Month: September 2021

The coastal path between the Almograve beach and the Cabo Sardão lighthouse is part of the Rota Vicentina trail network. This easy walk is about 8 km long, and takes you into some of the most beautiful views and locations of this part of the Southwest Alentejo natural park. I think this path was the first one I walked many years ago, even before trekking became a fashion in this region. Since then, I do this walk several times a year, and not always with a camera and photography in mind. It is simply a nice outdoor nature experience, walking along the coastal cliffs and sand dunes, with the constant presence of the ocean and the seabirds.

Thus, one recent September afternoon, I decided to head to this trail, to make some photos during sunset time. The weather was nice, there were some wispy clouds in the blue sky, and the light was good. What I had in mind was a particular rock formation, in the shape of and arch, created by the erosional forces of the wind and the sea. The tide was going out, exposing a few beaches that are difficult to get to. Most likely, only the local fishermen know how to get down there.

Along the trail, there are numerous “exits” towards the edge of the cliffs, affording wonderful views of the coast. I selected a few locations and made several photos, as the approaching light of sunset, with its golden quality, bathed the landscape.

As the sun continued its path towards the horizon, I kept moving, trying to find different viewpoints to set up my tripod. The wind was picking up, so I had to be careful in more sandy areas. Between the loose sand dunes and the rock outcrops, there are several layers of consolidated dunes; these have been cemented by ferruginous minerals and as a result have a vivid orange rusty color.

A few minutes after sunset, the clouds became illuminated by a pinkish color, adding a nice touch to the landscape.

At sunset, the lighthouse is turned on, and I always like to make a few photos of it. I returned to my car and drove back home, feeling grateful for another nice walk in this wonderful place.

I spent a couple of weeks in my house in the small village of Longueira, in the Alentejo coast, as part of this year’s summer vacation. It was a busy time for the family, but still I managed to go out and do some photography. As usual, this involved being out of the house before dawn, and after sunset, to catch the best light over the surrounding landscape.

This article is about one of such occasions, where I went to a place near the village of Odemira to photograph the full Moon setting in a nearby farm field. I arrived at the location around 6.00, and was greeted by some patches of thick fog… so I was naturally concerned that the Moon would not be visible at all. Fortunately, even though there was some fog over the area, the Moon was still visible, so I quickly set up my tripod and started shooting. I made several frames using both my wide angle and short telephoto lenses. The fog added another layer of interest and mystery to the landscape, and as the sunrise approached, it started lifting.

The previous photos illustrate the changing light conditions as the night slowly turned into day. I framed an old farm house and made several photos as the Moon went down. This was really fast, as you can see in the following couple of shots, which were made 5 minutes apart.

Leaving the farm field, I next walked to another nearby location, from where I could watch the sunrise over the hilly landscape and the river Mira valley. This was covered in thick fog, but the sky was acquiring a nice pinkish colour. There was a nearby tree that provided an interesting foreground.

Looking around, there were other interesting subjects, especially a few old tractors and farm machinery. Thanks to the fog, the light had a nice and soft quality. The fog also subdued the early morning sounds of the birds and the wind rustling through the trees. The surrounding quietness was all – enveloping.

This was another good photo walk, and I was happy to have made some interesting and different shots in a very familiar place. It was time to go back home for a well deserved breakfast. As a final note, most of the photos here were made with the Zeiss C Sonnar 50 f/1.5 lens (modern Leica M mount version), adapted to the Fujifilm X-Pro3 camera. I was always a big fan of this lens, having it used before in Sony A7 cameras. Results in the Fuji camera are also wonderful, particularly under soft light as above.