After visiting the Gerês and São Mamede natural parks, I have returned to my usual forays in the southwest coast of Portugal, namely in the region around the villages of Longueira and Almograve. I enjoy walking along this coastal region all year round, but Autumn is a special season. Day time becomes shorter and the light acquires a special quality, as the sun sits lower in the horizon. Temperatures during the day are still balmy and nice for long walks on the nearby beaches. Therefore, I decided to visit the beaches of Brejo Largo and Almograve on two different afternoons. Conditions were great, with low tide occurring at sunset.
Brejo Largo, a few kilometres north of Almograve, is a beautiful beach, that can be easily reached by foot. On these walks I like to carry only a camera and lens, plus the tripod. This time around I carried my Fujifilm X-T30 camera and 16-80mm f/4 zoom lens. This offers a great flexibility for composing when walking along the coastal cliffs, where the room to maneuver is scarce. Photographic subjects are abundant, from exotic rock formations to tide pools.
I spent a couple of hours making several photos along the beach and in the nearby rocky coves. At sunset, the colours became quite vivid, especially in the clouds. After a few more photos, I walked back home; it had been an excellent afternoon.
A couple of days later I went to Almograve and photographed along the coast between the beach and the small fishing inlet of Lapa de Pombas. This part of the coastline is full of rocky coves and small bays, with a large number of folded layers of rock. In the low angle and warm light of the afternoon, they make for interesting subjects. The surrounding sand dunes have been consolidated throughout geological time by iron oxide cement; in places they exhibit some strong yellow and orange colours. This contrast between the colourful rocks and the blue of the ocean is enhanced close to sunset time and can work very well in these coastal photos. Arriving at Lapa de Pombas I found the local group of cats lazing in the sun.
Sunset is always a nice time for photography, but the light does not last for long. I made a few photos in Almograve beach, also including the Moon rising over the cliffs.
Even after photographing these places for decades, I always enjoy returning to them; there is always something new to discover.
