cork oak Archives - Craig Rogers Photography

Sunset Among The Cork Oaks

9th December 201810th December 2018Craig Rogers

This afternoon, sunset was approaching and there were some high faint clouds developing along with some airplane trails, so I headed to (what I call) Eagle Ridge to look for a shot of the developing sunset.

I decided to use a nearby Cork Oak for the focal point, sitting slightly higher up the ridge than many more trees. This is also the first time I used the built-in Focus Stacking feature of the Nikon D850.

Center of the photo are the mountain tops of Picota (left) and Fóia (right).

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Young Cork Oak at Sunset

13th September 201813th September 2018Craig Rogers

It’s been another hot day here in the Northern Hills with the temperature reaching 35 degree, the clear skies looked promising for a typical Algarve sunset. I headed to a nearby ridge to find a Cork Oak to photograph against the setting sun. I found this young Cork Oak that is yet to have its first harvest of Cork. The tree needs to be at least 30 years old before the first harvest is carried out.

I liked the way its canopy framed the setting sun so set up the camera and waited until the sun was just disappearing behind the Benafátima ridge. The distant peak you can see to the left of the tree trunk is Fóia, the Algarve’s highest point.

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The Rain Has Saturated The Landacape

21st October 201710th November 2017Craig Rogers

After no rain here in São Marcos da Serra for almost 6 months (last rained at the beginning of June), 2 days of Autumnal showers, sometimes heavy, have already transformed the landscape. A combination of the washing away of dust and a well needed drink for the wild trees and plants means they are looking very green already. Soon the grasses will start to grow and transform the hillsides of the Algarve.

I took this photo of an unharvested Cork Oak Tree in a small wooded area we are lucky to own. The cork is due for harvesting next summer where I’ll certainly document.

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