Landscape photography in Cedeira, Day 3

July 01, 2018 in journal

Last day of my trip to Cedeira!

As usual, the forecast completely missed it: I was expecting "mostly cloudy" and I got "rain and wind". Even though I got rained on, I still made some images (one of them was one of my favorites from the trip).

In these conditions, make sure you protect your gear appropiately. I've already ruined cameras in the past, and believe me, it isn't fun. Use a plastic bag to cover your camera, and if it's raining a lot, just don't shoot at all or use your phone (if it's weatherproof).

See the images from this trip and more from Galicia.

"Gate", San Pedro de Rocas, Ourense, June 2018

July 01, 2018 in photographs

This was a complicated shot.

First, it was hard to compose with my zoom lens. The widest it can go is 24mm, definitely pretty tight from this composition.

It's also a scene with a vertical subject, and I had to decide what else to include in this square frame so I could fit the gate and the bells / cross on the top, leaving some necessary empty space for this image to breathe.

Second, the sky was very bright behind the structure. I shot two long exposures, exposing for different parts of the image, and then blended them together in Lightroom. That gave me the extra dynamic range I needed.

Lastly, it was a long edit. I had to clone out a sign (that really distracted from the rest of the image), and dodge / burn a lot of it.

At the end though, I'm happy with the result.

See more images of Galicia.

A couple days with a Fuji X100T

July 01, 2018 in journal

For the last two days I've been shooting with a Fuji X100T I borrowed from Rachel. I'd tried that camera a few times before but never for too long.

I have to say I've been having a lot of fun. It's not a camera for the kind of images I make for my main body of work, but for casual, handheld shooting, is almost perfect.

These are some of the shots I got.

Landscape photography in Cedeira, Day 2

June 29, 2018 in journal

My second day of landscape photography in Cedeira was an intense one. I found dense fog, which made impossible to photograph the big vistas. But I found something much better: intimate and mysterious compositions.

Cantabrian Sea, June 2018

June 29, 2018 in photographs

The Cantabrian Sea washes the northern coast of Spain. Still the Atlantic Ocean, it gets a different name near the shore.

I took this long exposure a few miles away from Ribadeo. There was a break in the clouds just above the horizon, and I liked the little rocks in the distance.

See more images of Galicia.

How to change and start doing all those things you've always wanted to do

June 29, 2018 in journal

Change is very, very hard. Breaking bad habits isn't, but the way we see ourselves and what others think about us is. That's why in order to change yourself you need to change everything around you.

I know it very well. I used to be lazy and not motivated to do any creative work, and that’s the image that people had (and still have, those who hadn’t seen me in a while) of me.

If I’ve changed, anyone can. This is how I did it.

Landscape Photography in Cedeira, Day 1

June 27, 2018 in journal

First day of my landscape photography trip to Cedeira and the Costa Artabra, in NW Galicia.

See photos from Galicia.

House of Ligh, Cabo Ortegal, June 2018

June 26, 2018 in photographs

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.

See more photos of Galicia.

‪My New Lightroom CC (cloud) workflow

June 25, 2018 in journal

The first of summer, Cedeira, June 2018

June 25, 2018 in photographs

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".

See more images of Galicia.

Make better images by being healthier

June 24, 2018 in journal

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.

American Road Trip Journal #25: Devil's Bridge (Sedona) and Montezuma Castle

June 21, 2018 in journal

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

June 20, 2018 in photographs

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.

See more photos of Galicia.

Fog is photographer's best friend

June 19, 2018 in journal

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.

Shooting a Roman Festival: Arde Lucus

June 18, 2018 in journal

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

June 17, 2018 in photographs

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.

Video where I make this image. See more images of Asturias.

Landscape photography in Somiedo Natural Park, Day 2

June 17, 2018 in journal

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

June 11, 2018 in journal

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

June 11, 2018 in photographs

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.

See more images of Asturias.

My camera settings for digital landscape photography

June 11, 2018 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.