Cristina Coelho – Fotosentidos

I went to Oporto and to Espinho

I went to Oporto!
I have not been to this city for maaaany years, but … I went to Oporto.
I was not alone and that was even stranger especially for those who know me well.
I went to Oporto and it rained all day.
The few hours I was there let say… only did not rain for about 20 minutes, long enough to walk from the wonderful Lello Bookshop until Trindade and take a few photos.
Yes of course. I went to visit Lello Bookshop!
Beautiful, old, crowded and with very friendly staff.
I could shoot a little beat but the amount of visitors did not allowed me to make the photos I would like. Maybe one day I can go there alone without visitors…
Anyway! I went to Oporto and passed by Espinho.
I found an Espinho city with some changes. I liked some other not so much but all changes are polemics.
At least it did not rain during the morning and was good to take a walk by the street near de see and the beach and end the short visit to this beautiful city, with friends, in Aquarius Marisqueria, remembering the octopus fillets and fried shad.
A quick visit to the North but that is always nice.

29 de February, 2016

Night Photo Meeting

Last Sunday we did the third photograph fieldwork and the first Night Photo meeting!
The day dawned beautiful but St. Peter decided to scare us and just before the time set for the meeting decided to do some “water cleaning” at high pressure. Fortunately no one cared with St. Peter and those who have confirmed attendance there were, machines in hand, indifferent to the weather and colds.
After all, the rest of the afternoon and evening were wonderful and we could walk through Lisbon’s Baixa to Bairro Alto without thinking about rain.
It was the day of the religious Procession of Senhor dos Passos da Graça or the “Meeting” and was in front of the St. Dominic’s Church that the congregation stopped so that the images of Senhor dos Passos meet with the image of His Mother Mary.
There was also our meeting point, in front of the Ginjinha, and was there where we started our tour around Lisbon.
After crossing the Rossio we went up Carmo Street until the new terraces that connect the old Convent with Baixa and the elevator of Santa Justa.
Lisbon view from the top is always beautiful and the gray tones, that rain left, with the light of late afternoon gave a watercolour image of the old houses that climbed the hill to St. Jorge’s Castle.
City Lights began to appear and also began the real challenge of this Night Photo meeting…
Lisbon is a wonderful city at any time of day, and the challenge was completely overcome.
Bring on more photo meetings in Lisbon or somewhere else.
It is a pleasure to hanging around with people who share a common love for photography.
The way each one sees what surrounds us, as each one processes the images, the details that are not seen by all, the sharing of each one’s experience, frank and cheerful conversation are the great richness of these meetings
Here are some of the pictures created during this tour. I hope you enjoy.

Procissão do Senhor dos Passos da Graça ou do Encontro

Vista sobre Lisboa - O Arco da Rua Augusta e o Tejo

Vista sobre Lisboa - Rua de Sta. Justa e o Castelo

Vista sobre Lisboa - Castelo de São Jorge

Ponte do Elevador de Santa Justa sobre a Rua do Carmo

Largo do Camões - Caravela em calçada portuguesa

Calçada do Duque - Vista sobre o Castelo

Rossio - Vista do Convento do Carmo iluminado

25 de February, 2016

Walking in Cascais

And today was another day of Photographic Tertulia, a cold day full of sun and very well spent in excellent company.
Today the meeting was set for the Boca do Inferno in Cascais and then we started the route and enjoy a radiant sun that helped to warm up the day.
Walking by the sea, talking and taking pictures we arrived at Santa Marta Lighthouse.
After we went to the “Ex-libris” of Cascais, the Conde Castro Guimarães Museum .
Despite being almost lunchtime still we managed to make a quick visit.
After lunch, a good fish, we take up walking through the streets of Cascais until the bay, through some of the beaches and busiest streets, visiting some of the beautiful corners of the village.
The sun was about to go to sleep and the chill came remembering it was time to return.
Still had time to photograph an artist who appeared on front of us and, what movie star, made some poses for us: Jonathan Livingston Seagull, himself!
We were waiting for the next get-together that will be by night …

16 de January, 2016

End of Year 2002, Welcome 2003!

I was browsing my photos looking for some fireworks photos when I fall in the end of year 2002.

Nothing better, to end this year 2015 than to remember the first end of the year, accompanied by a digital camera.

Retreat 13 years brought me to the image how much the world has changed…

Some changes are visible, others not so much…

I spent the end of 2002 between “my” island of Porto Santo and Madeira.

Porto Santo seemed summer except on the number of tourists. The weather was magnificent and allowed us to do some sightseeing by Pico Castelo, Moledo, Pico Ruivo beyond the chance to enjoy the beach and the sea.

There was still no golf, tennis, “Pestanas”. There was a lot of green and very little cement.

Also not yet we thought about “Docas” but already the “Lobo Marinho” circulated between the islands.

I think that it was in 2002 that this boat started to make service between islands. If it was not, was for sure our first run on the 29th December 2002 on the trip to Funchal, where we celebrated the New Year 2003.

We rented a car, as we always did, and this time they gave us a cabriolet. How wonderful!

In Funchal was summer too and nothing better than enjoying the good weather, driving a convertible! Only that, we forgot to read the instructions book and, as soon as we left Funchal and we started to go up to the mountain to Eira do Serrado, the drizzle and the cold began to invade the “inside” of the car and the roof didn’t want to go up…

Still, it was a nice journey. Yet there was no tunnel to Curral das Freiras and we only “visited” this village eyeing from the top of Eira do Serrado.

The year 2002 ended in the company of friends watching the famous fire fireworks from one of the balconies of the Hotel Casino today Pestana Casino Park.

Not only watching! Also making some experiences with my HP in what were the first, more or less successful, night shots.

Good Year 2003! Or better…

EXCELLENT YEAR 2016!

30 de December, 2015

Lisbon by night in Christmas time

Saturday was a day of night photography.

Lisbon this time of year is filled with light and colour and people.

Lisbon is beautiful dressed for Christmas!

On the Arc of Augusta Street there are light projections to enchant children and grown up. Even with rain, nobody moves!

On every street there are the Christmas lights and buildings, shops, restaurants, shining in various colours.

There is the Christmas tree in Rossio with stars and lights and crowd, difficult to approach. Children run to see Santa Claus and take a picture with him ensuring that they behaved very well during the year.

Lower down, in the Municipio Square, a Christmas market makes the joy of children running to leave a little letter in Santa’s post box and queuing to enter the house of Christmas.

The entire square is lit with tiny white lights, pretending that we are surrounded by snow like the North Pole.

Through the open windows of the Câmara House it is possible to see a little of the coffered ceilings and we wish to go to take a peek, but we cannot!

It was nice to walk through Lisbon at night, see the other side of the river shining adorned by the 25th of April Bridge and Christ the King embracing Lisbon.

This gallery is the result of ramble through Lisbon. Enjoy

Arco da Rua Augusta - Projecções de Natal

Luzes de Natal - Casa Portuguesa dos Pasteis de Bacalhau

Luzes de Natal - Rossio, Teatro D. Maria

Luzes de Natal - Rossio, Convento do Carmo

Luzes de Natal - Rua 1o de Dezembro, Café Nicola

Luzes de Natal - Rua do Carmo, Armazéns do Chiado

Luzes de Natal - Calçada Nova de São Francisco

Luzes de Natal - Praça do Municipio, Câmara Municpal

14 de December, 2015

Azores Islands – Corvo

And it is from the small Corvo Island that I start the photo tour by our Azores Archipelago.

Corvo is the smallest island of the Azores Islands with about 6.2 km long by about 4.0 Km of maximum width.

Its oval and elongated surface according to a north-south direction occupies an area of about 17,0 km²and, together with the Flores Island forms the Western Group of the archipelago.

Inhabited by about 430 people, the main points, not to be missed, apart from Corvo Village, is the Caldeirão, the crater of an extinct volcano, with its ponds and bogs where they come graze some bovine cattle enjoying the peace these landscapes provide.

In the village, the beautiful Church of Our Lady of Miracles and the group of mills along the airport are two of the point also to visit along with the Corvo’s Interpretation Center.

It has a small bathing area with a fine sandy beach surrounded by black and jagged volcanic rocks.

Take a look in fotosentidos gallery about Corvo

Knowing more about Corvo Island

12 de December, 2015

Travelling by ferryboat to Trafaria

Today I decided to go by boat until Trafaria.
I didn’t did it for years and decided to try the ferryboat to Trafaria.
Well I just had to do a few more photos and enjoy the exceptional day of blue sky and no clouds.
The visibility of margins was perfect and it was almost possible to take clear pictures of Belém from the south bank of the Tagus.
I hope you enjoy.

29 de November, 2015

Walking through Ajuda neighborhood

Yesterday was a special day!

It was the first day of photographic tour of APE’s photo amateurs tertulia who I proudly belong.
We were walking arroun Ajuda neighborhood and down then to Belém to see and photograph the sunset.
The day was wonderful full of light and cloudless, good for shooting inside the city and play with the shadows in the streets and alleys.
Browsing through all the photos that we did and published yesterday I felt again what is photography for me and, in reality, is nothing more than a sharing of feelings, sensations, visions of the world around us.
The different way each one looks around us, the special time conected to each click and the sharing all of this, are for me the best of photography.
When all this can be experienced together by those who have the same passion for photography, then it becomes something very special.
It happened yesterday.
Every one for himself and all together we did a single day, and we can not find two views of the same place, there are small things, different details, landscapes, portraits, however we spent all by the same places and look at the same sites but … each one saw what he wanted to see.
The technique … it’s just a bit of all this because if one does not look at first, not first observe not want to see behind the camera the unimportant detail, the technique does not serve anything.
And the camera can be the best in the world but if we do not feel what we photographed so does not worth anything or for nothing.

Thank you for yesterday’s day and here is a little of this tour.

29 de November, 2015

Holydays August 2002

My HP walked with me all over the places, and in that year also followed me to our holidays, crossing Europe and having the chance to test other photo experiences.
Nothing special and everything at the same time, but… it was already a start.
From Cascais to Nuremberg going through Munich and Bamberg returning by Füssen, Padua, Venice, San Marino, Florence, Piza, Monaco to finish in Oropesa del Mar and Valencia before returning home.