Category: Alentejo and Vicentina Coast Natural Park

The Odeceixe beach is one of the most popular ones in SW Portugal. In fact, a few years ago, it was awarded the prize of “best beach with cliffs” in a “7 wonders contest”. Located at the estuary of the river Seixe, it is characterized by a large body of sand. Where it faces the ocean, the sea can be rough, with tricky currents; the more protected river side is excellent for families and small kids. I hadn’t visited this beach for several years, but recently I had the chance to spend a nice afternoon in there. The name Odeceixe originated from the Arabic, with “ode” coming from “wadi”, or river.

To get to the beach, you pass through the picturesque village of Odeceixe, with its windmill in the top of a hill. Last August, the area suffered a violent forest fire, so the surrounding landscape is still covered by burnt trees and dark soil. It always saddens me when something like this happens… close to the beach, there are a few houses that hug the southern cliffs; here, you can find numerous cafés and restaurants, plus plenty of accommodations to rent. These are busy all year round, especially with the local surfer community, and visitors walking the trails of the Rota Vicentina.

After spending a few hours in the beach, I drove to the northern margin of the river, where I left the car. From there it is possible to walk along part of the Rota Vicentina coastal trail, to reach the northern promontory. This is where you will have the best view of the beach. I spent the next hour or so, until sunset, taking many photos. You can appreciate how the interaction between the river and the ocean has created the large beach, thanks to the accumulation of sand. After walking around for a while, I merely sat down and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the tranquility.

This is indeed a beautiful area, and I think the award was well deserved.

It is rare for me to visit this area, and not spend some time in the Cabo Sardão cliffs, simply to enjoy the place. The view along the coastline is magnificent, and sunset is special. It is common for both locals and visitors to gather and admire the scenery, as the sun slowly sinks into the horizon, bidding farewell to another day. In early October I took a few days off to spend some days in the region, and one of the afternoons found me once more in these cliffs.

I arrived about one hour before sunset, and took a stroll in the vicinity of the lighthouse. The weather in the beginning of Autumn feels like a hot summer, but the days are starting to get shorter, and the light has acquired a stronger golden tonality. There were some clouds in the sky, so I was hoping for some interesting color. While waiting for the sunset, I went to a few favorite spots of mine for some photography time; some of these locations are a bit more tricky to access if you are afraid of heights, so please be careful. All the photos were taken with the Fujifilm X-T5 camera and Fujinon 16mm f/1.4 lens.

I made a few photos to the north of the lighthouse, following the signaled path. There are several small hidden beaches that were completely empty. After that, I went to another location, facing the cliff, which offers the classic view of the lighthouse on the top, with the precipitous rocks descending into the ocean. Because there was no wind, it was safer for me to walk down a little more than normal, and thus obtain a more unusual angle over the scenery. I like how the lines from the rocky layers seem to guide the viewer to the distant lighthouse.

As the sunset time was approaching fast, I more or less remained in this location, but turned west. The clouds were reflecting interesting and rich warm colors. As the sun disappeared, the lighthouse keeper turned the light on, a moment that is always interesting to photograph.

I never tire of going to this special place and admire its beauty, it truly is magical.

This is a simple post, just to share some photos I took last week, when spending a few days in Longueira, in the SW Alentejo coastal region. End of September is synonym with tranquility: vacation time is over, school has started, so the crowds are gone. More than that, there is something special about the light in late September; the sun is lower in the sky, the air is crisper, and one can tell that Autumn is around the corner. It is a wonderful time to visit the area, and walk along the beaches and coastal paths.

It rained during one of the days, bringing the much needed water to the dry land. The following afternoon I took a walk just before sunset, visiting the area between Almograve beach and the fishing harbor of Lapa de Pombas. The weather was great, with nice golden light and clouds in the sky. I am always surprised at the amount of interesting subjects that can be found in this small area, from the more general vistas over the cliffs and the ocean, to the fishing boats, and even the local cats.

The following morning I woke up before sunrise for another walk, this time near Longueira. I often go out for a walk early in the day, it is a peaceful time to enjoy nature. The fields around the village have been planted with sweet potatoes, a local famous product; it is now time to gather the harvest, and the workers arrive before sunrise. Looking east, the first light of the sun seems to turn the sky on fire. This type of light lasts only for a few seconds, so I keep shooting as the scene changes.

As mentioned initially, these are just some photos taken close to Longueira and Almograve, within walking distance of my house. I am fortunate to be able to spend time in this region, which is blessed by natural beauty and tranquility,

It is often said that photographing regularly in the same place, or area, can result in boring and repetitive photos. For sure it has happened to me several times, with the resulting frustration. Such is the case of the SW Alentejo and Vicentina Coast Natural Park, where I have been photographing regularly for 30 years. One of my favorite locations is around Cabo Sardão, near the village of Cavaleiro; whenever I can I go there, even if it is only to walk and admire the landscape. The dramatic interaction between the tall rocky cliffs and the constant pummeling of the waves below, give rise to a wonderful natural show.

Adding to the beauty of the area is another factor, which is its geology, composed of folded and compressed strata that is 300 million years old. It is this geology that has controlled the formation of the landscape; in the numerous secluded beaches and small bays, it is possible to see the results of the unimaginable tectonic forces that have shaped the region. Today, even a non-geologist is amazed by the tightly folded layers of different colors that outcrop along the littoral. And all these aspects can be seen in a small area like the one indicated in the map below.

When I go to this area, I usually end up near location A, in the top of the cliff. From here, it is possible to look south and see the tall scarps jutting into the ocean. You can also walk along the sandy path to the north, where there are beaches of difficult access. It is possible to go down into them, especially during low tide, when they are more exposed; but be prepared to negotiate some tricky passages and hang on to a few ropes that have been fixed by the local fishermen.

Thus, try to plan your visit during the golden hour and low tide, for the best conditions. I was lucky to get some nice clouds in the sky for added interest. During my visit, I carried two cameras and two lenses, a wide-angle and a short telephoto. And the obligatory tripod and 10-stop neutral density filter for some nice long exposures.

The next two photos show location B, where I decided to go the following day, also at the end of the day, to benefit from the low-tide. There is a trail that descends the cliff face and allows access to the beach. The folded nature of the rocks is quite distinct.

Fast forward 24 hours and I am back at Cabo Sardão, walking along the trail that will lead me to the beach at the base of the cliffs and location B. I had walked down there a couple of years back, but the tide was high at the time, so actually going to the beach was new to me. Which leads us to the old adage that even in familiar places, it is possible to find new things to visit and photograph. The path reaches a small valley where a narrow creek runs through; following its course, it is easy to arrive at the beach.

I spent the rest of the late afternoon, until sunset, exploring the area. The geology is spectacular, but as I said before, you don’t need to be a geologist to admire all the incredible details and surrounding landscape. Being on the beach and looking up the cliffs, will leave you speechless. Because the tide was so low, I was able to walk along the rocks a considerable distance, which was nice.

After this wonderful visit to this new location, I am certain I will come back many times, as there are so many things to explore.

I have recently spent a few days in my house in Longueira, that I normally use as a base to explore and photograph this coastal region. Today I am sharing some photos of the local landscape, which is dominated by rural fields. The first ones are from a couple of trees that are isolated in the middle of the landscape. I had gone for a late afternoon stroll, with my camera and lens, in this instance a short 56mm telephoto lens in Fuji’s X system APS-C format. I selected this focal length based on my previous knowledge of the subjects; I wanted to isolate the trees, while including some of the wispy clouds above. I decided to convert some of the Raf files to black and white, using an Acros preset with the red filter enabled.

The following day I woke early for my morning jog, and when returning home I noticed a farmer in his tractor, working in the sweet potato fields by the side of the road. I quickly went home and grabbed my camera, this time with a 35mm lens, and made a few photos as the first light of the day illuminated the landscape. Similarly to the tree photos above, I also converted these Raf files to black and white using the same Acros plus red filter recipe.

Close by there is also an interesting abandoned farm house, that looked interesting under the early morning light, with the clouds above it. I made a few photos of it before returning home on time for breakfast. Quite often, it pays to get out of bed before sunrise, as unexpected photo opportunities might present themselves.

I like to photograph the Moon one day before it is full, because it rises a few minutes before sunset. During that small amount of time, there is still some natural daylight that permits to photograph the Moon in a nice way. After the sun sets, and with the increasing darkness, it is more difficult to photograph the Moon over the landscape and avoid it becoming overexposed.

One location where I sometimes go to take such photos is Cabo Sardão, in the Alentejo coast. As the Moon rises in the sky, it crosses behind the lighthouse, making for interesting compositions. I arrived about 1 hour before sunset, and took a few photos of the area. I had only brought my telephoto lens, a Fujinon 70-300mm, plus a tripod. The warm light was basking the cliff rocks in great golden tones.

This coastal area is well known for the white storks, that come here to nest. At the end of July, they have gone away, leaving the nests empty. I found one nest where a lonely feather had remained; others are now occupied by seagulls.

Soon the Moon appeared above the horizon, and I took some initial photos. A few moments later, the lighthouse keeper turned on the light, and I shot a series of frames for later assembly into a panorama.

I continued to shoot, changing my position frequently, so I could frame the Moon behind the building. I wanted to play with the concept of having both lights in the same picture.

I also wanted a photo where the beam of the lighthouse would be (apparently) hitting the Moon. This was more challenging, and required a precise timing, as the light would be spinning around. After a few tries, I got the image I wanted.

I made a few more shots and then called it a day, or rather, called it a night? It was another enjoyable photo session, in this beautiful region.

The following photos were taken during a recent visit to one of my favorite beaches in the SW Alentejo coast in Portugal, Brejo Largo. I usually visit this beach several times every year, and I have written about it many times before. Located between the villages of Almograve and Vila Nova de Milfontes, this beach is still very quiet, thanks to the absence of a black top road. Summer is not my preferred time of the year to photograph it, because the sky is usually cloudless, but on this occasion I decided to carry my photo backpack with me; the reason being a low tide at sunset.

After spending a wonderful day at the beach, I grabbed my backpack and tripod, and walked along the shoreface. The tide was so low that it was possible to access by foot several other beaches to the south. The geology in tis area is spectacular, with the cliff faces displaying dark Paleozoic schists that are vertical and folded. Numerous quartz veins cut the rock and in places the water runoff creates a strong red and orange iron oxide mineralization.

For this visit I had with me my Fujifilm X-T3 camera and Fujinon 16mm f/1.4 wide angle lens, which I knew was adequate for this beach. This lens also has some useful close focus abilities, that allow concentrating in a few interesting details of the rocks. I leave you with a collection of the photos I made that afternoon.

We have all seen the news about the ravaging forest fires in Canada, and the resulting enormous associated volume of smoke particles. Propelled by winds, these clouds of smoke have travelled all the way to Europe, arriving in continental Portugal at the end of June. At the time, I was spending a few days in the SW coast of Alentejo, and I had the opportunity to photograph the sunset under these special conditions. Because the light of the sun had to cross this thick dust layer, its color became more intense, while the sky acquired a greyish-purple hue. After a few days, the skies cleared, but this phenomenon remains a strong reminder of the consequences of larger periods of heat and drought that affect our planet.

Walking along a nearby rural road, I took several photos using my 70-300mm telephoto lens, as I wanted the sun to be relatively large in the frame.