The southwest coast of Portugal is one of my favourite places in the country, which I visit whenever possible. It is a region where Nature still prevails, although, in the last decades, it has become quite popular, especially in the summer months. That is why I prefer to visit during the rest of the year, when I have the trails all to myself, as it were.
I took this photo at the end of a coastal walking route between Zambujeira do Mar and Cavaleiro on a cold April day. As the sun descended, a distant weather front slowly appeared, obscuring the sky. I stopped to watch its development, anticipating the possibility of an interesting image.
Weather is often unpredictable, particularly so near the shore. The wind was picking up, and the temperature was dropping quickly, but I waited a bit more and was rewarded with a moment when the sliver of clear sky between the sea and the clouds turned a nice orange colour.
I did not have a tripod with me (I wanted to trek with a lighter load), but the image stabilization of my telephoto zoom replaced it effectively; I sat down on the ground and took a few frames in Raw format. My processing workflow is usually straightforward, with basic exposure, contrast, and colour adjustments.
With this image, I enhanced the blue and orange to represent my memory of the moment better, the strong contrast between warmth and coldness. I like the simple composition with only the sea and the sky, plus the narrow orange band caught between the two layers of blue.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor