First day of my landscape photography trip to Cedeira and the Costa Artabra, in NW Galicia.
Landscape Photography in Cedeira, Day 1
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House of Ligh, Cabo Ortegal, June 2018
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I love the unpredictability of the weather at the coast. To get this image I had to make quite a few long exposures at this location in NW Galicia.
I took 16 long exposures of the same subject, until I got the one I was looking for.
It was sunny and bright when I arrived at Cabo Ortegal, one of the most beautiful lighthouses I've seen around here (not just because of the lighthouse itself but the landscape surrounding it). Light was very harsh. There were a few clouds but not enough to block the Sun.
After an hour or so, I had gotten a few long exposures, and I actually liked a couple of them. I was ready to leave the place, but I decided to stick around and look for some other compositions. In the next 15 minutes, the weather changed and it became windy and overcast.
I then repeated some of the compositions I had been taking earlier, until I finally got the image I was looking for.
They say landscape photography is all about patience, and I agree. Patience tends to reward you much more at some locations though (like the coast and the mountains), where weather can abruptly change in just a few minutes, giving you a completely different landscape to capture.
My New Lightroom CC (cloud) workflow
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The first of summer, Cedeira, June 2018
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A few months ago, I made one of my favorite images: The Last of Winter. That one was a cold, foggy morning that I spent walking on ice and snow.
The image I'm publishing now was made on a foggy day as well, but very different conditions: it was much warmer, there was no snow nor ice, and it was made in a different continent.
But somehow, when I was composing it I was thinking of the image from Indiana. So I called it "The First of Summer".
Make better images by being healthier
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Last year, I achieved something I never thought I’d be able to do: I climbed a 3,000m+ volcano. And then I did even harder things. But the last few months have been hard on my body, and now I’m 25 pounds fatter and out of shape. This has affected many aspects of my life, including photography.
Read MoreAmerican Road Trip Journal #25: Devil's Bridge (Sedona) and Montezuma Castle
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Episode 25 of the American Road Trip Journal.
Still in Arizona, I drive in the dark to Sedona, where I go on a very popular hike to Devil's Bridge. It was a nice, warm day at a beautiful location.
Afterwards, I visit a chapel in town and then Montezuma Castle National Monument, a cliff dwelling that is hundreds of years old.
Horse, San Andres de Teixido, June 2018
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I saw hundreds of horses during my trip to Cedeira last week. But I hadn't been able to make a good image of one of them. Most were cautious enough to put distance between me and them as soon as I'd gotten within a few hundred meters of them.
On the last day, and already leaving the town of San Andres de Teixido, I saw this horse in the yard of a nearby house. It started neighing at me, but didn't go away when I approached it. The horse let me take a few portraits, staring at me all the time.
Only at the end I realized about the empty bucket next to it. It'd been asking me for food all this time.
I hope they fed it well that morning.
Fog is photographer's best friend
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I remember looking at my watch, still feeling drowsy from the very early call. 6:21am. It's at those times when I wonder what the hell I'm doing. It's early, way too early to be here.
I've been driving for half an hour, I believe. I parked on the side of the road, next to a sign that says "Vixía Herbeira". I'm trying to gather some energy, but it's hard after all the driving from the previous day and a short 4-hour sleep.
Read MoreShooting a Roman Festival: Arde Lucus
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From time to time, I enjoy documenting life with my camera. Like this last weekend in Lugo, Spain, during Arde Lucus, a festival that celebrates the Roman and Castro heritage of the city.
These are some of the photos I took that day.
Sunrise, Las Ubiñas - La Mesa Natural Park, Asturias, June 2018
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I do not usually shoot in color, even less a vertical composition. But one must adapt to whats in front of them. And this morning, with that light, mountains and the tree on the bottom, I had no other option than rotating my camera and shooting it in color.
Landscape photography in Somiedo Natural Park, Day 2
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Second video of my landscape photography trip to Somiedo, in Asturias. This time, I went on a hike to the beautiful lakes of Saliencia.
Landscape photography in Somiedo Natural Park, Asturias: Day 1
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First video of the two from my recent trip to Somiedo Natural Park, in Asturias.
Curves, Las Ubiñas - La Mesa Natural Park, Asturias, June 2018
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The fog was intense during my time in Somiedo, Asturias. While it can ruin your photographs of big vistas, it can also give you incredible opportunities to find images and compositions that wouldn't exist otherwise.
While searching for compositions, sunset approaching quickly, I saw these two curvy hills that "touched" slightly. This whole scene didn't exist a few minutes before I saw it, since another mountain in the background didn't allow for the simplicity that I was able to capture when the fog appeared.
My camera settings for digital landscape photography
in journal
For the last month or so, I've been using my digital camera exclusively. I am in no way new to digital photography, but after a year of shooting film only, this process has felt like I was learning everything from scratch again.
And that's why I wanted to talk about the settings I use in my digital camera for landscape photography.
Read MoreFence, Las Ubiñas - La Mesa Natural Park, Asturias, June 2018
in photographs
On my first day in Somiedo, I only had a couple of hours before the Sun set. It was a rainy day, and the fog started to roll in, covering all the mountains.
With the big vistas gone, I started looking for different type of scenes. I wish I had that fog down in the valley, where I would be able to find plenty of old stone houses, walls and other structures that would've looked incredibly good in that foggy weather.
But up there, I couldn't find much. This fence, up a slippery slope, caught my eye though. I took a few shots as I worked the composition, and this one is the one I liked the most at the end.
Landscape photography in Somiedo, Asturias
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I just got back from one of my best landscape photography trips here in Spain so far. I visited the relatively close mountains of Somiedo, about 3 hours away from where I live.
After looking at some photos, I was expecting something beautiful. But I couldn't believe what I found so close to what had been home for so many years. It was paradise. So, so close I felt ashamed for not visiting it before.
But... I finally fixed it. I didn't spend much time there but I went on a hike to breathtaking lakes and drove a lot getting to know all the small towns around. And I'm already planning my next visit to this gorgeous area in Northern Spain.
Very soon, images and videos from this trip.
Maria Pita, A Coruña, June 2018
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A couple days ago, I had the chance to visit the city where I lived for 12+1 years: A Coruña, in NW Spain. I was in town to work on my upcoming exhibitions, but I still wanted to take advantage of the little spare time I'd have over there.
I visited a couple of iconic spots. The first one gave me this image of the statue of Maria Pita facing the City Hall. The long exposure created an effect that I like very much.
I can't wait to visit again and spend some more time photographing the numerous beautiful things the city has to offer.
My new YouTube photography channel... in Spanish
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I have a new YouTube channel. It's about photography, of course. But this time, it's in Spanish.
Don't worry, my channel in english is not going anywhere, and it will remain the main one.
Why have I created this new channel? Well, you see, YouTube has plenty of photography channels in english. Hundreds, thousands. You can lift a rock and find a landscape photographer. The market is very saturated, and it feels like whatever you do, it has already been done (and better) by someone else.
The situation in Spanish isn't quite the same. Yes, there are a few of them, but there's plenty of room for some more. While I hesitated to talk about some of the more technical aspects of photography on my main YouTube channel because everyone had already done it, I think that can make a bigger difference in Spanish since there's not as much information out there.
I'm still not sure if the content in both channels is going to be similar (for example, I will use the trailer above for the other channel as well), or completely different, or... but I'll figure it out. I do enjoy making videos and this will let me experiment and learn much faster. It will make me a better filmmaker and storyteller.
American Road Trip Journal #24: Hoover Dam and the ghost town of Two Guns, AZ
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It's been a month since the latest episode of the American Road Trip! Way too long, so I decided to fix that today.
In the previous episode, we camped at Valley of Fire in Nevada. This time, we drive from there to Flagstaff, Arizona. On our way, we stop by the Hoover Dam. And the next day, also in this episode, I visit the ghost town of Two Guns, near Flagstaff.
You could say this episode is a filler. Necessary to tell the story of our road trip, but not the best video from a photography point of view. I hope you still enjoy it.
Giant, O Courel, May 2018
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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.