Milfontes is a well known village in the Alentejo coast. At the confluence of the Mira river and the Atlantic ocean, it is a popular Summer destination for beach lovers. As part of the Southwest Alentejo Natural Park, it also offers year – round attractions, with its pristine landscapes, worth exploring along its many walking trails.
I am currently assembling a portfolio about the Odemira region, to be exhibited locally in May, at the Jose Saramago library. As such, I am selecting photos that portray the rich diversity on Odemira’s municipality, from its many beaches (the best in Portugal, as the slogan says) to the more interior landscapes.
While looking at the portfolio, I saw that I was missing some potentially interesting locations, such as the one overlooking the Furnas beach, on the South bank of the Mira. Such a spot offers great views of the popular Furnas beach and Milfontes village, looking North. So I planned for a sunset shooting session a couple of weeks ago. Being Winter, I had the place to myself, and so it was really peaceful; I simply love to being outside, and consider myself lucky to be able to experience Nature at tis best.
I walked a bit along the coast, exploring to the South, amongst hardened sand dunes, where water and wind had sculpted interesting shapes. There are always interesting photo opportunities, when one is willing to keep an open eye. As sunset was approaching, I set up my tripod and experimented with several exposure times and framings. As always, I like to keep things simple, so I only carried 1 lens for my Fujifilm camera, and that was the 23mm f1.4.
I kept shooting well until after sunset, into the so-called blue hour. In fact, while I was walking back to the car, I stopped a few times, and ended up taking a few more frames. At the end of the day, I suspect I will have a few more portfolio options; if not. then the experience was well worth it. As a landscape photographer, experiencing a place is rewarding enough for me. And Milfontes is certainly such a place.
