The light-searching

A wave-like cold rain is about to hit the Northern shore of São Miguel island in Azores Islands. The Pau do Pico volcano with a small lake in the left down corner.

A story behind: The landscape photography is all about light and a light-searching can be a tough job. So many times I wait hours in vain. Well, not completely in vain: I appreciate these precious long periods of being with nature. Even when I wait and it is raining cats and dogs I still have my Kindle with me. But sometimes I get lucky. I try to avoid harsh shadows and blow outs on a sunny day. I make sure light is not peeking through the clouds and hitting the subject in spots with intense reflections. Even the RAW image format I usually shot my pictures with will not help you with super harsh shadows and major blown out areas. Then there is rain and wind that can spoil your long exposures.

The image above was born on the Friday´s morning while light-searching from the Paul viewpoint on the São Miguel Island. Date: Friday, January 28th, 2011. 10.30 h. Maciek.

A look back at the last 5 years of my wife´s blogging

It all started in January 2006. A few months earlier a blogging-rush in Poland erupted. Five years is eons in Internet time, and a lot has changed in the blogosphere since 2005. Some sites have been born, some sites have died, some sites have grown up and others have faded away. Today’s blogosphere is much larger and more diverse than it was five years ago but blogosphere has lost some ground to social networks. But I am so happy to announce that we ( my wife Agnieszka and me ) still have a lot of fun doing it ( What I mean by " doing it" are my wife´s experiments with food, photography, and my tasting it ). So Agnieszka: Happy anniversary !

Boston Cream Pie recipe to see at my wife´s blog.

Polish version: http://www.kuchnianadatlantykiem.com/

English version: http://atlantickitchen.blogspot.com/



Maciek.

In captivity

A story behind: My last Thursday trip was a disaster. But the day didn´t started so bad. In the morning when my lady housekeeper came, her first words were: " Parece que a primavera chegou !" ( "It seems the spring has arrived !"). I quickly peered through the window. It was warm, the sky was clear and the sun was bright. "Damn it !" I thought. Today I was planning my ride south to take photos of the boats and there is nothing worse for the landscape photography than clear skies and bright light. At mid-day I packed my stuff and still hoping for some clouds I left. When I arrived at the spot the light was still sharp, unpleasant and camera-unfriendly. You can see the result above.

Location: Aveiro, Portugal.

Gear/post processing: Nikon D80, a tripod, RAW to Tiff. Tiff to jpg.

Aperture: f/22 Exposure bias: - 0/7 EV

Focal Length: 11 mm

ISO: 100

Date Taken: Thursday, January 13th, 2011, 18:19

Maciek.

A blue Wednesday

A story behind: It does not happen very frequently when the estuary of the Douro river in the city of Porto has very little wave action. To my surprise it took place today and was accompanied by the low tide providing a very calm refuge from the open sea. It is still winter in Portugal with heavy gray low cumulus clouds coming from the Atlantic ocean.

Location: Porto, Portugal.

Gear: Nikon D80, ND soft 0.6, a tripod,

Aperture: f/10 Exposure bias: - 0/3 EV

Focal Length: 12 mm

ISO: 100

Date Taken: Wednesday, January 12th, 2011, 16:00

Maciek.

The church of Santa María de Lebeña

The church of Santa María de Lebeña constructed in year 925 standing proudly in the Liébna valley right at the entrance to the Picos de Europa National Park, Spain. We found this picturesque spot on our way to Potes, the heart of the Park.

Location: Liébna, Spain.

Gear: Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-75 mm

Aperture: f/8 Exposure bias: 0 EV

Focal Length: 22 mm

ISO: 100

Date Taken: January 1st, 2011, 14:07

Maciek.

A waterfall

Self portrait.

A story behind: The day was coming to the end. After a day of skiing we were exhausted. We packed our ski gear to the car and slowly begin to descend from the Fuentes de Inverno ski-station back to our hotel ( Palacio Figaredo ). After a zillion of curves on the road I decided to stop and have a look at the almost-sunset time view of the mountains. We parked the car and intrigued by the sign saying: "Cascada" went a few steps down to find this spectacular waterfall over the Rio Frio ( Asturias, Spain ). Date: 30.12.2010. Maciek.

Guggenheim Bilbo, part 4. A reflection.

Maciek.

Guggenheim Bilbo, part 4. A tree.

Maciek.

Guggenheim Bilbo, part 3. A human factor.

January 2011, early morning. The series continues. Maciek.

Guggenheim Bilbo, part 2.

Two of my photos awarded on the front page of http://onephoto.net/? Maciek.

Guggenheim Bilbo, part 1.

A story behind: This is the first part of my mini-series of photos of the modern and contemporary art museum in Bilbo, Basque country, Spain. Located commandingly in a slight curve of the Nervion river, the museum opened to the public in 1997 and now is the unchallenged highlight and the iconic symbol of the city. Designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry the site is really impressive. The steel metal curves dotted with sheets of glass have been designed to resemble a ship. As the architect ones said: "the randomness of the curves were designed to catch the light" and it really does ! From every angle during the magic hours of the day every surface and its curvaceous silver body attracts the light in the different and mysterious way. As you probably know I am not a modern-art man, but this piece of genius architecture takes my breath away. This photo was taken early in the morning when the first warm rays of sun were bouncing on the surface of the Nervion river hitting the curved museum walls to be reflected through different angles. Location: Bilbo/Bilbao, Spain.

Gear: Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-75 mm

Aperture: f/7.1 Exposure bias: -0.3 EV

Focal Length: 70 mm

ISO: 100

Date Taken: January 1st, 2011, 08:25

Maciek.

In the heart of Spanish Cordillera/Cantabrian mountains

This is how we spent a first day of the new 2011 year: cruising around windy roads of the Spanish Cordillera/Cantabrian mountains. This is an amazing landscape, one of the most beautiful we have ever encountered in Spain. Location: Riaño, Leon province, Spain.

Gear: Nikon D80

Aperture: f/25 Exposure bias: -0.3 EV

Focal Length: 11,5 mm

ISO: 100

Date Taken: January 1st, 2011, 16:07

Maciek.

An honorable mention

I am so happy to inform you that my photo of the spring floods of the volcano crater on the São Miguel island ( displayed above ) received an honorable mention in the AFAA ( Associação de Fotógrafos Amadores dos Açores ) competition and will be published in the album edition of the best Açores photos of the 2010. Maciek.

Spanish Asturias

San Miguel de Lillo church built in 842 a.c. is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Located 3 km from Oviedo, the Asturias capital, the church is located at the hills of Naranco mountain. We parked at the car and had a nice walk around this astonishingly old piece of human genius. Maciek.