A week of crystal clear sunsets

A story behind: This week a Nordic high pressure system stays over Portugal. All days the sunsets stay crystal clear and the air is very crispy and highly transparent.
Then it is a time just before sunset, when the sun is low, the light is golden and hazy, the time I call a ‘golden hour’.
That day I went to the beach and quickly snap a few photos and this one is one of my favorite. I know it was a waste trip – high contrast and hard light but this is what I ended up with. A peaceful scene from the foreground stays in sharp contrast with the windy and vast ocean in the background.
I am heading now for a 5 days trip to the islands so I hope to bring back some really decent shots.
Stay tuned.

Location: Vila Nova Gaia beach, Portugal ( google map )

Gear: Nikon D80, Tamron 28-75 mm, tripod, remote control
Post-processing: RAW to Tiff, white balance, sharp.
Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO: 100



Maciek.

It seems we are in for a nice spring

A strange path through the muddy banks of the river.

A story behind: Sunday morning started with bright sun and nice mid-teens temperatures. "If the weather continues this way we are in for a nice spring !" I thought. In the afternoon I grabbed my gear and headed to the delta of Vouga river.
Near Murtosa village I parked the car and put on my rubber boots. I followed a strange path through the muddy banks of the river. The sunset and clear sky created a point-source hard light. It didn´t "wrap" around objects but instead sourced unpleasant crisp shadows and accentuated textures and details in the water. I shot a photo but I didn´t like it.

Location: Delta of the Vouga river, Portugal ( google map )

Gear: Nikon D80, Tamron 2.8 28-75 mm, tripod, remote control, NDG 0.8
Post-processing: RAW to Tiff, white balance, sharp.
Shutter Speed: 1/3 sec
Aperture: f/22
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO: 150

Date Taken: Jan 24, 2010, 17:10


Maciek.

A home of a mussels catcher

A story behind: Monday´s afternoon started with dark cloud cover. I drove to Murtosa village and left my car where the road ended. After weeks and weeks of rain the whole delta of Vouga river was pretty much flooded. I wandered along the canals of the braided delta quite some time looking for a nice spot. The fishermen were coming back from the sea. I waited. They say that hope is a mother of fools. Maybe it´s true but that day the things worked for me very well. I spotted a wooden shag that belonged to one of the mussels catchers. The wind stopped blowing allowing clear mirror-like reflections in the water.

Location: Delta of the Vouga river, Portugal ( google map )

Gear: Nikon D80, Sigma 10-20 mm, tripod, remote control
Post-processing: RAW to Tiff, white balance, sharp.
Shutter Speed: 1/2 sec
Aperture: f/18
Focal Length: 17 mm
ISO: 100

Date Taken: Jan 18, 2010, 16:19


Maciek.

Sunset over the Aguda Beach

A story behind: So the surfers went away. I moved a little bit to the left to photograph a rock that started to appear from the water. As the low tide began the water went slowly down. The sky opened for a couple of minutes. I put two "grads" filters and shot a picture. Almost forgot: the waves hit me hard and soaked my legs.

Location: Aguda beach, Portugal ( google map )

Gear: Nikon D80, Sigma 10-20 mm, NDG 0.6 and 0.3
Shutter Speed: 2 sec
Aperture: f/28
Focal Length: 15 mm
ISO: 100

Date Taken: Jan 17, 2010, 17:10


Maciek.

The surfers from the Aguda beach

A story behind: On the Sunday´s late afternoon I was standing on the Aguda beach taking some photos. It was a stormy weather.
Suddenly two surfers appeared just in front of me coming from the water. I was as much astonished as they did. The waves were well over 3 meters high that day and I thought: "These people are really heroes". We talked. They asked me to take a photo. That´s how this picture was born.

Location: Aguda beach, Portugal ( google map )

Gear: Nikon D80, Sigma 10-20 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/30
Aperture: f/10
Focal Length: 15 mm
ISO: 500

Date Taken: Jan 17, 2010, 16:50


Maciek.

Granja beach

Photo location: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/31079920

Jan 14th, 2010.

Nikon D80
Sigma 17-70mm
FL 28 mm
F/9
ISO 100


Maciek.

For those who love watching sunsets

Enjoy !


Maciek

Nikon D80
Tripod
EV -1.0
RAW to TIFF

Monday, 17.15
January 04th 2010.

Travelers

Sunset over the Madalena beach, Portugal.

We came rather early, half an hour before sunset, not expecting anything special ( from the photographic point of view ). In fact there was a slight breeze from the ocean bringing millions of tiny droplets of salted water that are so murderous for the camera and the lens. The sky was dull and gray. But being there, at this magical place of The Lord of The Stone Chapel, with my son Lucas, something has told me to wait for the sunset.

We were more than awarded. Precisely 5 minutes before the sun went down, the wind has stopped . Dim and warm light that was softer, more intimate and pleasant, have entered the beach. The result can be seen on the picture above. Hope you enjoy it as we did.

January 03, 2010.

Nikon D80

Tripod.

ISO 100.

f/20.

Maciek.

Bad, bad weather

Photographed just a couple of hours before the New Year´s Eve.
Periods of heavy rain mixed with moments of sunshine and low 12ºC temperature.
Shooting photos with my son Lucas.

Friday, 31st of December 2009.

Nikon D80

f/20
ISO 200
Auto portrait.

Maciek.

PS. The photo was kindly awarded with the front page of http://plfoto.com

and front page of http://onephoto.net.

Photo was also distinguished as "photo of the day" at http://photomediaworld.com/.

Thank you all.