My world through my senses...

Dust in the air

2011-04-07T19:00:00.003+01:00

Courtesy of the Sahara Desert? As it happens, a plume of dust blew North from the Sahara and hung around off the coast of Portugal. Could it be that it's putting on a show every sunrise and sunset for three days?... and counting...

Balloon ride

2011-02-19T13:05:00.000Z

Earlier this month I went on a balloon ride. And what a ride it was! We departed from Coruche (Portugal) and flew for over an hour, until just before the sunset. It was lots of fun and it's a great way to fly!

Double vision

2011-01-08T12:09:00.001Z

This beauty paid me a visit just before 2010 ended. It knocked on my window and just stood there, smiling at me and posing for my camera... :)

Wet microburst

2010-10-16T16:20:00.008+01:00

This is the kind of thing that brings down planes... This one didn't. What it did was leave me mesmerized and in awe of the phenomenon... I must confess that I was crossing my fingers in hopes that it would somehow develop into a water spout... As they say, give them an inch and they'll take a yard! Anyway, in the end I was just thankful that Mother Nature put on this show when I was (for

Hasta siempre!

2010-10-05T14:37:00.001+01:00

The last I saw of Havana was an ample view from the fortress they call "La Cabaña" (The Hut). The sky was heavy with stormy clouds, the light promised an electric storm about to strike and the air was wonderfully charged... I loved Havana and I plan on going back with more time to explore it properly, the way such a beautiful and interesting city deserves to be discovered. Hasta siempre!

Impromptu

2010-09-25T13:29:00.002+01:00

It was way too hot for me that day... I couldn't convince myself to get up off my beach chair but this photo was just begging to happen... And here you have it - a hymn to laziness!

Peeking out the window...

2010-09-23T13:52:00.010+01:00

... on my way to Cuba, I caught a glimpse of the Bahamas. This is one of the many photos I took out the window since I was hopelessly drawn to that "red engine casing/clouds in the background" combination during most of the tiresome 8-hour flight... The thin stripes of land down below stirred up my imagination and look forward even more intensely to the warm waters of Varadero, which I had

Crepuscular rays

2010-07-04T21:57:00.003+01:00

Those who love and prefer a beautiful sunrise over a beautiful sunset will get no argument from me. The truth is I don't think I'll ever have to choose between the two, as there's one of each every day... However, if I really had to choose, I'm pretty sure I'd go for the sunset - if nothing else, because it happens just before night falls and I've made my mind up long ago that I prefer night over

Refreshing fly-by

2010-05-04T19:49:00.000+01:00

This seagull was clearly having fun around the fountain - it kept circling the jets of water as they went up and down... Looking at it against the sun, my eyes were locked in the flight pattern, admiring how it managed to fly through the mist and not get caught by those powerful "geysers". I truly envied that bird's eye view (in the most literal sense ever!) - it was a hot day, way too hot for

Waves on the ground

2010-04-19T11:58:00.001+01:00

Very colourful, isn't it? Well, looking at this photo, one things catches my eye more than anything else: the shadows the wall casts on the sidewalk. Call me weird, but I think they fit the scene very well, since this is a viewpoint above a beach... with waves... :) If you lean a little over the wall, you can see the "Whale Beach" (Praia da Baleia). It got its name in 1872, when a huge whale

Deep in the valley

2010-04-08T19:48:00.001+01:00

I sometimes wonder if I could live far away from the ocean and deep in a valley... I'd still have the sky and maybe a river to quench my thirst of living by the water, but I can't help thinking I'd wither away and lose myself on those slopes...

To focus or not to focus

2010-04-06T13:39:00.001+01:00

It was a cold day in the mountains. There was a pine tree in my field of vision when I was aiming my lens at the peak - I mean aiming for shooting, not for throwing ;P I tend to take a lot of shots like these (as you can see here) and then I always end up not knowing which one I prefer - I guess they tell me different stories and I'm not big on preferring one emotion to another... For instance,

What do you mean "Canon"?!

2010-01-13T17:55:00.000Z

At first he was quite excited about my lens cap... tried to take it from my hands, played around with it between his paws for a while and then, because it simply refused to fight back, he got bored and just "stared it to death" :)

Exploding sky

2010-01-06T21:07:00.000Z

Dawn of a new year

2010-01-01T20:21:00.003Z

May 2010 be filled with health and joy... and all that good stuff we keep hoping for!!! ;)

Hollow world

2009-12-12T01:08:00.017Z

Big city, shallow people... right? Wrong. New York means none of that to me. What it means is busy people, people trying to look busy, busy people trying to look laid back - in short, it means life as it is everywhere. We're all the same, basically. Everything else you hear is just stereotype, good for a laugh. Take Trump, for instance - the name (and the man) stands for big buildings, big money.

First steps in B&W

2009-05-11T13:43:00.006+01:00

I've gone and now I'm back. I mean, I got back some three weeks ago - more like 25 days, 5 hours and a few minutes... but who's counting, right? ;) It would be expected that I would have a lot to tell, although I'm not one to talk much (as most of those closest to me are painfully aware of ;). I like to write - I guess you can tell that by now. But this time it's like I'm stuck. Almost as if I

What a difference a focal point makes...

2009-03-21T12:15:00.000Z

This one's my favourite of the two:I guess it reminds me of the importance of keeping an eye on the big picture without ever losing sight of the "here and now"...And this one...... this one I like because it shows me that one can always focus on what's ahead for a while, comforted by the fact that what's close to us right now is also there to be enjoyed and cherished...So, if you had to vote (as

Back with a splash!

2009-02-10T12:30:00.001Z

At first, I thought I was losing interest.And I thought it was a temporary thing.Then, as time went by, I started thinking that I was losing my mind.My identity. All of a sudden, I couldn't think of myself as the enthusiast photographer I thought I was. I couldn't see myself as an enthusiast. Period. My vision seemed to be blurred beyond repair and that scared the hell out of me.Then I thought: "

Bragging rights! lol

2008-12-15T13:03:00.005Z

Not to tout my own horn... but I'm soooooo proud! :)))Tags: Newsweek, picture of the week

A different perspective

2008-11-24T19:21:00.010Z

Sometimes, all it takes is looking at everyday things in a different perspective.There's a place in Lisbon that fills up with people during the weekend - if the sun is out, you can bet that Belém, home of the famous "Pastéis de Belém" (Portuguese Custards), is buzzing with people of all ages and walks of life. It's an amazing place by the river Tagus where people go to relax, play, romance...

Mystic and Mysterious

2008-11-18T00:13:00.010Z

It's a place that makes you feel like you've entered the Twilight Zone. Fabulous architecture, intense atmosphere - from the buildings to the gardens... and please don't get me started on the tunnels!Earlier this year I got myself an ultra-wide angle lens for my beloved 40D and went to try it out in Sintra, at Quinta da Regaleira. I live only a few miles away, but I had never been there and I was

Eye on the detail

2008-11-17T13:02:00.008Z

The other day I crossed the river Sado on a ferryboat. I was pleasantly surprised by the brand new and colourful ferries that go back and forth between Tróia and Setúbal. I was kind of overwhelmed by the details and very eager to see what I could do using only the 70-300mm range and these are some of what I came up with :)I had forgotten how much fun I can have while focusing on the details...

Raising awareness - all as one

2008-11-10T14:49:00.007Z

Tags: bloggers, refugees, unite, united

Yes YOU did!

2008-11-05T20:20:00.005Z

Here's to the celebration of a historic victory and to the long road ahead... May the world find a tranquil path to evolve into something better - step by step.Tags: US, election, victory, hope, change, path, Canon, EOS, 40D, CarlaFrancisco

Here's to the possible dawn of a new era...

2008-11-04T09:50:00.012Z

As the sun was rising over the beautiful dam of Vale do Gaio (Torrão, Alcácer do Sal - Portugal), I endured the chilly morning air to get this (and a tonne other :) photos.It seems appropriate for a day like today - a day which I'm hoping will bring the world a new sense of hope...Tags: US, election, sunrise, hope, change, Canon, EOS, 40D, CarlaFrancisco

The place I dream of...

2008-10-16T18:16:00.034+01:00

Meet the lighthouse of my dreams - Bugio Tower, we call it (apparently, the name Bugio originates from the similarity of the structure to that of a candle in a candle-holder - bougie is French for candle and many Portuguese words have French origin). I can see it from my window (and now that I bought a longer telezoom, I can see it even better :). This photo wasn't taken from my window, though.

Wrath of the gods

2008-09-29T14:04:00.009+01:00

My passion for severe weather was satisfied the other day during what I can only call a true orgy of clouds just before a magnificent thunderstorm.The colours, the shapes, the way the wind moulded them before my eyes... a real feast - and I thank the gods for it.By gods I mean Mother Earth and her weather leprechauns, elves and pixies... of course ;)These photos don't do justice to the event

Mystified by the misty morning

2008-09-01T01:14:00.005+01:00

I couldn't believe my eyes...... when I opened the drapes of my hotel room window...... I could have sworn I had walked into some sort of Twilight Zone...... but I finally managed to go for my camera - and now I can relive that morning whenever I look at these. Lucky me! ;)Tags: fog, mist, morning, light, sunrise, mountain, Canon, EOS, 40D, CarlaFrancisco

Almost... and that's fine

2008-08-20T19:37:00.009+01:00

Is almost better than nothing?... Sometimes I wonder.Being used to watch the skies in search for the worst possible conditions (like any respectable severe weather freak ;) I sometimes have trouble dealing with the possibility that never came to be... Like this stormy sky that came over me the other day in Alentejo, as I was shooting these amazing castle ruins.The cherry on top of that cake would

Peek-a-boo ;)

2008-08-18T13:13:00.009+01:00

View from the castle on top of Montemor-o-Novo (Alentejo, Portugal).Looking for what could make a good photo is a funny process...Sometimes you have to look beyond the obvious - just as in life itself :)Tags: Portugal, Alentejo, castle, landscape, photo, CarlaFrancisco, Canon, 40D

Is it smoke? Is it a cloud?...

2008-08-14T19:05:00.010+01:00

It's a contrail.Caught a glimpse of it from my window as I passed by... I hurriedly went for my camera (back in 2006).Then, camera in hand, I took my time to really understand what it was... and tried to make the most of the late afternoon light, as the sun was going down.Tags: photo, photography, blog, blogger, contrail, cloud, smoke, chimney, roof, sun, sunset, CarlaFrancisco

UFO?!

2008-08-10T12:08:00.010+01:00

No photos this time... :)February, 2005 - I made this video (a very long time ago, I know!) from my window. This is a shortened version (featured here) of the original, which you can watch here.I submitted it to several people who supposedly know quite a bit about possible UFOs... No one could ever tell me what this is... There was no sound from above, only from traffic passing by on the

Vertigo

2008-08-09T20:27:00.014+01:00

When I bought an ultra-wide angle lens for my 40D (the Canon EF-S 10-22mm), I took it to Sintra for a visit to the Regaleira Palace.I ended up taking a lot of cool photos, one of which I'm including here (you can find more here - and I especially like this one).I was also able to confirm that I'm a "wide-angle photography kind of person" :)But that's another story...The photo in this post shows

Jamaica... it could be Paradise

2008-08-09T11:47:00.017+01:00

I came back from Jamaica a couple of weeks ago. It was amazing - the Caribbean Sea will always have a special place in my heart :)And it could have been a trip to Paradise. Don't get me wrong: Jamaica is absolutely amazing, a place where Nature has spared no efforts and came up with a true masterpiece! And it's nobody's fault that I can't call it Paradise: why did I have to live in Europe, which

Photography is my 6th sense

2008-08-07T23:10:00.019+01:00