More images from my recent trip to O Courel. I took this one from the side of the road, I had to stop the car when I saw this grand, towering mountain in front of me. The morning clouds only made the scene better.
Trees lining up a mountain. I made this image a couple of days ago during my visit to O Courel. The Sun was still rising behind it, and I loved the backlit incline, the contrast between the darkness and the light.
Finally, I was able to get out and drive somewhere to shoot some landscape photography. This time, I went to the nearby Sil Canyon, a beautiful place just 25 minutes away from where I live now (and where I grew up).
Carved by the Sil river, this canyon is short but very spectacular. Its other attraction is also its biggest flaw: it's full of wineries since the sides of the cliffs are very good for grapes. On one hand, you get amazing wine. On the other one, the canyon has been worked for hundreds of years and it doesn't look as wild as one could hope.
I managed to get one image for sunset, but I wasn't too crazy about it. The next morning, and even though I woke up late for sunrise, I was able to make an image I was happy with.
I had another fantastic time shooting around here yesterday. This time, I went to the nearby mountains, called "O Courel".
This isn't a wild place, since there are old houses and small towns everywhere, and of course paved and unpaved roads leading to them. And while this can make a bit harder to make a good image, some structures can look really good with the right weather conditions.
I found this bus stop on my way out. Broken, probably unused for years. In the middle of nowhere, on a very foggy and cloudy day.
A short video of our trip from Newark, New Jersey, to Lisbon, Portugal. Also some footage from the portuguese coast where I had time to make a couple of images.
I finally got to get out and make some images, after 2 weeks of no photography, and it felt awesome! I was able to make a couple of images I like, so I'd say it was almost perfect.
This is the first image from Spain, definitely not the last one. I was planning on shooting sunrise, but the trip of the previous day took a toll on me and I couldn't wake up in time.
However, once I looked out the window I knew I had to get out and go somewhere, anywhere. The fog was pretty intense but it was going away quickly, and the Sun was still rising. Perfect for some dramatic imagery.
I drove to the nearest "mountain" (I quote it because it's not that tall, it's more a hill, but anyway) called Marroxo (literally "Red Sea") and I saw this line of trees with the Sun behind. It was hidden by the fog, but I knew I wasn't going to find a better location that morning and I took the chance.
I think I made the right decision. The fog cleared a little bit, but not completely, just to let the Sun do its magic. A layer of clouds was hiding the upper half of the star, I couldn't ask for anything better!
I used the Sony a6500 and the 70-200mm f/4 lens, handheld (I didn't have time to set up the tripod), to take this photo. Which is, by the way, a combination of 3 different exposures (scenes involving the Sun always have extreme dynamic range so I usually bracket them, if possible).
I made some of my favorite images of this past winter in Michigan City, Indiana. The black and white fits perfectly the wintery landscape, but I also saw the potential for some color once the weather improved a bit.
That's why it was the first place that came to my mind to try my two new lenses for the Sony a6500.
I decided to pull the trigger on these two to finally upgrade my digital kit (I'd been shooting with the very inexpensive kit lenses forever), rushed by our imminent move overseas. Everything is much more expensive here, as I explain in the video.
It was a nice morning at Lake Michigan, as I was able to make the three images I was hoping for. Not exactly what I had in mind (especially the one of the hut on the beach), but still time well spent outdoors.
I know. I've been lagging behind. Things have been a bit busy since we got to Spain due to paperwork and well, just life. But fear not, I'll be back next week with new videos and images.
For now, this one I made just before leaving the US, in Michigan City, Indiana. I drove there from Goshen for sunrise since I wanted to take a couple of shots before the light became too harsh.
The video about how I made this one, and the other two I took that morning, is coming soon, very soon.
This is the last episode of the Badlands: day 4... and 5.
The cold and the snow had won this battle. I really couldn't hike anywhere without sinking in mud, nor could I try to make images at night (8F, -13C, was too cold for me), and the light very harsh during 99% of the day.
I was also tired after 5 nights in the back of the car, with no contact with other human beings.
So I dediced to call it a trip and leave a day early.
All in all, I had a lovely time in South Dakota and I'll be releasing the images soon.
This is the first image I made in Portugal. We stayed some days in Sintra trying to adjust after the long flight and also giving Luna a break after so much travelling.
This spot was a short walk (less than 5 minutes by foot) away from our apartment, so even though I wasn't planning on making an image this time, I felt compelled to unpack all my camera gear and tripod to head down there during sunset and shoot.
I used a 10-stop ND filter to make this image, I exposed it for almost 3 minutes.
At first, I wanted to exclude the little pool in the foreground, but I couldn't find a safe spot to do so. Since I had to have it in the foreground, I made it go all the way to the bottom right corner.
The light wasn't as good as I thought it would be, and the cliff is rather dark as a result. Still, I like the composition and the colors.
Day 3 was a very hard day in the Badlands.
It was very cold, with a high of 24 degrees F (-4C), and everything was covered in ice. The road was closed for most of the day so I decided to walk to the Badlands. Luckily for me, it opened just in time for sunset. I was limited to the viewpoints from the side of the road, but still had fun and enjoyed a beautiful place.
My second full day in the Badlands was a very long one. Stuck in the car in the middle of a snowstorm that brought more than a foot of snow and winds of up to 60mph, I only had one chance to get out of the car and use my camera. But I think I made a couple of photos I'm proud of, probably the best ones of the trip as well.
After all these years traveling all over the West, I feel a little bit sad now that my time in the US is coming to and end. I needed to say goodbye in a proper way.
A couple weeks ago, I decided to pack my things and drive all the way to the Badlands National Park, in western South Dakota. A drive of more than 1,000 miles that took me over 16 hours in two days.
In this first episode, I drive to the park and explore it, trying to get to know the landscape and the places I would be photographing the next days.
For almost 3 years now, I've been using a Manfrotto BeFree as my main tripod for both photography and video. It's light and compact, and stable enough even for my Bronica SQ-Ai.
My recent road trip to South Dakota seems to have taken a toll on the Manfrotto though. One of the sections was already loose, but the mud and snow in the Badlands broke it for real, and also made me lose the three "feet" (if that's the correct name) on all three legs.
After looking at tripods for a few days, I decided to go with Manfrotto again and get the heavier, but also taller Manfrotto 055XPRO3 (what a name) with a sturdier ball head, too (I was having some problems with the old one when using long lenses).
I'll have it in my hands this week, and I'll be reporting on how it feels very soon.
After a month exploring California, it was time to move on and start heading east. On our drive from Lone Pine to Flagstaff, we decided to stop by the beautiful Valley Of Fire in Nevada where we spent a night.
I didn't take many film photos as I explain on the video, but rather just enjoyed the place and the experience of camping in the desert (just an hour away from Vegas, but it still feels like "the middle of nowhere").
I'm (almost) back from what will be my last road trip in America for a while.
Last week, I drove over a thousand miles to visit the Badlands in South Dakota. Since then, I survived a blizzard that left a foot of snow, I slept through 5 freezing nights in the back of my car, I sank in mud more times than I could count, I saw more wildlife than almost anywhere before, and the best of all, I practically had the whole place to myself.
During these five days, I struggled as the landscape challenged me as very few landscapes have done before. I don't know how many good images I made there, but not many.
I'm exhausted and looking forward to sitting down and look at the results of this trip.
For now, I feel like this was a very helpful time in nature with tons of time to think and reflect.
Talk to you soon.
Rumors were true, and Fujifilm officially announced it's discontinuing all B&W films and papers.
More specifically, Neopan Acros (both 35mm and 120) will not be shipped anymore after October 2018.
While it's always sad to see yet another film stock go, let's hope this will mean more demand for other companies that are more committed to film as current Fujifilm's customers look for an alternative.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I finished the second day of my trip to Oregon in Astoria. It'd been a rainy day but the sky gave me a break long enough to take a few long exposures along the boardwalk.
This was the last one, not only because it was the last of the roll but also because I was in a not very pretty area of town and some people had been staring at my camera for too long.
Yet another reason why I prefer to shoot in the wilderness.
I'm not a big fan of using multiple film stocks. After all, that was one of the reasons why I switched from digital to analog: to limit my options. I want to master one or two film stocks and know what I can get from them.
But, if you are looking for a new film stock to try, or if you are just curious about which options we have as film photographers as of today, Emulsive has done a terrific job compiling all the 172 film stocks you can buy today (it's a multi-part series and this is just the first part of it).
Camera: Holga 120N
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I didn't shoot much during the month of March. The end of winter hasn't inspired me enough to get out and create new images.
It was a necessary break though, as I had many videos and images to work on. Now that I'm mostly done with older work, I'm ready for the next adventure.
While I didn't get out much this last month, I did manage to make a few images, almost all of them with the Holga. This one was one of them, of rental boats waiting for busier times this summer in Chain O Lakes State Park, in Northern Indiana.
