In a recent visit to the lovely village of Odemira (a place I often go to), which is located inside the Southwest Alentejo Natural Park, I was lucky enough to be able to see the wind mill working. The municipality of Odemira invests money to maintain some of these old mills working; it is an old tradition, that is being maintained by a few men. One of these was operating the mill when I visited; his name is Jose Guilherme, and he was very kind and invited me to go inside.
His is an old family of millers, going back to his great-grandfather’s time. Unfortunately, this family tradition will die with him, since no one else in the family will pick up the trade. I always enjoy experiencing and visiting these places of tradition, and talking to the people that still use them. Mr. Guilherme told me that in a couple of hours, he had milled 50 kg of wheat, thanks to the strong wind and his expertise in operating the mill. He still has customers that take the grain to him for transforming into flour, that then goes into making the famous local bread.
He was gracious enough to let me take some photos, and I will be sure to give in some copies next time I am in Odemira. This is the type of experience that is still possible to have in the region, where the old traditions are still alive.
Equipment wise, I used my trusty Sony A7II, and the discrete ZEISS Loxia 50 f/2 lens. I simply love this combination for this type of reportage shooting. I converted the files to black and white to convey a stronger feel of the place and the experience.
