Hide and seek...

Balloon ride

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

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... :)

Crepuscular rays

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 day.



Another thing I love in sunsets is the "fight" between light and shadows... and the fact that the shadows always come out on top - literally. Crepuscular rays like the ones in this photo mesmerise me and make that "fight" even more apparent. I'm lucky enough to catch some amazing skyscapes from my windows... and here's just one more piece of evidence of that...

Refreshing fly-by

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 me and it looked exquisitely refreshing... I bet no seagull ever envied our way of life :)

Waves on the ground

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 got stranded there and it's only one of the many beautiful beaches you can find in Ericeira, which shores are very well know among surfers.

Deep in the valley

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

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, I can't choose between fear and pure bliss. One is good for some moments, the other is good for... others.
So, this time I made a collage to get a real feel for the actual difference and maybe that would help me choose... but no. And then I finally made the choice to embrace both images - there's a choice I can live with :)

Exploding sky

Dawn of a new year

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

A different perspective

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... I've been there hundreds of times and it wasn't until recently that I found out that I had stopped noticing all the great things about it... When I looked around through my 40D's viewfinder, this is how I saw the Discoveries Monument...

... and this is how I remember the iconic Tower of Belém...

So, ask yourself this: "Which of the things I take for granted in my life haven't I been noticing properly lately?"... Then go shoot it from an unusual perspective and see how that makes you feel :)

Tags: tower, monument, Portugal, Discoveries, Lisbon, custard, travel, tourism, perspective, Canon, EOS, 40D, CarlaFrancisco

Mystic and Mysterious

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 blown away by the place... Lord Byron knew what he was talking about when he described Sintra as a "Glorious Eden"!

I took this one crouching on one of the steps :)
It's The Palace:

Then, I entered the palace and came out on a balcony. Surprise, surprise - a welcome breath of fresh air (contrasting with the heavy atmosphere on the inside). When I first looked around I wondered if I really had entered the Twilight Zone and got teleported to Disneyland :)

Walking around the gardens, I came across the Initiation Well, inspired by the initiation rites of the Knights Templar. Going down these stairs is a truly mystic experience... if you can block out all the other people around you.
I could focus for a moment and it was a powerful emotion... I was dizzy even before I began the descent... but taking this next photo (I know I already posted it here, but now you know the rest of the story) may have had something to do with that :)

Tags: Sintra, Regaleira, palace, well, initiation, Byron, garden, mystery, mysticism, knights, templar, Canon, EOS, 40D, CarlaFrancisco

Eye on the detail

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...

Tags: ferryboat, detail, green, white, blue, orange, Canon, EOS, 40D, CarlaFrancisco

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

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

Mystified by the misty morning

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

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 have been being caught in the middle of a thunderstorm in such a fitting setting... But, alas, that did not come to be. As if frozen in time and space, the grey stormy skies just hovered above me, taunting me and never evolved into what I wished they would...
You can't always get what you want, right? That's quite debatable, I know, but let's just leave it at that for the time being... ;)

Anyway, even if this left me wanting more (wind, thunder and rain - go figure! lol), it allowed me to get this (and other) photos... Way better than some boring blue sky shots. It's something I've learned through photography and it serves me well in my life: rather than bitching about not getting quite there (in any endeavour...) it's always better to look on the bright side (insert Monty Python's little tune here ;).

Just a little of something good can leave a bitter taste in your mouth... But if the alternative is nothing at all - which would you choose? Would you rather enjoy and cherish what little you got or would you prefer never having to regret not getting all you wanted?

Tags: clouds, storm, sky, carlafrancisco, Alentejo, castle, ruins, Portugal

Peek-a-boo ;)

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