PauloBizarroPHOTOBLOG – Page 3 – Some of my photography

Night sky in the SW Alentejo coast

About one week ago I was in the village of Longueira, in the Alentejo coast. I had planned a photo session of the night sky during the new moon phase, when the sky is at its darkest. I chose a coastal location, at Foz dos Ouriços, near Almograve. Even though there are slightly darker places in the region towards the interior, the coast here is still dark, featuring a Bortle class 4.

Foz dos Ouriços sky brightness map, Bortle class 4.

In terms of gear, I brought with me for this session the Fujifilm X-T3 camera and Fujinon 16mm f/1.4 lens, plus the tripod. I like to do star trails, using exposures of 30 sec. at f/2 and ISO 1600. From my experience, these settings work quite well. After focusing the lens manually on a bright star, it is simply a matter of setting the intervalometer in the camera, fire the shutter, lie down, relax, and admire the sky.

The first framing was towards the northwest, to include part of the beach below and the sea. The total time in the final image was 45 minutes. I use Sequator to stack the exposures (star trail option), it is a nice and simple software.

Star trail #1 – 90 images stacked, 30 seconds each.

For the second trail, I selected a framing towards the north, to obtain the classic view of the concentric star trails around Polaris. For this framing I chose 120 exposures of 30 seconds each, resulting in a total time of 1 hour. In both cases I also shot a couple of dark frames, to help with noise reduction during the stacking process.

Star trail #1 – 120 images stacked, 30 seconds each.

Following the star trails, I made a few photos of the Milky Way, also for later stacking in Sequator. Given that I did not want the stars to trail, I used exposures of 15 seconds, and shot 20 images in total. After stacking in Sequator (with the accumulation option), the result for the 20 images showed a nice Milky Way, but the land part of the composition had trailed; this was expected, because I had a total time of 5 minutes. The best way to avoid this is to mount the camera on a dedicated tracker, but I do not own one.

Milky Way – 20 images stacked, 15 seconds each. Total time of 5 minutes. We can see that the land part shows trailing.

After a few extra runs in Sequator, I decided on an image stacking 4 exposures, which gives a total time of 1 minute. This still gives nice detail in the Milky Way, while reducing the land trailing.

Milky Way – 4 images stacked, 15 seconds each.

If you can, summer in the northern hemisphere is an excellent time to be out at night and photograph the sky. With modern cameras and software, it is quite easy to obtain good results.

Rising Moon at Cabo Sardão, SW Alentejo Coast, Portugal

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.

Voigtlaender 35 mm / 1:1.2 Nokton for Fujifilm’s X system

Last week I had the opportunity to try this relatively recent lens (announced in July 2021) from Voigtlaender. You can find all the details about this lens here:

https://www.voigtlaender.de/lenses/x-mount/35-mm-11-2-nokton/?lang=en

The number of third – party lenses for Fujifilm’s X mount has been increasing in the last few years, and Voigtlaender has already introduced several of them, including this fast 35mm lens, which provides a standard/normal angle of view for the APSC format. As many other Voigtlaender lenses available for other mounts (e.g. VM for Leica M), this is actually made by Cosina. This is similar to other famous names in photographic lenses; for example, many Zeiss lenses are also made by Cosina (think Loxia for Sony E and ZM for Leica M). The bottom line is that all of them are manual focus only and made to very high standards.

To try out the lens, I mounted it on my Fujifilm X-T4 and went to one of my favourite places in Portugal’s SW coast, near Almograve and Cavaleiro villages. This is not a lens test, as I am no expert. I have simply used the lens under various circumstances, checking the results for aspects like bokeh, transition between in-focus and out-of-focus zones, flaring, contrast, colours, etc. Even though it is a very fast lens (f/1.2), it is quite small, thanks to the APSC format and lack of AF and IS motors. Regarding the details on how to manually focus the lens, all the assists in the X-T4 worked without problems; you can use magnification, split prism, microprism, and peak highlight. Given that my subjects were static, I was in not hurry, so I mostly used magnification.

I have organized this article by topics, so lets start with the first one.

Bokeh and focus transition

From some of the comments and samples that I had researched prior to my experience with the lens, I already knew a few things about it. The photos I got confirmed that the lens, when used wide-open (say between f/1.2 – f/2), is not clinically sharp, and shows some “glow” around the edges of the focused subject. This combination delivers a unique look, which I think is adequate for portraits. I have seen this look in other lenses that I used before, like the Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f/1,5 ZM and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2. Basically, the optical aberrations of the lens are under-corrected when used wide-open and near wide-open. As the aperture is stopped down, this “glow” effect goes away and sharpness increases. It is almost like you get two lenses in one.

I have shot Raw and processed the files via two steps: the first one was using Iridient to convert RAF to DNG, and then using Lightroom (LR) on those (I have an old LR version that does not recognize the Raf files from my cameras). Processing in LR is my usual one, starting with Provia “film choice”, followed by simple adjustments to the basic parameters. I really like the rich but natural colours from the lens, plus the excellent contrast.

Below we can the first example I shot, a marker of the Fishermen’s Trail in the Vicentina Route, near Cabo Sardão. Timing was the onset of the golden hour before sunset. This is a focus distance that might represents a close portrait; the background shrub is very close to the wood marker. It is also worth mentioning that the aperture features a 12-bladed diaphragm, and that as we stop down, its shape becomes well defined. I like the transition between the focused and non-focused areas.

At f/1.2, the glow is very clear around the marker. Together with the absence of clinical sharpness, I think it is a nice portrait lens. The background is sent to oblivion.

At f/2, the glow is reduced but still present. Sharpness increases also. Bokeh still features a rounded aperture shape.

At f/4, the lens is really sharp. Bokeh continues to be excellent, with the shape of the 12 bladed aperture becoming apparent. I was lucky because a few trekkers passed by, providing more background elements to the scene.

At f/5.6, the shape of the aperture is clear, but the rendering is still nice.

At f/8, there is still some degree of subject isolation.

The second scene features a football pitch in the foreground and the Cabo Sardão lighthouse in the background. I have focused on the letters in the bench, which were around 2 or 3 m away from my position. It could represent a half-body to full body portrait, for example.

Example with the focus at a more normal distance. Background is also further away, compared to the previous scene. At f/2, the sharpness and focus fall-off are excellent. The depth-of-field is so shallow that the wood post with the rope is already out of focus.

By f/4, the wood post becomes in focus, with the background a little bit more well defined.

At f/8, the depth-of-field extends to more or less the middle of the pitch, so the building is still out of focus.

Finally, my third scene was shot in the coastal dunes near Almograve, at sunrise. I chose the nice flowers blooming around. What we see is the lens behaving similarly to the scenes above.

Flower f/1.2. Example of wide-open glow.

Flower f/2. Glow is less evident, but is still visible.

The second aspect I want to mention is flare. Given the lens is under-corrected by design (when used wide-open, and I think similar to what Cosina does with their “Classic” line of VM lenses), I was actually expecting a worse result than the one I obtained.

Flare

I used the same area with the flowers as above, and shot against the rising sun. One photo with the sun in the upper left corner, almost outside of the frame; and another photo with the sun right in the frame, shining directly on the lens. In both cases I see that the flower is still clear, with no loss of contrast. This is a very good result, and I will have no issues with shooting against the sun. It is important to mention that flare depends on how clean the lens (or filter) is; any particle of dust or any smudge will increase the likelihood of inducing lens flare. I had the lens hood mounted as well. This would be a good time to mention that I saw no chromatic aberrations also, which is good.

Flare #2, f/5. Even with the sun shining straight on the lens, the result is good.

The third characteristic of the lens I wanted to check is its capability of producing nice sun stars. For that, I went to Odemira for a very early photo session.

Sun stars

Below are two examples shot at f/8 in Odemira, where very nice stars can be seen on the street lamps.

View of Odemira at dawn. The lens makes nice stars around the bright lights.

Finally, I leave you with a few more image samples taken during my time with this lens. In conclusion, for my typical use cases, I find this lens to be excellent: small, light, robust, easy to use, and with very high (and unique in some aspects) image quality. I do not mind that wide open the lens shows “glow” and less than razor sharpness, because when I take portraits, I am not after forensic detail. For landscapes and general photography, at f/2.8 and above, the lens provides more “modern look” results. One of the things I enjoyed when I was using the Sony E system several years ago was the Zeiss Loxia range of lenses; they were small and very high quality too. I am glad to see that Cosina/Voigtlaender are investing on a similar approach for Fujifilm X. And I hope they release a nice wide-angle landscape lens next.

Nice color and contrast in a normal landscape scene.

The typical white storks of Cabo Sardão.

Coastal view. Panorama assembled from 4 images.

View towards the Serra of Monchique in the south, Odemira.

One summer afternoon in SW Portugal

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.

Under the smoky sky

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.

This man was going to tend to his cows in a nearby field.

The White Storks of the SW Alentejo and Vicentina Coast – New Generation

This past couple of months I visited a few locations where these birds nest, along the SW coast of Portugal. I have written about them already this year, for example in this post:

An afternoon with the white storks of Cabo Sardão, in SW Portugal

Since my previous visit, the females have laid their eggs, and the young ones have been born. I was lucky to find one nest with a young bird, and spend some time taking a few photos with my Fujifilm X-T4 and Fujinon 70-300mm lens. The weather was a bit hazy, with occasional sunshine, but really strong winds, thanks to storm Oscar, which affected Portugal last week. As always, I recommend exercising due care when approaching the edge of these coastal cliffs.

The first photos shown below were taken in May, during a previous visit, when the females had already laid their eggs. One month later, the juveniles had ben born.

Hopefully, next year they will return to this place, occupying the same nests, and ensuring their story has a future.

Route 18 of Rota Vicentina, in SW Portugal

After a break of about 1 month, during which I visited the Serra da Estrela region in central Portugal, I went back on the trail in the Rota Vicentina. This time, I chose route 18, which I had never walked before. This is a circular trail located near Bordeira, connecting this village to the coast (see map below).

Map of route 18. This is a circular path 13,5 km long between Bordeira and the coast. The light blue track represents a shorter option (6,5 km), whereas both blue tracks display the entire route.

I walked this trail about 2 weeks ago, in a nice sunny afternoon. The trail starts in Bordeira, a small village near the coast, from where other trails begin, such as route 17, which I have written about before. The path is well signaled and is easy to follow. It offers a mix of hilly terrain, where schist predominates (covered with the green shrubbery of Spring), and sand closer to the shore. Since I was doing this walk for the first time, I carried my Fujifilm cameras and lenses, namely my 16mm wide angle and my 70-300mm telezoom.

In the beginning of the trail, looking at the village of Bordeira.

The hills are covered in these colorful flowers, Gum Cistus.

During the first couple of km, the track climbs a small hill, before descending into the Bordalete valley. Here, you will pass near a farm house, on the way to the coast. The building is a bit ruined, but the fields are still cultivated.

Leaving Bordalete behind, the trail climbs again, until it reaches the plateau. The views encompass the Serra de Monchique to the south, plus the first glimpses of the sea in the distance. Soon I reach the dunes where the walk is now over soft sand, making for a slower progress. I spend some time photographing the local flowers, which add some color to the landscape.

Plateau scenery, with Monchique in the distance.

Reaching the coast, the view opens up into a continuous stretch of wild beaches, between Carrapateira in the south and Arrifana in the north. This is the Vicentina Coast at its best. My advice? Bring your swimming trunks.

The trail follows the shoreline for a while, before turning back into the interior. It then crosses another interesting place, the Bordalete pine forest, which was planted in the sand dunes as a source of wood. The afternoon is warm, so the shade they provide is welcomed.

Sandy trail in the Bordalete pine forest.

Further along, the trail once more passes next to the Bordalete farm, where a shepherd is gathering the live stock (cows, sheep, and goats) at the end of another day.

The final part of the walk was made under a cloudy sky, and follows a fertile valley full of purple flowers. The buzzing of the bees is constant. I stop to photograph a few more flowers, which requires waiting for the wind to subside before clicking the shutter.

I very much enjoyed this trail, because of the diversity of the terrain, with a mix of countryside and beaches. As Spring turns into Summer, with the concurrent rise in temperature, the trail season in SW Portugal is approaching its end, but perhaps I will manage to walk a few more routes.

Piodão, Serra do Açor, Portugal

This article is an addendum to the previous one about Serra da Estrela. When driving back home after spending a few days in that region, I decided to make a small detour to a place that I have been wanting to visit for a long time, the village of Piodão. Its location is shown in the map below. I started the drive in Seia, and even though the road between it and Piodão is full of hairpin turns, the landscape is memorable. The Serra do Açor lies to the south of Serra da Estrela, almost as an extension of it; we continue to be inside the tall mountains of central Portugal.

The twisting road between Seia and Piodão.

These mountains display a gentle profile, as the hard granite of Estrela gives way to the softer schist. In the distance, one can see the small and dispersed villages in the slopes of the mountains, hidden near deep valleys.

The road hugs the mountainous terrain, and progress is slow. But this is fine, because time seems to have slowed down in this region. I stop a few times to take some photos, because every turn opens up a new panorama. Spring has arrived in full force, so the slopes and escarpments are covered in green, which is nice.

Piodão is a very old village, one of the several that remain inside the Serra do Açor and the nearby Serra da Lousã. It is part of a network of historical villages (called “aldeias de xisto”), created years ago in an attempt to stop the human desertification that affected this interior part of the country. In the past, the economy of the region was based in agriculture and pasture; today, these still exist, but have been surpassed by tourism, as the number of visitors grows steadily. People come here to experience an almost lost but traditional way of living, where human activity respects the cycles of Nature.

It is Saturday, I arrive around 10 am, the parking lot is full and there are a few tourist buses. Piodão is definitely on the map. Still, after parking the car, I walk around for a while, climbing the hill opposite the village to get a sense of its surroundings. This happens to be a nice place for a general photo. The houses, built from the local black schist rock, are notched in the slope of the mountain, and terraces have been created to provide agricultural grounds.

I spend the next couple of hours walking along the village’s narrow streets, admiring the houses and the local way of living. Water is abundant, coming straight down from the mountain.

There are a few trails that start from here, and for sure I will return to further explore this beautiful region of the Serra do Açor.

Lagoa Comprida, Serra da Estrela, Portugal

A few weeks ago I visited Serra da Estrela, in central Portugal, during several days. In one of the days, my plan was to trek between Lagoa Comprida and Covão dos Conchos, but the weather was uncooperative; the fog was so dense the visibility was near zero. I had the chance to go back last week, and this time it was possible to walk along this wonderful trail. A location map is given below.

Trail path between Lagoa Comprida (on the left) and Covão dos Conchos. Total round distance is 10 km.

Located at an altitude of around 1,600 m, Lagoa Comprida is an artificial lake in the municipality of Seia, created by a dam that was initially built in 1912; the structure underwent several updates since then. Covão dos Conchos is another artificial lake, built in 1955, about 5 km away, that recently has become famous due to a particular structure, but that is for later. These two dams are part of the larger water storage and management system that exists in Serra da Estrela.

It is easy to reach Lagoa Comprida from several surrounding towns, like Seia, Gouveia, Manteigas and Covilhã. The mountain roads are often narrow but are kept in a good conservation state. The day dawned with a persistent fog, so I decided not to risk it again, and only went up around noon, when the weather started to clear. I started the drive from Seia, on the western slope of the mountain. Serra da Estrela is the highest mountain in continental Portugal, so after a few km, the road starts to climb steadily, until it reaches the plateau in Lagoa Comprida. Along the way, the views are breathtaking, and the air is fresh and crisp.

The trail starts on the left side of the souvenir/coffee shop, and is very easy to follow. The scenery is dominated by the deep blue water of the lake, which contrasts with the rugged granitic landscape. Some menacing clouds loom on the horizon, adding a touch of drama. When the ice from the last ice age melted, it left behind fractured granite outcrops, and glacial erratic blocks; today, the cycles of freezing and thawing continue to fracture the rock, creating a unique landscape in Portugal.

I put my camera to good use, and took many photos of this wonderful landscape. I decided to take with me only one lens, the Fujinon 33mm f/1.4, mounted on the Fujifilm X-T4 camera. I think a lens with a standard focal length is a good option for this area. Given the rugged character of the granitic terrain, I also converted some images to black and white.

Panorama of the Lagoa Comprida. Several erratic blocks can be seen in the foreground.

Wild landscape. At this altitude, trees are scarce.

In contrast with the ruggedness of the landscape, a few patches of blooming flowers add color to the scene. Typical springtime in the mountain.

After a leisurely walk, I arrive at Covão dos Conchos; in local parlance, “covão” is a depression, or pit. In this case, a small dam was built to store the water coming from a nearby creek. But what attracts people to this place is the “funnel”, a circular spillway structure that was built in the lake. From above, it looks like a portal into another world. In fact, it is part of an underground channel that carries the water from Conchos to Lagoa Comprida. I walk around the area for a while, taking photos from different places.

It is certainly a different and very interesting photographic subject. The small lake, surrounded by granite outcrops is also beautiful. The only sounds I hear are the wind, the water running in the creek, and the cacophony made by hundreds of frogs in mating season. Nature at its best.

After a while, it is time to go back. I stop several times to climb some boulders, so that I can admire the panoramic views. In a small pond I found a local species of newt catching the sunshine; with its green and orange colors, it is very well disguised in the middle of the grass.

I was glad I was able to finally walk this trail in the heart of Serra da Estrela, a truly magical place. On the way back to Seia, I made an extra stop to visit another local attraction in the village of São Romão. This is a large granite boulder that has been eroded and shaped like an “old woman’s head”. It does look the part from the right angle. It was a nice way to finish this fantastic day.

A visit to Serra da Estrela – day 4

For our final day in Serra da Estrela, the plan was to do trek PR1 near the city of Manteigas. This route is circular and short, around 3 km, but crosses wonderful areas, such as the Poço do Inferno waterfall (in the Leandres creek), and some dense forests. The map below shows the general location.

Location of route PR1, which is close to the city of Manteigas.

Manteigas is a city located in the valley of the Zêzere river valley, which starts its journey in the Serra da Estrela. The road to Manteigas generally follows this river, and crosses agricultural lands and forests, surrounded by the steep mountains. In marked contrast with the previous day, the weather was clear, with a balmy temperature and a deep blue sky.

From Manteigas, it is a short drive to the starting point of the trail; the road is quite narrow with a few hairpin curves, so be careful. However, there are a couple of places where it is possible to stop and admire the view over the valley below.

The route starts in the car park and is easy to follow. The first part is challenging, as the path is narrow and rocky, climbing next to the course of the Leandres creek. Over millions of years, the water has cut through the hard outcropping rocks, which are metamorphic quartzites. I stop a few times along the way, to admire the views.

View over the Zêzere valley from the trail path.

The highest point of the trail is reached at the head of the gorge, after which the path crosses the creek in a small wooden bridge, surrounded by a shaded forest. After the climb, it is a nice place to rest for a while and refresh in the cool water.

A waterfall in the Leandres brook, close to the trail.

Leaving the steeper terrain behind, the route then enters a beautiful forest, where oaks, chestnuts, beeches and Oregon pines dominate. The silence is only disturbed by the song of numerous birds.

View over the Leandres gorge, cut into the quartzites. Part of the trail path can be seen in the opposite slope.

A break in the forest affords a great view over the landscape.

The final part of the trail is made over the blacktop road, until it reaches the Poço do Inferno waterfall viewpoint. A short walkway allows direct access to the waterfall, where one can see the rushing water and the pools below. Even though it is almost noon, most of the falls remain in the shade; in really cold winters, this waterfall freezes.

After lunch in Manteigas, we start the long drive back home. During the last 4 days, we had the opportunity of visiting and experiencing some of the wildest areas of this Natural Park, together with old historical villages. Much more remains to be seen, and for sure we will return to this magical land.