Portugal - Part VIII - Obidos

I woke up early the next morning as I had a busy day trip out of Lisbon planned as we were venturing off to see quite a few sites in the spectacular countryside. My first stop was at the small town of Obidos.

Known as the "fairytale town" once I saw it in the distance and then pulled up inside I immediately knew that I would be spending more time here than I had originally planned as the place was simply gorgeous.

Sitting high atop a hill this medeival walled town was once one of the country's most important settlements. Dominated by the castello (castle) pictured at left the view from atop the town walls was unbelievable.

Pictured at left is one such view over the lush countryside with it vineyards and perfectly manicured sown fields. The town itself was abuzz with a summer festival and the narrow streets were packed with tourists and locals alike.


The small town of 11,000 people has been dubbed the "fairytale" town and it was easy to see why. Completely encircled by high defensive walls its cobble stoned lanes are lined with perfectly preserved and/or restored whitewashed buildings.

It was mid summer and all the flowers were in full bloom leading to some magnificent displays of colour. The small shops and cafes were teeming with activity. I strolled through various nooks and crannies and came away with a collection of shots and memories that I will cherish forever.

I ended up sitting down at one of the outdoor patio's and enjoyed a fine lunch while people watching and snapping away with my camera. I simply couldn't get enough of this pretty little town.

As always, I eventually had to leave as I had so much on my agenda this day that I knew that my overstay in Obidos was going to make it a longer day than originally planned.

Needless to say at only about 1 1/2 hours north of Lisbon I highly recommend that anybody visiting the capital should put a day trip to Obidos on their itinerary.

Bath Bombs

Above is an image of a "bath bomb" that I recently shot from a small business in Oakville named Pretty in Pink Spa. Not really sure what a bath bomb was my first task was to Google "bath bomb" and see what turned up. Basically a bath bomb is a mixture of chemicals used to add scent and colour to bathwater.

What made these "bombs" a little different was the fact that they looked like cupcakes. So much so that I actually thought they were. As mentioned, these wonderful looking products can be found at Pretty in Pink Spa. Check out their website at www.prettyinpinkspa.com. A neat idea this spa caters to girls aged 5 - 18 and features 100% organic products. A unique concept that I'm sure will be a huge hit in this community.

Portugal - Part VII - The Royal Town

After spending a couple of days discovering what Lisbon had to offer I headed out of the city to check out the world famous town of Sintra. Located about an hour west of Lisbon this UNESCO World Heritage Site was the favourite home to the former royal family of Portugal and is a real life fantasy land with some unmistakable landmarks.

Located high atop a granite mountain the location was for centuries THE spot to reside in the country and its beauty and breathtaking views are spectacular.

First and foremost is the must-see Palace of Pena which is pictured in the first three images at left. Standing on the highest peaks of the Sintra Mountain it is simply gorgeous and is quite unlike anything to be found elsewhere on this planet. Completed in 1885 its extravagance is unmatched and is an image taken right from a fairytale.

With architectural styles from various cultures it is a unique   masterpiece that simply must be seen to be believed. Its towers, ramparts and gates are at the same time odd, yet beautiful. I spent the better part of two hours browsing through the Palace and came away convinced that this was royalty at its most opulent. I highly recommend that anyone visiting Portugal simply MUST see Sintra and its Pena Palace.

Not to be outdone and at the very heart of the old town of Sintra lies another spectacular building, the National Palace of Sintra pictured at the lower left. Built in the 14th century this building was the actual residence of the Portuguese royalty for 400 years. The defining part of the palace is the two huge conical chimneys which emanate from the kitchen.

Exploring Sintra and its palaces and sights on foot involves quite a bit of walking and climbing up and down hills along its cobbled streets and winding roads but this is pretty well the only way to get around. This is a medieval town with narrow streets and no parking and does get quite packed in summer so driving around is not really an option. Be prepared to be tired at the end of a long day but the journey is well worth it.

Pearl images

A few weeks ago I was also asked to duplicate an image of pearls that I had sourced online. I searched through Pinterest.com but couldn't come up with something I liked so I searched through Google Images and came across the image at left comprised of both pearls and wedding bands.

I gathered the necessary items but try as I may I could not come across two matching wedding bands so I decided to come up with an alternative, a band and an engagement ring. The final result is the image pictured at the lower left.

Creating it was fairly straightforward. I started by going outside in a shady area to give me nice evenly diffused light. I arranged the elements on a small table covered by a tablecloth and set out to capture them.

My biggest challenge was trying to get both items into acceptable focus. I started off shooting at f2.8 and focusing on the pearls as this was a pearl assignment but the rings ended up totally soft. I reversed it and focused on the rings but the result remained the same just this time on the pearls.

After taking half a dozen shots I finally ended up shooting at f8.0 but zoomed in fully with my 28-70mm lens and focused on the rings. The result is as displayed on the left, both the rings and front section of the pearls are acceptably in focus resulting in what I believe is quite a nice looking duplicate.

Shoe photography

I was given the assignment of picking an image of a pair of shoes from the Pinterest.com website and then duplicating that shot. The shot at left is the image I chose. The image below is my attempt at re-creating that shot.

For the most part the two images are identical except for the obvious difference in shoe styles and colour. I tried to duplicate the background as much as possible but encountered a busier backdrop than the original.

At first I tried shooting at f2.8 so as to completely blur out the background but this resulted in too shallow of a depth of field and the shoes weren't as sharp along the edges as I liked. I ended up shooting at f5.0 and while the resulting background was a little cluttered for my liking the shoes were acceptably sharp along most of their length.

Portugal - Part VI - Lisbon

I made it into Lisboa (Lisbon) by mid afternoon and for the first time since entering the country I encountered traffic. Since it was rush-hour the congestion was on a par with Toronto along the QEW or 401. What made it worse was the fact that to enter the city I had to cross a bridge as the city lies on the west bank of the Tagus River and there is only two bridges that span this mighty waterway.  The bridge was so spectacular that the first thing I did was drive down by the riverside and grab an image of it.

Often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco it was in fact built by the same company that constructed the San Francisco - Oakland Bridge (not the Golden Gate). Originally called the Salazar Bridge after the former long time Portuguese dictator it was renamed the 25th of April Bridge after the revolution that overthrew him. One of the longest suspension bridges in the world it features a huge Christ the King statue on its east bank. I made sure to go back at night to capture a shot of this beautiful structure all lit up.

Lisbon is nicknamed the "city of seven hills" and is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Primarily a maritime nation I headed down to the riverside area of Belem to see some sights from the former glory of this rich colonial empire. 

Pictured at left is the Monastery of Jeronimos. Construction started in 1501 during the country's heyday and took 70 years to build and cost 5000 kg of gold to complete.

The monastery is right in the heart of Belem, an area of Lisbon famed for centuries as the center of its discoveries. Nearby is the Monument to the Discoveries. This 171 foot monument shaped like a ships prow was built in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator, the man responsible for financing many of the overseas explorations. 

It is built on the exact spot of the former marina of Belem, a place where in 1497 Vasco da Gama embarked on his voyage to "discover" India and where in 1493 Christopher Columbus anchored on his way back to Spain after discovering the Americas. The monument is adorned with 30 statues of men who contributed important roles in these discoveries.

Just down the embankment is the UNSECO World Heritage - Belem Tower (also known as the Tower of St. Vincent). When completed in 1519 on an island in Tagus River this 100 foot fortress was the key to the city's maritime defense as it guarded its approach from the sea.

I spent the bulk of a day visiting the Belem area and a few other historic neighborhoods before heading back to my hotel as I had an early morning planned for a visit to the royal town of Sintra.

Wedding Venue

I was recently asked to shoot a wedding reception venue at night with a visible sign. This is right up my alley as I do quite a bit of dusk or night photography of buildings during my extensive travels. As readers to my blog know, my favorite time for capturing these images is just after the sun sets when the sky turns a beautiful shade of cobalt blue.

Unfortunately for this shot of the newly constructed Best Western Hotel on Hamilton Mountain I missed this narrow time gap by about 10 minutes. Nevertheless I still managed to capture quite a nice image of the building with its blue highlights. The fresh snow in the foreground accentuated the building perfectly resulting in what I believe is a very nice image.

Baby Photography

As most photographers know, baby photography is one of the easiest ways to crack into the professional market. Every parent wants beautiful photos of ther child and this is one of the few areas where they will pay to get them. The photo above is of my newest model, my grandaughter Faith, pictured at 4 weeks. While she obviously doesn't know it yet this was the first of many, many photoshoots to come.

Her mom was dying to get some shots off so I quickly set up a 3 point lighting scheme and began snapping away. As you can imagine she wasn't a co-operative model but I did capture a few images that are definitely portfolio worthy. Enough so that after posting online I have received a few emails from parents asking about my services.

After about 1/2 hour Faith had had enough and it was impossible to keep her awake any longer. I had one more idea before this shoot was over. Her faithful companion Dakota was brought onto the set and even though she was a bit apprehensive she did her part and I got the lovely photo at left of the two of them together.

It was all over quicker than I liked but as I mentioned before, there will be many more photoshoots to come in the future.

Verve Photo Company

The last site I visited and will write about today is that of Verve Photo Company (see www.vervephotoco.com) a Tronto based photography business run by two women Karen Fox & Melanie Galbrend-Chen. They specialize in documentary wedding photography and like to utilize natural light as much as possible. Shooting for a combined 13 years their work has been featured and published in a variety of media outlets.

After browsing through their site it is clear that their candid, unobtrusive method of capturing the moment has been refined and perfected and their attention to the minute details is excellent. Verve puts an emphasis on destination weddings and their site features a number of weddings thatv they have shot in various locations. They also specialize in underwater photography as demonstrated in the photo above and this gives them a unique advantage not offered by many other companies.

The location shoots themselves offer brilliant colours that enhance any wedding. That aside, I would say that of the three photographers (companies) that I have reviewed today Verve Photo Company is the least polished. That is not to say that I don't like and admire their work, it's just that the other two are in my opinion more advanced and artistic at this point in their careers.

Elizabeth Kaye Photography

I also checked out the site of Toronto based photographer: Elizabeth Kaye (see www.elizabethinlove.com). This very accomplished photographer has developed a unique style and creates some truly amazing images. Her use of soft pastel colours, combined with natural light, short depth of field and on many occassions, what looks like a pro mist filter, results in images that are incredibly beautiful and have a vintage look and feel to them. An example is the image pictured above, the model and photo have the look and feel of a 1940's photo shoot sans the colour.

Her images have been published many times in Wedluxe Magazine and one Valentine's Day feature is definitely worth checking out. Her use of soft toned pinks and whites with the odd dash of vibrant reds and greens is beautiful. Her compositions leads one to believe she makes use of a stylist or is a natural stylist in her own right!

While I'm not really a fan of the pro mist type of look myself Elizabeth uses it to her strength and manages to pull it off with beauty and elegance. The style is all hers and it's easy to see why she is so successful.

Tyler James Photography

I recently checked out the site of a Niagara Falls based photographer named Tyler James (see www.tylerjamesphoto.com). Tyler has recently been named one of the 25 most inspiring wedding photographers by Wedding Bells Magazine and it is easy to see why. He is incredibly adept at making use of natural light to capture images that will forever be cherished by his clients. He uses a candid approach to catch emotions and as you can see from the sample photo above he does so quite well.

He states that his philosophy is to capture romance through the lens and after browsing through his site it is clear that he definitely manages to achieve this goal.

His detail shots are portfolio worthy and I really noticed that he has developed his own style and has several signature shots. An example is the leaning bouquet pictured at left. It is a re-occurring shot that I will definitely begin to emulate in the future.