The sun was glorious again this morning and down at the river a shrub that had been growing out of the dry river bed has now become Luxury Real Estate for Spiders. The rising sun was backlighting the webs so I took a shot.
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Morning Dog Walk: The Warm December Sun
This morning’s walk with Wally was a warm one, although I was a little later than usual. It was 10am and already 17 deg up here in the Algarve Hills. I stopped briefly to admire the views as I headed up Eagle Ridge (some of you who come on my walks will remember this ridge) and snapped this picture of the sun shining through a Cork Oak.
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Sunset at the Barragem de Odelouca
Normal weather has returned to the Algarve over the last few days (will it last is the big question) so I decided to find a new spot to photograph the sunset. Using the PhotoPills App, I found a spot on the side of the Barragem de Odelouca (Odelouca Reservoir) where the sun would be setting on the far side of the water.
This location was very remote and took about 20 minutes of dirt track to reach. I was hoping to find something interesting to place in the foreground such as an old tree or rocks, however, the banks here are very steep and just dropped into the water. This is one issue going to an unknown location. I decided to try to use light shining off a bank and a large rocky island instead. Myself and Emma took along some wine and enjoyed the sundown whilst taking the photos.
The first photo was 20 minutes before sunset just as the sun was falling behind the hills.
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The Rain Has Saturated The Landacape
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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Summer Sunset Colours Return to the Algarve
June is upon us and the African weather influence has well and truly arrived in the Algarve. Here in the Serra, the temperatures are now consistently above 30 degree Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) every day.
This warm african weather also brings the amazing colours at sunset (and indeed Sunrise). I look forward to getting out at both Sunrise and Sunset to capture some great scenes.
Here’s a quick photo I snapped this evening, a silhouette of the very common Blue Gum Eucalyptus Tree against a stunning sky.
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The Blue Gum Eucalyptus covers a lot of Portugal, however, it’s not natural here. It was introduced from Tasmania (yes, these are the ones you see Koala’s hugging) in the 1850’s and as it self-seeds and grows very quickly, it covers large areas.
Autumn Colours
I was looking for some Autumn colours (with red as well as gold) today and struggled at Branston Water Park (Staffordshire) but I did see the sun shining through these trees that had a little red colour and thought it would capture well.
The shot is made up from 5 Bracketed shots of 1/13, 1/15, 1/20, 1/25 and 1/30sec (0.3EV) and then merged as a HDR in Lightroom
The warm weather might be disappearing after today, but at least we have the colours to look forward to.
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