Valleys with Laudanum and Holm Oaks

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

One morning with clouded sky and mist deep in the valleys. Every now and then the sun shining amidst the clouds offers exceptional lighting conditions to capture an unusual landscape. Cameras, wide angle lenses and filters are ready at hand, as well as a tripod, if necessary. We must always believe that a good opportunity may come our way.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 20mmf2.8 + Lee Soft Neutral 0.9 ND
iso 200, 1/50, f13

European Badger (Meles meles)

Nisa, Portugal

Last November, on a rainy night, near the town of Nisa, in Alentejo, a Badger died on the road. It was but one among many that are run over by automobiles, throughout the country. This is a bizarre way of photographing an European Badger, when for long I have endeavoured to photograph them in their daily routines, looking for food in the dehesa, where they are very shy, shunning even the most peaceful approaches.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 20mm f2.8 + 2 x Nikon SB-28
iso 200, 1/100, f13

Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

Throughout the dehesas in the Beiras region, this young male is hunting for birds such as this pigeon, to feed upon. This year, autumn brought more Goshawks than usual to the International Tagus River. After spending winter with us they will go back to their original regions, always looking for new territories.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR
iso 400, 1/640, f5

Tejo Internacional

Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal

One of these mornings the sunrays penetrated through the dampness that covered the ravines and valleys of the International Tagus River. It is a land of Vulture and Eagle, of Deer and diverse fauna, a region where winters are ice cold and summers are scorching hot. A piece of Africa lost in the middle of the peninsula.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 300mm f4
iso 200, 1/640, f14

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

Arronches, Portugal

I had lingered on my way and suddenly, while chasing a group of Storks eating in a meadow, I spotted a light. It was an early light, tenuous but warm, that timidly heated the dew left during the night.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4
iso 200, 1/500, f8