Since I can remember, I always loved to be creative and I’ve spent hours on creating stories or works from nothing. What draws me more towards photography is the fact that there are endless subjects to photograph and endless techniques to try. It’s exactly this that makes that I never get tired of photography.
It made me discover places I wouldn’t have discovered unless I went out to take photos. But most importantly, it made me realize that if you really want to take some photos of incredible landscapes, you need to have a commitment to yourself. You need to really know or feel why you do it, and accept some of the risks or consequences that could be involved in actually going to those places. I try to go out in every type of weather condition and test myself that way: I believe that a certain landscape has endless possibilities specially with different weather conditions (rain, snow, sunrise, sunset, fog, and so on).
I grew up in Portugal, the region is Trás os Montes e Alto Douro to be precise, and the landscape here is very diverse. Although Portugal doesn’t have big mountains, here in the northern part we have some mountain terrain, which gives you the opportunity to photograph some forests that don’t exist in the south or at the seaside. Besides, you can find many beautiful spot in Portugal. Everyone knows Madeira and Azores; these islands became famous lately, but there are still many amazing locations to photograph other than what has already been captured. For exploring you need time, and most travelers don’t have the patience to discover the unknown and just visit or photograph the places they have seen online before.
If I can give some insights about nice spots in Portugal for photographing, I would recommend Serra da Estrela. This is the highest point of continental Portugal and there is much left to explore. There are so many remote places that haven’t been photographed yet. The same goes for Alentejo, which, with the right conditions, can provide you with some wonderful minimalist photos. Besides, Portugal has some of the most beautiful vineyards in the world, because they were planted alongside river valleys with some elevation. The Vale do Tua Natural Park is specially important regarding this last type of landscape. And of course here in the North where I live, there are some locations as well that are quite untouched.
Not just related to landscape photography, but also looking at artwork from photographers that have nothing in common with what I am doing, to learn different techniques from them. I think that doing different types of photography (for instance events, or street, or architecture, etc.) helps with that. I try to go with the flow, pick up things around me and trying things out, while shooting, but also in my editing. I mainly adjust colors and light, to fit a photo in my gallery, but having a result that is attractive aesthetically for me personally is the main goal.
It is actually very interesting how people perceive a photo differently. Some people can relate, others can’t. Sometimes I ask people how a specific photo made them feel, and they always tell me things that surprise me and I never thought about. I should ask it more often actually, because it is kind of funny!
“We appreciate and love what we have and what we are able to create together. So gratefulness, every day.”
“I couldn’t get enough of hiking. The more I explored, the more I wanted to document my experiences, which eventually lead me to pick up my camera again. I have been hiking, camping, backpacking, traveling, and photographing ever since!”
“If you really like photography and it makes you happy – do it. Even though people might wonder or tell you that you will never be a good photographer, in whatever genre, that you should maybe look for another hobby that suits your physical abilities better, show them that they are wrong.”
© 2020 Nomadict. All rights reserved.
