A white boat

A morning look at Santiago and Blue Lakes.

A story behind: On Azores Islands cutting trees is a kind of a necessity. Have a small earth tremor plus extreme precipitation combined with heavy trees growing on steep slopes and sooner or later you will have a land slide. The water acts as a lubricant causing already wet and unstable soil laying over solid basalt rock to move.
Cutting trees is done every 10-20 years.

In late September 2011 the local authorities slashed down trees on the Northern slopes of Santiago Lake. It opened a never seen before window of opportunity to shoot new landscapes.
I left my car on the small road connecting Sete Cidades and Vista de Rei and started climbing up a narrow path on the mountain ridge that separates Santiago and Laga Lakes.
After half and hour I finally reached the summit. The view was splendid. With a Santiago Lake down close, Blue Lake far away and the glimmering ocean on the horizon I stood there with my mouth wide open. How big and overwhelming the scenery was one can imagine looking at a small white boat on the surface of the Santiago Lake that looks like a tiny dot. After a while I shot my mouth with my hand and started to take pictures.

Location: Close to Sete Cidades, Portugal.

Gear: Nikon D700. Nikkor 16-35 mm.

Aperture: f/16

Shutter speed: 1/250 sec

Exposure bias: - 0,3 EV

Focal Length: 19 mm

ISO:200

Date Taken: September, 2011.

Maciek.