of the Algarve and grabbed my video camera.
It was a success. This one is my favorite of the few images I made there, but that was not the point. That little walk filled up my "inspiration tank" and I can already feel it (me writing this post today is proof of it).
Apartment Building, Monforte de Lemos, November 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Sony a6000, Holga Pinhole Lens
Settings: ISO 1600, 1/3 sec
This is my favorite image I've made with the Holga Pinhole Lens so far.
This is the view I get every morning when I'm in Spain and I'm checking for the morning weather. The same ugly building, every day.
A completely different view when looking through the pinhole.
Portugal, Week 1
in photographs
Some images from last week, my first one in Southern Portugal.
Oyster Beds, Arcachon Bay, November 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Sony a6000 + 16-70mm f/4 Carl Zeiss
Settings: 70mm, ISO 200, f/5.0, 30 seconds
This is, along with "Valley of the Saints", my favorite image from France.
I drove for more than three hours to make an image like this one, even though I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to. You see, these Oyster Beds are on a peninsula in the Arcachon Bay, a place I didn't know I'd be able to reach.
I only had one day in the area, so I had to try.
Not only was I able to get close to them, but I did it for hours. I thought that I'd have to leave once the tide got higher, but that only made the spot better and better for the kind of photography I was looking for.
I had a blast looking for compositions among these sticks, until I finally found it. I knew I had gotten what I was looking for as soon as I pressed the shutter, but I still spent some more time in the location just in case I ran into something even better.
That didn't happen, but it didn't matter. I was happy and couldn't wait to see the results of that long day.
It was worth it.
Evora and the Alentejo
in journal
I'm writing this from my hotel room in Evora, city I'll be leaving shortly to head towards the Algarve.
This was my second time in this beautiful town, and I already regret not having spent a few more days in the area. Not only there's so much more to explore on these charming and mysterious streets, but I really want to photograph the landscapes of the Alentejo.
There's still hope, though. Where I'm going is not too far from here so I could always do a day trip, and I'm also hoping to find similar landscapes down there.
For now, these are some of the images that I made during these short two days here in the capital of the Alentejo, Evora.
Tree, Huelgoat, Bretagne, October 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500 + 16-70mm f/4 Carl Zeiss
Settings: 16mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/200sec
This day I spent in Bretagne visiting the Valley of the Saints and Huelgoat was the highlight of my 2 weeks there, no doubt.
Huelgoat is a beautiful town and the forests around it are stunning. It was there where I found this tree, one of the few that had already lost almost all of their leaves.
It was a busy scene but I was lucky enough to find this clear. The other trees seemed to frame this one perfectly.
Vlog from Valley of the Saints || See more images from France
Valley of the Saints, Bretagne, October 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500 + 16-70mm f/4 Carl Zeiss
Settings: 16mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/320sec
This is one of my favorite images from my recent trip to France, made in a place I didn't have big hopes for. This location, in the middle of the Bretagne, turned out to be a great spot for photography.
Vlog from Valley of the Saints || See more images from France
Pushing HP5 to the limit: ASA 51,200
in journal
In this video, I push my favorite film to the limit. I expose and develop Ilford HP5+ for an ASA of 51,200. Will it work?
Monument to the fallen soldiers, Normandy, October 2018
in photographs
The fog had taken over Normandy that day. After trying to make an image at Mount-Saint-Michel and failing, I decided to drive around and find other spots to photograph. When I passed by this cemetery I knew I had to stop and make some images there. This is the one I liked the most.
Biarritz: last hours in France
in journal
The French Road Trip is over.
Biarritz was my last stop after 40 days on the road. I wasn't planning on making any images there since I only had a few hours, but I liked the town so much that I couldn't not try.
Boat, Cancale, October 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500, 16-70mm f/4 Carl Zeiss
Settings: 70mm, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/400sec
An image I made near Cancale, Brittany, France. The ocean was beautiful that morning, calm and of such a bright blue that almost looked white. I saw this boat and tried to isolate it from others around.
Mount Saint-Michel, Normandy, October 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500, Sony 70-200mm f/4
Settings: 70mm, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/400sec
The beautiful Mount Saint-Michel in Normandy has been photographed to death. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to make your own image there, your own take on an iconic location.
I don't know if this one is original or not, but I love the way the fog was lying low showing only the higher parts of the castle, along with a pretty much clear sky.
This was one of the very few images I made that morning, I tried to enjoy the sunrise instead.
Gavarnie, Parc National des Pyrénées, October 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Sony a6500, Sigma 30mm f/1.4
Settings: ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/60sec
It rained quite a bit on our first day in the Parc National des Pyrénées. We made it to the impressive Cirque de Gavarnie, but couldn't reach the waterfall due to the torrential rain.
Rain can make photography very hard and challenging, and it can ruin your gear in seconds. It also offers some of the best light you'll ever get (even better than sunrise / sunset) and the mood is unbeatable.
This is how I made this image.
If you haven't watched the video of this adventure, you totally should!
Landscape Photography with a Vintage Lens and Sony a6000
in journal
Again, I got sunny and clear skies in the Pyrenees, so I thought it'd be nice to use a vintage lens that I'd been wanting to try for landscape photography.
The lens is a Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 mounted on a Minolta MD/MC to Sony E adaptor.
I shot it wide open and stepping it down. The results were soft when wide open but I love that look. It's a sharp lens when stepped down.
Still, the focal lenght when mounted on a crop sensor camera like the Sony a6000 makes it a less than ideal lens for landscape photography. And I mean, as the only lens. 90mm can be a very nice focal lenght for landscapes when you combine it with something else.
Below, you can see some of the images I got and that I show in the video.
