The Cosmos

More b&w: cosmos flowers. Sometimes the cosmos has only shades of grey.


All photos from Gião, Vila do Conde, 2015.

The web

When I first started photographing in Portugal, I fell in love with the colours. Now I'm getting more and more interested in black&white. Could it be so that the colours distort what's essential?


All photos from Gião, Vila do Conde, 2015.

Hi, I'm E.T. Who are you?

I don't actually like bugs very much, but they are fun to photograph. They seem to be curious about the lens of the camera - maybe they see their own reflection there - and they pose patiently while the photographer searches for different angles.

This praying mantis (as I was told it's called), or mantis religiosa, was resting on a stone wall next to a field. They say that the female eats her partner after mating. So, all bugs are not as sympathetic as they look.



All photos Gião, Vila do Conde, 2015.

Lilies

I love lilies. Do you? There's something exuberantly joyful and playful about them, something luxurious, even carnal. They shamelessly display their genitals, their pistils and stamens, but open up their inner secrets only if you look close enough into their depths.

Yes, I love lilies. They are probably the sexiest flower I know. What do you think?


Lilies, Vila do Conde, 2015

Art on the streets

Street art has become an accepted form of art. Does that mean that it has become dull, too, when it's done without the excitement of being caught? No, I don't think so. What do you think?

These fantastic images are from Aveiro (2013).

Flowers in the garden

I love macro photography. It reveals a world that is hidden to the naked eye. So, some quick shots from our garden, of flowers that many have; dahlias, gladioli, violets, geraniums... They are not short of colours.


Photos from Vila do Conde, 2015.

 

Colours of Porvoo

Last time I said that I was born in Helsinki, but I´m actually from Porvoo, a medieval town 50 kilometres east of Helsinki. It´s a small town with both Finnish and Swedish speaking population. That is important to mention. It can´t be ignored.

Most of the Porvoo houses burnt down in 1760. The fire started from making of a fatal fish soup. The town was rebuilt, this time encouraging people to build their new houses of stone. The wooden houses light up like matches, you see. 

When I went back to Porvoo with a camera one day, I realized where my love for strong colours in houses derives from. 

All photos from Porvoo, Finland, 2010/2012. 

From Helsinki with love

I spent the last two weeks in Finland, most of that time in Helsinki. I have a love-hate relationship with Helsinki. I love it to a certain extent, but exceeding that it starts to wear me down. Saying that I have to add that it´s a lovely city in the summer. A bit hostile in the winter, though, like any other Northern city.

There are places in Helsinki that don´t look like Finland at all. They look more like some foreign city where I haven´t even been, yet. Ullanlinna, Kaivopuisto, Kruununhaka… ancient buildings full of colours and details. Very un-Finnish.

So, I can be a tourist in the very city where I was born, and that´s the way I like it. 

All photos from Helsinki, 2010. 

Yellow is not a blue colour

There's no limit to the colours and patterns of painted tiles, azulejos. Azul means blue, and originally most tiles were blue and white, blue colour being the cheapest.

Some tiles look 3D, some are that. Sometimes it's difficult to know which is which. The eye is easily fooled!

Yellow tiles in intense sunlight are full of energy, joy, heat, calor. There's  nothing blue or sad about them. Yellow is not a blue colour.

Top: Faro, 2012

Middle: Malta, Vila do Conde, 2012

Bottom: Vila do Conde, 2013

The Good End (part 2)

Last week I shared with you some B&W photos of Bonfim in Porto. Being a city in Northern Portugal, Porto is far from black and white. It is all colour, if somewhat faded. That's what I love the most about Portuguese cities and villages; the colours - strong, live (viva), faded, peeled, fresh, luscious, of all shades and for all tastes. Bonfim is the perfect example of a traditional Northern town. When you close your eyes to the more modern buildings, that is. Personally, I prefer to see the beauty and forget the rest.



























All photos Bonfim, Porto, 2015

The Good End (part 1)

What do you see in the pictures? Derelict houses that should be demolished? Potential reconstruction projects? Memory of the good old days long gone?

The Bonfim ("good end") quarters in Porto do not have the best of reputations. Yet. Some of the historical houses have been renovated, beautifully, respecting the traditional beauty of the buildings. The rest are waiting for their turn. I happened to go there by chance, and found a piece of Porto that was all new to me. Sometimes the best things happen by chance. Actually, most times.

This time photos in B&W out of respect for the historical buildings. Next time: colours.

The way to Santiago

For the past two years and something I've lived close to ways to Santiago, routes that lead pilgrims – catholic and non – to Santiago de la Compostela in Spain. It is not rare to see pilgrims on their way, with backpacks on their backs. Often they look weary, but nevertheless determined to reach their destination.

The way to Santiago, O Caminho de Santiago, intrigues me. What makes people do such a long and hard trip, what is the reward that awaits at the end? Maybe some day someone will explain me. 

The yellow signs lead to Santiago. Painted every couple of dozens of metres, on walls, on streetlight poles, on more walls. Follow the signs and you can’t get lost. Or can you?

Top and middle: Azurara, Vila do Conde, 2012

Bottom: Vila Chã, Vila do Conde, 2014