Peneda-Gerês
Para alguém que, como eu, tem passado os últimos tempos mais interessado no seu próprio país não conhecer em condições a Peneda-Gerês é uma falha grave! A altura para visitar pode não ser a melhor: os luxuriantes verdes da Primavera e Verão, os quentes vermelhos do Outono ou mesmo o manto branco do Inverno fazem esta região parecer ainda melhor. Mas eu gosto de ir aos sitios em alturas improváveis, e quem sabe se despida de muitas das suas cores não me mostra a sua verdadeira natureza.
Peneda-Gerês
For someone like me that, in the last years, has been so interested in my own country not knowing properly Peneda-Gerês, the National Park that tucked at the edge of our northern border, is a huge flaw! This may not be the best time to go there: the luscious greens of Spring or Summer , the warm reds of Autumn or even the white coat of Winter make this region look even better. But I like to go to places on odd seasons, and who knows that being naked of its colors it won’t show me its true nature…
Smoking, drinking and a monkey on his shoulder… Despite that I still see Marrakech’s Djema El-Fnaa as one one of the world’s most fascinating spots in the world, for that same atmosphere that put it in the Immaterial Heritage list of UNESCO, I wasn’t too interested in photographing its street performers on my last time there. I tend to avoid them almost everywhere, and in the Djema El-Fnaa square the only ones I would really like to take a picture are the storytellers, the sub-saharan Africans that sit in the ground while the Moroccans around follow their story and pay to see its end. Sit in the ground, with no light whatsoever, making photos impossible… I wandered the square, delighted but not taking photos, when I found this guy: full of “swag” , sitting on his scooter, smoking, drinking while the obvious monkey lies on his shoulder. This one I had to shoot, and as I stared at him he noticed that and was about to start his routine, I raised my hand in time: Don’t move! And he did not move, and I gladly gave him a few dirhams. You simply do not take a photo of a street performer without paying him, specially in Marrakech.
The glamorous life of a photographer… 😕
Because Easter in this part of the country is celebrated on Monday: Happy Easter!
Morning mist
Gear for a week of photos What to pack for a week of photos that has no concrete goal or project? A bit of everything, but without packing everything.
My pocket beast.I’ve been a fan of compact cameras for some time, and this is why: having a great tool that fits the palm of my hand. This one has been with me for some years, it’s a Sony RX100, 1st generation model (probably the 5th generation will be released later this year) but still very capable and the camera I carry with me almost every time. Photo by my friend Ana.
In the shadow of the Parliament.
<h1>Not a pretty place…</h1>
More scouting for my Tejo project, and the joy of finally finding the way to a place I had my eyes for some time. And this time I’m looking the less sexy, more suburban and industrial environment of the Tagus north bank.
