Portugal - Part II - Heading South

After 2 hectic days in Porto (Oporto), I rented a car and headed out into the countryside of northern Portugal. There were two places that I just had to see prior to heading south toward Lisbon (Lisboa). I headed north towards the city of Braga to see a sight that every photographer would love to capture.


Pictured at left just outside the city is Bom Jesus de Monte, Portugal's most spectacular religious sanctuary. The Baroque Escadaria (staircase) presents a scene unlike any other I have ever encountered. Simply amazing as it zig-zags its way up the mountain to the church at the summit.

I then headed southeast to the small town of Guimaraes. Being a history buff I just had to see this place as it is the site celebrated as the birthplace of the country. It was in the castle pictured at left that Alfonso Henriques, Portugal's first king, was born, and the place where in 1139 he proclaimed himself king of the newly formed Kingdom of Portugal and Guimaraes became its capital.

I continued heading southeast for an hour or so through Portugal's wine country before finally coming upon my destination. A place whose image has been seen the world over by millions of people: Casa de Mateus (Mateus Palace). The gorgeous manor house pictured at left is the family home of the owners of the world famous Mateus wines and its image is found on every bottle of wine they produce. I was lucky enough to capture a picture of the home and its reflection in its pool against a lightly clouded sky. It is one of my favorite images from the trip.

As I continued heading south my journey for the day finally came to an end just as the sun was beginning to set as we pulled into the small city of Coimbra. This picturesque town is the site of the countries oldest university and was also a former capital city. I threw a filter on my lens and captured the image at left with the university located high atop the hill and the beautiful Mondego River flowing down below. A perfect way to cap off a hectic travel day.

Portugal - Part I - Porto

As I mentioned in an earlier post one of my greatest joys is travel and landscape photography. I simply can't get enough of capturing sights that I have seen on TV or in pictures and/or read about my whole life. Now that I am there in person I have the chance to capture images in my own unique style. I intend to use this blog to help me share my vision with others.


A few years ago I made my first venture to Europe visiting the lovely country of Portugal (my better half's home country). As you can imagine the moment I landed I began snapping away like mad. We landed in the northern city of Porto (the town from which the country derived its name) in a steady drizzling rain.

It was also, unbeknownst to us, the middle of the San Joao Festival (St. John) of which Porto is the countries epicenter. The rain did little to dampen the spirits of the partiers from bonking each other over the head with their rubber hammers though (oh yeah, that's right, what a unique festival and definitely one I would like to go back to). Unfortunately it did limit my picture taking as I didn't have an umbrella and it was raining too hard to simply throw a jacket over my head.

With only 2 days in the city and the first one literally rained out I made the best of it though and did capture some amazing images including the iconic "Porto Bridge" which is a symbol of the city in the same vein as the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco. The other two things for which the city is also famous for is: Port wine and Porto FC football club.

Beautiful Brides

One of the things I like most about wedding photography is the radiance and glow that a bride exudes on her wedding day. It is a day she has dreamt about for most of her life and now that big day has finally come. For most brides that means preparing for this day like no other.

All brides seem to be absolutely stunning on this momentous day. They spend hours on their makeup and hair before finally slipping into their wedding dress that they have agonized over before hand picking. I love capturing this moment in time that they will cherish forever.

I do my best to make sure I can create some stunning images that the bride will be happy displaying in her home without hesitation. I know that it is the brides day and that she is the star of the show and make sure this is represented in memorable images.

Young or old, with child or not, all brides are beautiful and must be portrayed as such.

Travel photography

A good portion of my photography over the last few years has been dedicated to the field of travel photography. I simply can't get enough of capturing images of iconic landmarks and places that everyone has dreamt about for their whole lives.

Of course, most times this means also having large crowds of tourists standing in front of the subject in question. How do you get around that? Simple, get an early start!! Check out the sunrise and sunset tables prior to departure and your all set. A hotel wake-up call at 4:00 or 5:00 AM and your on your way.

While this is a hard thing to do for most people on vacation for a photographer it is a necessity. You will simply not get a better quality of natural light than at dawn and the majority of tourists (99.9%) will think your nuts for even attempting to do so.

That's fine with me as it allows me to capture images that are of post card quality with nary a person in site never mind in shot. In fact, as I roam the empty streets for the first hour or so I am usually the only one that seems to be awake. On occassion I do run into a fellow photographer with the same mindset and a nod and smile always follows no matter what language is spoken as we both know the images we are capturing will make us extremely proud of our work and is the driving force behind what we do.

I always try to do this for at least 1 or 2 days for each major location I travel to. I use the daytime to scout out the best photo locations for each landmark/site so when I'm off and running in the wee hours I have a schedule in my mind that allows me to arrive and capture the images I desire most. Who needs sleep, for most of these destinations it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and you have to make the most of it.

Of course, you don't always want an image devoid of humanity. Just take a look at the shot of Venice at left taken from my hotel room balcony. It simply wouldn't have the same impact if the gondalier wasn't in the foreground and the hectic busy life on the Grand Canal wasn't on display.

Travel photography is extremely fulfilling to me and even pays benefits financially. An example is an upcoming trip to Egypt I have booked for January 2012. After contacting an agency and forwarding some of my work I have bartered a 33% discount for my trip in exchange for images they will utilize in future print and web advertisements! A great deal for me as I would be taking the requested images anyway and now reap the benefits financially as well as having my photographic skills on display by a well known travel agency for potential future clients to see.

Sunsets

Sunsets!! Along with sunrises it's what every photographer strives to put in their portfolio. A quick glance on Google Images brings up thousands upon thousands of sunset images. When I travel, I make it a point that I MUST capture at least a few good sunsets. 4:00AM wakeups ensure I also catch a couple great sunrises. Nothing beats the vivid colours and hues of the sky under a setting sun.

As you can see from the pictures in this post I also always (if possible) try to include some water in the shot. The colours of the sky being offset by the tranquil blue leads to some dramatic compositions (in my opinion).


The top image is that of Calgary, Alberta, the next two were taken on Oahu, Hawaii and the last one was taken in Sorrento, Italy.

Portraiture

As with most photographers I first got started taking pictures of people, mainly family and friends. As I continued on my picture taking journey I wasn't satisfied with simply taking a quick snapshot of someone, I needed more substance to my images.


Posing was the first step in creating a better shot and is still something I have yet to fully master. I try to make people look comfortable and natural in all my images. If I can get a candid shot so much the better!

The next step was learning the importance of the background in a portrait shot. While not the focus of the shot an improper or distracting background definitely affects the final image. Even when blurred with an extreme "bokeh" effect the background still plays an important part in the final impact of the photo.


While I do use bokeh in a lot of my portraits I prefer to instead place the subject in front of a background that is somewhat visually striking in itself while at the same time not overpowering the subject that is to be the focus. This creates an overall portrait that is memorable and worthy of being framed.

As I began photography on a more than casual basis over 20 years ago I started shooting on film as digital was non-existent at the time. Quite an expensive proposition for someone trying to hone their craft and as every photographer knows you only get better by constant shooting. I still do prefer the look of film, (a holdover from my days as a Director of Photography in the film industry), but finally made the transition to digital about 5 years ago.


Digital has allowed me to advance as a photographer like no other technique, innovation or piece of equipment. It allows me to experiment and shoot, shoot, shoot with no cost whatsoever except time.

The final aspect to creating phenomenal portraits is understanding the importance of lighting. While the subject, pose and background all play a part in the final image it all pales in importance when compared to lighting. It sets the tone and mood of the image like no other factor.

If there is one tip I can give to beginner photographers it is learn and understand the value and importance of lighting in your shots. Whether portraiture or any other type of photo, lighting can make the difference between a memorable or forgettable shot.

Event Photography

While weddings are events that first come to mind for a lot of photographers there are many more various types of events to cover. I personally like to look for events that are different and provide much visual interest.

Here you will see some photos from an event that I have covered on a couple of occasions: The annual War of 1812, Battle of Stoney Creek re-enactment. This occurs on the first weekend of June to coincide with the anniversary of the original battle on June 6th, 1813.

The battle marked the turning point in our war with the Americans and from this point on they went on the defensive and were never really a threat again. The event provides an opportunity to create some really stunning images. Great for the portfolio I try to do a few similar events each year.

Wedding photography

A few years ago I was asked by a friend who's wedding my company was filming if I would also like to be their wedding photographer as their budget was quite tight. While hesitant at first I agreed and while inexperienced in this field I ended up creating some truly amazing images.

One thing led to another and I have since shot a number of different weddings both as the main and second shooter. Each event proved to be a learning experience from which to draw upon. I quickly understood though that I needed to gain more practical experience as I had no formal wedding photography experience as was simply "winging it".

Never one to be satisfied, I enrolled in some night school courses and am gaining the practical experience I seek. The image attached to this post is an example of this training. What have I learned? Simply that I will always strive to produce better and better images!