PauloBizarroPHOTOBLOG – Page 21 – Some of my photography

Some photos from Muscat, Oman

Any trip to Muscat is incomplete without a visit to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. This is one of the (many) highlights of Muscat, and even more so if you enjoy photography. Having lived in Muscat for a few years, whenever I return, I always try to include a short incursion to the area, to photograph the mosque around sunset time. Of course it is possible to visit the mosque interior and surrounding grounds, which are very beautiful too. This time around, I did not had the time to do so.

This is the time when the lights in the dome and the minarets come on, which make a nice combination with the remaining natural light. The gardens and the mountain make for a scenic foreground and background, respectively. Using a small travel tripod makes it easy to shoot the longer exposures required.

I also include some photos from other small trips I was able to make during this visit, from the areas around Mutrah Corniche, and the beaches of Barr Al Jissah hotel complex.

Up in the air

When I travel in business, I always carry a small camera with me. One never knows when an opportunity will arise to make an interesting photo. Even from high up in the air and through an airplane window. This is what happened to me in a recent early morning flight from Istanbul; the light from the rising sun was gorgeous, and the clouds were illuminated in a very interesting way. The result is the first photo below.

Also during the same trip, but later on, some interesting cloud formations were visible. This is the second phot below, which I converted to B&W, due to the richness of the textures and tones in the clouds.

So, next time you travel, plan in advance to get a window seat.

Lisbon panoramas

Lisbon, my hometown, is the (other) city of seven hills. It is a city full of life, with plenty of interesting things to do and see, to keep even the most resilient person busy for a whole day. For the keen photographer, there is much to see and absorb, while strolling up and down one of those aforementioned hills.

Every now and then I take the opportunity to walk, sort of in an errand way, around the old quarters of the city, climbing the hills, chasing the light. It is said that the quality of light in Lisbon is second to none, and indeed it is quite a sight to see the sunlight reflected in the Tagus River, and in the houses that hug the Castle. In one of my last strolls, I took a few panoramas, one towards the Castle, and another one towards the South, to include the river and the bridge. These views are best appreciated around sunset time, when the golden light envelops the city.

These are simple panoramas, quite easy to make. It is best to have a tripod, but today’s software are quite forgiving, and can correct for misalignments. I have been using Panorama Factory for many years, and still like it a lot.

Cabo Sardão – Southwest Portugal Coast

The Southwest Portugal coast is part of a Natural Park area (Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina). It stretches along the coast roughly between the towns of Sines and Sagres, and it is home of many species of fauna and flora (some of them unique to the area). I am fortunate to be able to visit the area a few times a year, especially the coastline between Almograve beach and Cabo Sardão. This cape is a rocky spur that juts into the sea, and a lighthouse provides a beacon for passing ships.

The region is notable for its rough seas, high cliffs, and small coves, and it provides numerous opportunities for landscape and travel photographers. One can also trek along the marked trails, and familiarize with the region at a more leisurely pace. I can assure you it is worth it! Below are some photos taken recently, in the last couple of months.

Not far from the coast, it is possible to visit the towns of Odemira and Santa Clara-a-Velha, where a dam in the Mira river provides a refreshing opportunity. Here, one is surrounded by the peacefulness of the fields, and hardly a car drives past you on the road. Worth noting are the traditional rural houses, and the friendly local people.

Startrails and night skies

This is a type of photography that I like very much to do. It is not easy, as it requires the photographer to be out in the field at ungodly hours, but… why not make the most of today’s camera technology to capture the beauty in our sky? The other difficulty for most people seems to be to actually find a dark enough place to see the stars and constellations!

But, if you happen to be in a such a place at or near new moon (when the sky is darker), then it is not difficult obtain good results. You will need a good tripod, a wide angle lens, and a cable release.

For star trails, I typically I set my camera in Manual mode, ISO 1600, aperture around f2 or f2.8 (depending on the lens), and shutter speed around 30 seconds. Then I just shoot in Continuous drive with the cable release in lock mode. In this way, most cameras will keep on shooting for as long as you wish, or for as long as the batteries last.

It also advantageous to shoot a couple of dark frames, before and after the sequence, so you can use them in programmes like Starstax (highly recommended) to process for dark frame/noise subtraction.

Another option is simply shoot isolated frames of the Milky Way, say ISO 1600 or 3200, f2.8 and around 20 – 30 seconds. Exposure times will depend on the focal length; the longer the focal length, the shorter the exposure time must be to avoid trailing in the stars. It is also possible to shoot multiple images and later on align and process them in programmes like DeepSky Stacker; these will align the images and produce a single one, the advantage being that with several images, one can boost the S/N ratio. There are some excellent guides available on the WWW, one of my favourites is http://starcircleacademy.com/quick-tips/

Below are some examples I took in Southwest Portugal.