Landscapes in Velvia

I spend the last months of each year preparing the activities for the next year. Today, I was out scouting one area I want to use during 2017 and suddenly found myself in a Landscapes in Velvia day. Here are some examples.

The colours on the Atlantic coast in Portugal today were just asking for me to stay a bit longer. And I did. Although the light was fantastic, with puffy white clouds moving in the sky creating strong contrasts and pools of light here and there, this was a Winter day — for us here — in terms of temperature, and one could feel the cold bitting.

Thermometers around 12 degrees at 11 in the morning mixed with the constant breeeze suggested that to stay along the coastline proper clothing starts to be a must. After all we’re in November. Good I am mostly walking around at hours the Sun is high in the sky. In fact, for this scouting tour I spent some four hours, from noon until 3.30 in the afternoon, exploring locations for my photo tours next year. When the sun started to move down towards the horizon, I left the grounds for the photographers that come for the sunset hour shift. Yes, now the Sun goes down around 5.30pm, so they have to hurry if they want to take pictures. I’ve done my shift, as usual, with different timings.

This was a day with Velvia colours. The colour rich Fujichrome Velvia emulsion from Fujifilm was my reference back in the days of film. Also Kodak’s Ektachrome Panther and other Ektas that were some of the last emulsions I used before moving to digital. Surprisingly for some, I did not use a polarizer for these photos. In fact, I never use a polarizer for skies, when I pick mine it’s usually for reflections… to get rid of them. Does wonders there, but really destroys skies, especially with wide angle lenses. Now, because I rarely — could almost say never — use extreme wide angles, I could use polarizers, but who needs a polarizer with the skies you get in Portugal all year round?

Yes, that’s something I keep telling people. I even wrote one article about the subject, guess I’ll have to find it and republish it here, just to make people understand that when they visit Portugal, they can leave their polarizer home. Or bring it along only to reduce or eliminate reflections. But leave the skies alone!

The images here are just a teaser for something I am preparing in terms of a day out photographing with me, on the coast. It’s going to be a mix of action and quietness. I don’t want to give much away yet, so I had to pick photos that do not show recognizable landmarks — yes, there are some in the area. But I hope that these photos show you the potential of my new coastal “boot camp” for 2017. Another aspect that I never tire to repeat: these photos are taken at those hours photographers are advised to stay home. I’ve to thank whoever created and nurtured the myth: I rarely see photographers on these places during the peak of day, so I’ve the chance to get this fantastic light all for myself. No don’t tell me the light isn’t fantastic. Real Velvia Landscapes…