sao marcos da serra Archives - Craig Rogers Photography

Short Film : Depois das Chamas (After the Fires)

13th July 202019th February 2021Craig Rogers

As you are probably aware, we had a large wild wire start very close to the Quinta one week ago (Blog Posts : Day 1 & Day 2). One week on and all that remains (apart from the odd smouldering areas) is a totally devastated area.

Although a large fire, this fire is not on the same scale as some previous fires (you may remember my video Consequência from 2018), however, having it so close to your home really enforces the reality of how serious these fires can get.

I have made a short film to bring you the scenes of the devastation these fires cause. Although this area will recover in time, the many Cork Oaks that have been destroyed can not be replaced in for a generation. It is not until you view the size of the area from above that you realise just how quickly an area can be destroyed and when I first saw these scenes it really made it a reality on how lucky we were to have the wind moving this in the opposite direction to the house.

I have also taken the opportunity to raise some awareness for the fantastic voluntary work the “Assoçiação para Alerta de Incêndio Florestal” that Debby Burton and her team (of which I am proud to be a committee member) carry out to support both the local community and the amazing Bombeiros (firefighters). Please visit the Assoçiação para Alerta de Incêndio Florestal Website for more information and of course, donations are always welcome.

There is some information about some of the scenes below the film. Just for your info, the film does start silent until the title screen.

{Remember to watch in HD if possible}

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White Stork Silhouetted By The Setting Sun

13th March 201921st March 2019Craig Rogers

I’ve been thinking about this shot for a while. I have had to wait until the spring sun is lined up and tonight I decided to get a shot of the sun setting behind the ridge silhouetting the Stork nest on the disused Bakery chimney in São Marcos da Serra. It was also great to be able to have a Stork landing too.

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São Marcos da Serra at Sunset

16th May 201816th May 2018Craig Rogers

I headed out just before sunset to get to a position to be able to capture my local village of São Marcos da Serra with the sun setting behind the hills. It took a few expeditions through the long grass and Esteva plants before I decided on the location and waited for the sun to just dip behind the hills. Whilst I waited I had to battle with what seemed like millions of female Mosquitos desperate for blood.

The prolonged rains we had this spring has made everything very green with large colourful flowers so the contrasting colours with the sunset glow was fantastic to photograph.

The White Storks Are Returning To Our Village

22nd January 201822nd January 2018Craig Rogers

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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Serra Sunrise

3rd October 20179th October 2017Craig Rogers

Twighlight had just started when I set off this morning to a local ridge that I’d scouted yesterday. Setup the tripod and camera (D810, AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 and “Cheap as Chips” Remote) with about 30 minutes until the sun was to appear above the serra ridges to the East.

I sat and watched a some stunning colours before the sun started to poke above the mountains and walked away with this shot.

In the foreground is my local village, São Marcos da Serra preparing for another warm October day.

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Destination: Sunset

2nd October 20179th October 2017Craig Rogers

I was up on top of a ridge late this afternoon scouting for a possible sunrise location for tomorrow morning and turned to go back to the Quad and had this amazing view of the sunset ahead on the track and took this shot.

Sometimes, an opportunity comes your way when you are least expecting it.

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