The railway bridge with a painted sky

 St.John Railway bridge under the amazing, late afternoon sky.

A story behind:  Another pic of the concrete railway bridge connecting two high cliffs of the Douro river.  
I based a composition of this photo on the rule: disappearing Lines into Corners to make the image stronger.


Gear: Nikon D700. Nikkor 16-35 mm. Polarizer. Handheld.

Aperture: f/7.1

Shutter speed: 1/250 sec

Exposure bias: +0,3 EV

Focal Length: 17 mm

ISO: 200

Place taken: Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.

Date taken: Sunday August 12th, 2012, 19:14

Maciek.

A trip to Spanish Galicia

An amazing view over the bay of  Lanzada with a small chapel. Spain.

 A story behind:  Galicia is a region located in the extreme Northwest of Spain and is known for its fish and seafood, and rias or  wild stretch of coast, with sweeping windswept and narrow bays coming deeply into the mainland, hidden coves and a spectacular, jagged shoreline whose granite cliffs are lashed by the Atlantic winds and waves.
There are many beautiful spot in Galicia, but one we love most is located in a small village of Landaza, close to Sanxenxo resort.



Gear: Nikon D700. Nikkor 70-300 mm. 

Aperture: f/11

Shutter speed: 1/250 sec.

Exposure bias: -0,3 EV

Focal Length: 70 mm

ISO: 250

Place taken: Lanzada, Spain.
 

Date Taken: Sunday, August 5th, 2012, 14: 14

Maciek.

The Furnas Crater Lake

Shortly after the sunrise. A small boat at the Furnas Crater Lake, Furnas, Portugal.

A story behind: I got up quite early. The sunrise was at 6.58 a.m. Took me almost half an hour to walk to that spot, put up my gear and start shooting. The rain was mild.
Furnas Lake link.



Gear: Nikon D700. Nikkor 16-35 mm. 

Aperture: f/16

Shutter speed: 264 sec

Exposure bias: +0,3 EV

Focal Length: 16 mm

ISO: 200

Place taken: Furnas, Portugal.
 

Date Taken: Friday, August 16th, 2012, 08: 32

Maciek.

The bridge in pink

A sunset over the Tag river, Lisbon, Portugal.

A story behind: We spent a couple of days in Lisbon. Going to the capital is always "such fun" ( please don´t laugh but I am a huge Miranda TV series fan ): new restaurants to discover ( Cantinho do Avillez was such a nice surprise ) and new places to explore ( Lx Factory ).  
Late afternoon I went to photograph the Vasco da Gama bridge. Took my full stop filter and had fun. The sunset was pinkish. Enjoy.

I try not to punch my photos with too much saturation so usually I downgrade the saturation by generally accepted rule of thumb 10-15%. Set the aperture at 18 to get most of the sharpness from my lenses. Full stop filter gave me a nice 260 seconds shutter speed.

PS. Selected for 1x.com link: http://1x.com/#!/photo/53412/portfolio/61948



Gear: Nikon D700. Nikkor 16-35 mm. Polarizer. 10-stop ND. Tripod.

Aperture: f/18

Shutter speed: 264 sec

Exposure bias: +0,3 EV

Focal Length: 16 mm

ISO: 50

Place taken: Lisbon, Portugal.
 

Date Taken: Friday, August 10th, 2012, 20: 32

Maciek.

St. John Bridge

A piece of my cityscape with characteristic sky rendering.

A story behind: It was 21 years ago when the St. John Bridge ( above ) designed by engineer Edgar Cardoso was inaugurated on June 24, 1991. This concrete railway bridge connecting two high cliffs of the Douro river came as a  substitute of the famous steel Maria Pia bridge ( constructed by the Eiffel ), which was in the service of trains for 114 years. It is a remarkable piece of engineering and its central span of 250 meters on the river Douro, still holds the world record in bridges of this type. 


Gear: Nikon D700. Nikkor 16-35 mm. Polarizer. 10 ND-Stop.

Aperture: f/22

Shutter speed: 176 sec

Exposure bias: +0,3 EV

Focal Length: 16 mm

ISO: 50

Place taken: Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
 

Maciek.

UPDATE: http://1x.com/#!/photodirectory/629961

A trip to unknown

A huge lone rock standing by the coast of Cabo Carvoeiro - the westermost point of Peniche peninsula, Portugal. On the horizon two Berlinga islands.

A story behind:  Atlantic ocean coast is an endless resource of inspiration for a photographer and a place that I love coming back to. Some rocky formations, so banal during the day time, can appear mysterious at night.



Gear: Nikon D700. Nikkor 16-35 mm. Polarizer. 2 ND-Stop. Tripod.

Aperture: f/22

Shutter speed: 98 sec

Exposure bias: -0,3 EV

Focal Length: 16 mm

ISO: 50

Place taken: Peniche, Portugal.
 

Maciek.

It is getting dark at the Ribeirinha

A story behind:  Sometimes when I shoot seascapes I choose the shutter speed of about half a second or faster to freeze the motion of the waves. Such split-second exposures can give the surf the appearance of a fast moving, powerful force that draws the eye into the image and conveys a sense of explosive tension. 

But that night at the old and abandoned fishing port of Ribeirinha  I preferred to go for the opposite effect by using exposure that went up to 70 seconds. I used my 10-stop filter to produce a very long exposure that dramatically enhance the mood of the image. Long speed shutter times render ocean landscapes with the timeless calm. 

Gear: Nikon D700. 10-stop filter.


Focal Length: 16 mm


ISO: 50

Date: July 19th, 2012. 20:58 p.m.


Maciek.

The meaning of swastika

A fragment of the 1800 years old Roman mosaic from the ancient city of Emerita, Roman Empire ( now a Spanish Extremadura region ).

A story behind: The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for over 3,000 years. Artifacts such as pottery and coins from ancient Troy show that the swastika was a commonly used symbol as far back as 1000 b.c.

The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix.

The swastika symbol was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck.

Gear: Nikon D700. Nikkor 70-300 mm. 

Aperture: f/4,5

Shutter speed: 1/2000 sec

Exposure bias: 0.3 EV

Focal Length: 70 mm

ISO: 500

Place taken: National Museum of Roman Art, Mérida, Spain.
 

Date Taken: Sunday, July 21th, 2012, 11: 09

Maciek.

Extreme Sailing Series on Douro river

Extreme sailing boats as seen from my window.

A story behind: More than 70 000 people have assisted the 4th Act of Extreme Sailing Series watching the race from the banks of the Douro river, Porto, Portugal. 

Thanks God I had prepared all my gear before the race since the boats ware really fast making more than 20 knots. The moderate wind was tunneling down the river from the ocean. The Douro river is a perfect stadium for such an event: narrow passage, a couple of bridges to cross and high cliffs providing excellent view from above.




Gear: Nikon D700. Nikkor 70-300 mm. 

Aperture: f/4,5

Shutter speed: 1/2000 sec

Exposure bias: 0 EV

Focal Length: 300 mm

ISO: 400

Place taken: Porto, Portugal.
 

Date Taken: Friday, July 8th, 2012, 16: 03

Maciek.

Discover the Douro Region

A late evening in the Quina do Vallado hotel, Douro region, Portugal.

A story behind: The Douro region  located in the Northern part of Portugal is a must-see.  The contrasts of a landscape where majestic mountains, fertile plains, streams and the rivers, give shape to a charming natural space that invites us to appreciate it will leave no one indifferent. The winegrowing culture with a special emphasis on the production of Port wine is still to be discovered.
We spent a couple of last days at the Quinta do Vallado hotel tasting their great reds.
For more impressions from the Douro and Porto region please read a recent article in NYT.



Gear: Nikon D90. Sigma 17-75 mm. Tripod. 

Aperture: f/11

Shutter speed: 4 sec

Exposure bias: -0,3 EV

Focal Length: 17 mm

ISO: 600

Place taken: Quinta do Vallado, Regua, Portugal.
 

Date Taken: Friday, June29th, 2012, 21: 32

Maciek.