An Evening at Azenhas do Mar

Azenhas do Mar is a stunning seaside village north of Lisbon. It boasts two excellent seafood restaurants and two hotels, even though its population is of only about 400 inhabitants. It makes for a great overnight stay on the way from Lisbon and Sintra to the beaches further up along the coast. We spent only one night there, and made sure to stop by the lookout to watch the sunrise. It proved a worthwhile visit - we stayed for a while and watched as the colours of the sky changed dramatically over time.

Sunset in Belém

Following my visit of the Tower of Belém, I stayed behind and waited for the sunset. As most tourists disappeared into the nearby restaurants, a golden light surrounded the tower and coloured the sky yellow. Soon after, a full moon had risen just behind the tower. I just wish I had had a longer focal lens with me to make the most of the moonrise at blue hour! Even so, I’m happy with several of my images from that evening, and I hope you enjoy this selection too.

Exploring Belém Tower

The Tower of Belém is arguably one of the most recognisable landmarks of Lisbon. I enjoyed exploring it both from the waterfront, and having a look at it from the inside (which was well worth queueing up for!). If you are planning to visit, don’t miss out the top floors, which provide jaw-dropping views over Belém and beyond.

Blue Skies of Belém

No visit to Lisbon is complete without a day in Belém. Belém offers beautiful waterfront walks, and some of the most iconic tourist destinations in Lisbon: the Belém Tower, Jerónimos Monastery, and its monuments.

Upon arriving, I took the picturesque riverside walk to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos monastery, towards the 25 de Abril bridge. It was a beautiful day with vibrant blue skies. Here are some of my images from in and around the waterfront.

Sunset Over Lisbon

Another spectacular spot from which to appreciate Lisbon is the lookout at Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. During the Summer, this is an ideal place to watch the sunset, as it colours the sky bright pink and purple. But don’t be fooled by the warm colours - it’s very cold up on that hill, so come prepared for some very chilly winds!

Below are some of my favourite images of one lovely sunset over Lisbon…

Lusitanos in Lisbon

As a great admirer of classical horsemanship and particularly dressage, the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art was an unmissable stop for me during my time in Lisbon. The riding school has regular shows of classical dressage performed by lusitano horses and their riders, as well as morning training sessions that can be attended by the general public. Our timing was off for their presentations, unfortunately, so instead we attended a morning practice session and guided tour of the school. Below are some of my favourite images of these beautiful Portuguese horses.

Miradouro de Santa Luzia

In every photographic trip that I take, I try to make the most of the soft light during sunrises and sunsets. This was no different in Portugal. The first sunrise of the trip was photographed at the Miradouro de Santa Luzia, a viewpoint in the Alfama neighbourhood. Even in the peak of the Summer holidays, this was nearly empty for sunrise, suggesting that not many other photographers are aware of this place.

A Walk Through Lisbon

Lisbon truly displays architecture for all tastes. From medieval to colonial and modern, there is a street for everyone. Along with the amenable weather and blue skies, this makes it an unmissable travel destination and endless photographic opportunities. Here I share some of my favourite images of a day walking through the city.

Carmo Convent

One of our first stops in Lisbon was the Carmo Convent. These are now both convent ruins and an archeological museum in the heart of the city. Despite its tragic history, the Carmo Convent remains an essential part of the Lisbon experience. For a photographer, it was the perfect location to get creative with a wide-angle lens and photograph some more unusual angles and details.

Welcome to Lisbon

My most recent trip to Portugal started off in the capital city of Lisbon. We spent a few days there enjoying the mouth-watering food and the incredible architecture. Lisbon is famous for its painted tiles, colonial architecture, meandering trams, and colourful streets. All of which I have tried to capture a little bit off for my very first post on it. From now on, I will be posting new content from Portugal every Saturday - so check back next week for more!

The Desert on a Canvas

The Atacama Desert put on a show for us one afternoon. This was one of the most fantastic light I’ve ever seen and resulted in some beautiful imagery of the Altiplanic Lagoons. I’ll be looking to print some of those to decorate my home - and I will make these available as canvases and metal prints for anyone interested.

Altiplanic Lagoon Landscapes

For the final two blog posts on the Atacama Desert, I am sharing my images of the Altiplanic Lagoons. This place was a stark contrast to the rest of the desert landscape, with lakes peppered throughout the arid landscape and sparse, brightly-coloured vegetation surrounding them. It also seemed to be a hotspot for wildlife, that gathered around these lagoons in greater numbers than anywhere else on the Atacama landscape.

Stormy Skies and Flamingoes

One of the highlights of our travels through Chile was a day out at the Altiplanic Lagoons of the Atacama Desert. The morning began with some wildlife photography, including several species of flamingoes posing in front of an incredible mountain range. The skies were a deep, rich blue, suggesting a storm was on its way. Luckily for us, the weather held up all day long and the oncoming storm provided some truly magical light.

Atacama's Valleys

This weekend, I’m sharing a few more highlights of the Atacama Desert. First, some aerial photos of the Death Valley, followed by an incredible sunset at the Amphitheatre in the Moon Valley. The Atacama is one of the most unusual landscapes I have ever photographed, and I would have loved to spend longer there to capture more of its arresting beauty. I hope to be back there again some day soon!

Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache and Surroundings

The blog has had to take a bit of a hiatus lately, but will be back up and running every Saturday for the next few months.

This weekend I am sharing some of my favourite images of the incredible Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache we photographed at the Atacama Desert. I hope you enjoy these images of spectacular hidden lagoons and alien moon-like landscapes.

Laguna Colorada and Termas de Polques

Our final stops in the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve were Laguna Colorada and Termas de Polque. Both spots amazed us with their scenery and provided yet another opportunity to see wild flamingoes.

Both these locations provided excellent opportunities for flying the drone and getting some aerial images, although we did keep it quite high so we didn’t interfere with the wildlife.

Here are some images from both land and air of these two locations, our last stop in Bolivia before we headed to Chile’s Atacama Desert.

Lagoons at Eduardo Avaroa National Park

Besides the stunning wildlife, the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve is dotted with many spectacular lagoons. Following on from Laguna Hedionda, we made our way through several more, such as Laguna Charcota and Laguna Verde. Most lagoons provide the opportunity to spot flamingoes, as well as other local wildlife.

The Best of Bolivian Fauna

The Eduardo Abaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve provided me with a unique opportunity to photograph some of Bolivia’s wildlife. Besides flamingoes (also featured on this blog post), I saw vizcachas, vicuñas and culpeo (or Andean fox). I’ll let the images speak for themselves…

Sunrise with Flamingoes

During our trip through Bolivia we stayed at a small hotel on the edge of Laguna Hedionda, home to hundreds of wild flamingoes. We had planned to photograph the sunrise at this location but upon our arrival it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen: there was torrential rain and a thick cloud cover over the mountains. Luckily for us, the cloud cover brought fresh snow onto the mountains and then swiftly disappeared by the next morning. It was an extremely cold shoot at 5am, but definitely worth it!

Keep scrolling for some beautifully pink-tinted skies and similarly pink flamingoes.

Siloli Desert Highlights

The Siloli Desert is a wonderfully dramatic landscape. It seemed almost surreal to walk through its vast planes and occasionally encounter a completely new and colourful scenery. One of my favourite spots was the Sol de la Mañana Geyser, which is a magical sight from both the land and the air.

Here are some of my photos, featuring the Salvador Dalí Desert, the geyser, and the Montaña de Siete Colores (seven-coloured mountain).