A shipwreck near Milfontes

Whenever I find an interesting and new location, I always plan to visit several times. This was the case with a famous shipwreck near Milfontes, in Portugal’s southwest coast. For more than 20 years, there is a Dutch cargo ship being pounded by the waves in a small rocky beach. This makes for a picturesque subject, set against a scenic coastal background. This time of the year, without the summer crowds, this stretch of still pristine coastline is well worth visiting.

I visited the place for the first time in October last year, to get a feel for the location, and to scope potential viewpoints and compositions. With the sidelight from the approaching sunset, I grabbed a few interesting photos of the now-rusted ship. These are some photos I made back then, including a panorama of Milfontes.

Shipwreck #1
Shipwreck #1
Shipwreck #2
Shipwreck #2
Leftovers
Leftovers
Low tide sunset
Low tide sunset
Blue hour panorama
Blue hour panorama

I made a mental note back then to return during the winter, at the blue hour before sunrise. The occasion arose last Sunday, on a very cold January morning… the small beach is easy to reach, within walking distance of the small lighthouse of Milfontes, where the path starts. I was carrying a small backpack with my Sony A7II and FE 24-70 f4 zoom lens, a light and versatile high quality combination. Sure, the zoom lens is not bitingly sharp in the corners like the Loxia or Batis lenses, but then, it provided the advantage of not having to change lenses with frozen hands… a big plus in my book!

Thanks to my early visit, I could set up the tripod quickly in selected vantage points, and started shooting some long exposures. The first one, after some calculations, was about 7 minutes long; plus, another 7 minutes for the in-camera long exposure noise reduction. So, I had about a quarter of an hour to check the news on my mobile.

From then on, it was smooth shooting all along, trying different framings of the pebbly beach and the shipwreck. I was packing to go back to the car park, when I noticed a fog bank developing at the river Mira estuary; this seemed like a fantastic and unexpected opportunity, so I hurried back along the dunes. Thankfully, the fog lasted for another 30 minutes or so, and I could grab some more interesting photos!

Into the blue
Into the blue
Abandoned #1
Abandoned #1
Abandoned #2
Abandoned #2
Foggy morning
Foggy morning
Hazy beach
Hazy beach
Into the fog
Into the fog
Golden hour
Golden hour

 

Fujifilm X100T in Muscat, Oman

For my first post of 2017, I have chosen images taken during a recent trip to Muscat.

All photographers like to have a small, yet high quality camera with them, and the Fuji X100 series of cameras no doubt is the choice of many. Now in its 4th generation (with the X100F), this camera caused quite a stir when it was launched about 6 years ago; combining (retro) good looks, a hybrid viewfinder (OVF and EVF), and a fixed lens with a focal length that is a favourite of many street photographers, it provides a fantastic package.

Whenever I travel to Muscat (a favourite place of mine), I always carry a small camera with me, in case I have some free time. This last time, it was the X100T, which can be found at a good used price, now that the X100F is out. One of my favourite places to visit in Muscat is the Mutrah area, with the nice Corniche bordering the sea, the lively souk, and the picturesque surround hills. There is a well sign-posted small trek that one can do in these hills, starting near the Incense Burner roundabout; from there, it is a short climb to the top of the hills, where there is a nice view of the Mutrah bay.

I was fortunate to have a spare (weekend) morning, so I went up there to photograph the full Moon setting in the West. The weather slightly hazy, which added to the smooth early morning light. The X100T is incredibly easy to use; I mostly use it in aperture priority mode, sometimes in manual mode too. Together with a table tripod, I could shoot 5 and 6 second exposures during the “blue hour” before sunrise.

Later, I went for a walk in the beach, where hundreds of people gather at dusk to play football, and to relax with their families. Again, the little X100T was with me, allowing me to photograph in a discrete way. This camera provides a simple control layout, and delivers high quality images. Even my teenage daughter commented on how “nice it looks”, so for sure Fujifilm are on to something…

 

Moonset over Mutrah
Moonset over Mutrah
On the beach #1

 

On the beach #2
On the beach #2
Incense Burner sunrise