Yesterday afternoon a thin haze, high in the sky was developing which usually results in a colourful sunset. I headed to the nearby Sapeira to get a shot of the sunset with the river bridge in the foreground. The colours did not disappoint with the sun lighting up the haze, as a bonus when I turned around to start packing up the Cold Moon (the name given to December’s Full Moon) was rising with the fading sunset still providing some colour.
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Moonset In The Algarve Serra
I was just about to call it a day and decided to have some fresh air before bed when I noticed the Moon setting behind nearby ridge. A quick scramble for Camera, Lens and Tripod and I just managed to snap this shot before it disappeared behind the ridge.
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Pigeons At Sunset
After a hot day today (finally back in the 30s!) the sunset was great. I was watching the sun disappear behind a distant ridge and a flock of Pigeons landed on an electricity cable. I grabbed my D7100 and 80-400mm (which is always on standby in the house) and made a silhouette of the Pigeons.
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Sunset high in the Algarve Serra
Last night I went to the top of a nearby ridge to capture what I hoped would be a great sunset. In case it wasn’t quite what I hoped, I took a shot before sunset to silhouette a young Cork Oak Tree in the foreground. Once the sun had set, it didn’t quite go to plan, the sky didn’t turn the fiery red I was hoping for, however, as you see in the 2nd photo, there was a very short moment where the sky was full of many different colours.
The mountains you see in the distance where the clouds have gathered is Monchique and Foia (the highest point in the Algarve) viewed from behind.
The Tree Of Life
Sometimes photo opportunities come to you. I was sitting in the house shopping on Amazon for a new WiFi Router (my current one keeps playing up) when I looked out of the back terrace and could see the top of a nearby ridge with the trees silhouetted by the setting sun (Further explanation of the shot below the photo).
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The White Storks Are Returning To Our Village
White Storks are very common in the Algarve and they are now returning from their short winter break in Africa. Our local village has a small number that spend the warmer months here.
This evening, I decided to shoot a silhouette of a Stork against the glow of the setting sun. Silhouette shots always work well when the object being silhouetted can easily be identified, this made the Stork perched on top of the nest perfect. I had to wait a long time before he/she decided to stand up.
As you can see from this photo, White Storks regularly build their nests on top of electricity poles. The place to see White Storks in abundance in the Algarve is the town of Silves, I am planning a session to capture photos and videos which will be coming soon.
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