This week’s Photographic Friday, gives you your weekly peek at our travels through my camera lens. A unique and personal look at some of what I am seeing thanks to my photographic journey.

This week’s peek delves into a bit of raw ocean energy and all that goes with it, and a macro perspective as I dive deep into the dewy world of our little campsite in inland Algarve. So if you’re ready, let’s hop on in.

Praia de Faro

Travelling across the rickety bridge from Faro airport in Portugal and you reach Praia de Faro. A sandbank that separates the glitz of Algarve’s capital for the raw essence of Mother Nature.

With the lagoon one side and long stretches of beautiful, golden sandy beaches on the other, this peninsular is a haven for my Photographic Friday. And strangely it is in its simplicity that I often find the greatest shots. Whether that is the roaring ocean or the light that bounces of the crashing waves. Sometimes it is the people who make the ocean their home or those who enjoy its power. It offers such a great canvas for shot taking.

If you don’t know there area, there is a municipal campsite on the peninsula which charges around €16pn and is perfect for access to the beach and to the airport if you have people flying in. And on top of this, is the fascinating Ançao fishing community where fishermen call rudimentary huts held together with rope and corrugated roofs, their home. It’s a far cry from the commerciality of the city and is a fabulous step back in time. Here are some of my ocean scenes.

With so many surfers in the water, this young girl stood out. Cold, lonely and contemplative. I wonder what her story was and what was in her thoughts?

And it is always surprising to me to see how beautiful photos just of the waves can be. With the colours and even monochrome, their prowess for the camera speaks volumes.

And of course, no beach scene would be complete if we didn’t have images that seem to fit the song ‘Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor.’ Despite the howling winds and the previous night’s thunderstorms, people were determined to enjoy their 3 Kings bank holiday on the beach.

Heading inland to Santo Estevão

Retreating inland after our Birthday VIP had returned home has been wonderful. We’ve slept, read, relaxed, cooked, written and very little else. Sometimes you need beans on toast after lots of Beef Wellington, if you get my drift. The camping is us down to a T. Wild, peaceful (despite the motorway being close by) and unregimented with 16amps of EHU all for the bargain price of €10 per night. The weather has been a bit hit and miss this week, although after the rains passed through by this morning, the aftermath was just perfect for a little photo shoot. Catching the dew drops and water droplets is always a challenge and some the shots I’ve included are not perfectly in focus although I love the little balls that act like mirrors.

If you click on the images you should be able to get a zoomed perspective of those little droplets.

The flowers that are in bloom this far south in Europe are just wonderful to get you through the winter, even if the sun doesn’t always shine. The Crassula obovato and Asphodelus or Onionweed in particular are stunning, especially with rain drops.

Around the site there is also a lot of old farm equipment which creates a lovely backdrop for the flowers and I am a sucker for taking shots in front of fences. The ones of the owner’s dogs is particularly poignant.

So there we have it, this week’s peek at our travels through my camera lens. I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride. Next week should bring up some very interesting shots as we head off for some explorations as mum and Bob arrive mid-week. In the meantime, have a great weekend.

/k