#2020PhotoChallenge

Beautiful black and white

I’ve always loved cloisters, and these at the Nacional Museu do Azulejo in Lisbon are no exception. A seemingly unremarkable building, in a distinctly obscure area, it is well worth seeking out the former convent for the treasures within. Azulejos are normally blue and white but I’ve tweaked them a little. I think it makes you notice the details more.

Jude is a fan of cherubs too. She’s encouraging us to play about with black and white this week, for its story telling possibilities. It can take you back to another era. Was it only last year we visited Aveiro?

The last shot isn’t mine. We were outside another museum- an unexpected treasure, and a bit of fun.

2020 Photo Challenge #48

A house for Jude

Often enough we go wandering in the hills. Sometimes we follow a trail. Sometimes one of us has trod that way before. One of us is looking for a home with a beautiful view. It might be modern, or a more traditional Portuguese style. But we all stop, look and offer an opinion. It matters not, of course, for the house is seldom on the market and, if it were, would be way beyond our budget. But it’s a harmless pursuit.

We start in the village. A rather ramshackle window is firmly shuttered, inviting no buyers. An uphill cobbled track leads to a country lane, and the most exquisitely gnarled olive tree trunk. I stop to admire.

A feature of this part of the world, great boulders are stacked one upon another. They interlock, braced against the sky. Has some idle giant been playing at jigsaws, then strode off into the clouds? The textures absorb the sunlight.

The land opens out, with a scattering of almond trees. How beautiful will they look in spring, laden with armfuls of white blossom? A narrow lane leads to a quirky little bungalow. Perhaps I could live here, but it’s much too far from shore.

The views are far reaching and lovely, and I can picture the smoke-coloured evening hills. Still, the valley can never surpass the sea for me.

But maybe for Jude? I’d better ask her!

2020 Photo Challenge #46

The dark side

I don’t often venture into black and white, but now and again it makes a change, and it’s grey here today.

2020 Photo Challenge #44

Take kindly to

Jude is hoping for dramatic sunsets this week. They tend to be gentle around here. But I know that this is a scene beloved of Becky.

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2020 Photo Challenge #41

Seascapes

What’s a person to do? Not enough days in the week to fit in all the challenges. I can’t deny Jude a Seascape, can I, and I don’t want to square these.

So Becky will have to wait till tomorrow. Sorry, hon! Back to play soon.

2020 Photo Challenge #40

Six word Saturday

Still playing with moods, and colour

Black and white can look a bit bleak to me, but inject a hint of colour and the mood changes completely, doesn’t it? Brian was a bit naughty with his response to Jude’s 2020 Photo Challenge but I think we might have got away with it. Meantime, strange things are happening on Six Word Saturday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Backlit Tavira

I’m not very good at following Jude’s directives, but as I wandered back into town from an evening stroll up the river, I had to pause to admire the sun’s fading light. I love the way it radiates across the sky. So peaceful! Join in at 2020 Photo Challenge #21.

Playing with shadows

You can’t get more dramatic shadows than those around the cathedral in Seville on a dark evening. I imagine it’s wonderfully peaceful now but the atmosphere was vibrant when I was last there. Today I’m playing with shadows for Jude’s 2020 Photo Challenge #18

I love the description of photography as writing with light. I’ve always considered myself a writer rather than a photographer.

I like photos to tell a story, or make me want to linger. How about you?

Six word Saturday

No beach walks until June 1st!

The State of Emergency in Portugal is to be lifted from Monday, 4th May, in gradual stages. I’m not happy that beaches won’t reopen until 1st June.

I’ll just have to make do! There are worse places to be, and plenty of curves and clouds to play with. 2020 Photo Challenge #17

So many varieties! Thanks, Jude! Or you can always be playful with Debbie’s wonderful Six Words. Either way, have a great weekend!

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Jo’s Monday walk : Back to the salt pans

I make no apologies for being back among the salt marshes today, for they always captivate me. Especially when powder puff clouds drift away to the horizon in a pure blue sky, or luxuriate in salty sand puddles. It’s a landscape that changes mood with the weather; sullen and drab, until the sun sweeps aside the muted colours, bathing them, and me, in warmth and light.

As with Changing Reality I’m heading for the sea, but this time in an easterly direction, towards the small resort, Cabanas. A cycle path renders this area a hazard to walkers in peak times, but today I’m breaking new ground for me and striking out into the marshes.

You probably don’t recognise the cyclist’s bridge over the River Almargem from this angle, dwarfed as it is by the railway bridge. I always hope to catch a train trundling across, but it never happens. Turning my back on the bridges, I follow the river. Far better than trains, I have the prospect of flamingos in this calm stretch of water. And sure enough, there they are! Tiny at first, in the distance.

I hope to startle them a little, for they are beautiful in flight, but they remain oblivious and eventually I tear myself away. The way ahead looks promising. Behind me, a shimmering lagoon of water. The flamingos, mere specks.

I follow the curve of the rough path, towards the open sea at first, but then curving back around the salt pans.

The sludge and caramel colours and soft reflections blend together with the azure sky.

As I near the salt mountain I wonder at the giant ‘needle’ suspended in the sand. We’re approaching my Hula ladies again, graceful in the breeze.

There are two choices now- a return via the Salinas estate, or to continue on towards Fort Rato and back into Tavira that way. I opt for the first, and am gratified to snatch a photo of the train hurtling along.

One last look from the cyclist’s bridge and home to put the kettle on, another 9 or 10km completed. I’m sure there must be cake as a reward. I’m linking again with Jude’s #2020 Photo Challenge. This week she’s looking at curved lines and I feel sure I have a number here. No squares for me today, but #SquareTops does share a strong connection with salt.