Ruben Vicente Travel & Nature Photography – People, Culture, Documentary, Landscapes, Wildlife
Time to move from the little creatures of last post to larger things, all photographed in the same region.
A boat trip along the Douro river is something really exciting. You don’t need binoculars but I would advice to bring them anyway. Lots of different large bird species can be seen, griffon vultures, egyptian vultures, golden eagle and even the shy black stork. I was lucky to see them all but to proper photograph them is another story. The best way is from the surrounding cliffs, both on portuguese and spanish side.
Apart from the birds, there are pretty interesting rock formations along the river shores. I specially like the yellow tetris piece on the following image.
Douro cliffs. International Douro, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L – 98mm, f/10, 1/800s, ISO 320
Moving to the interior, closer to streams, the vegetation tends to be greener and different kinds of wildlife may be hidden closer to your feet than what you would expect.
Reflected trees on a stream. International Douro, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L – 200mm, f/14, 4s, ISO 100
I cannot imagine how old this tree is, but I love the intricate pattern of its roots.
Hidden common frog. International Douro, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 180 f/3.5 Macro – 180mm, f/4, 1/320s, ISO 2500
The common frog is a large species, approximately the size of a human hand. I found this fellow hidden among the vegetation and instantly I laid myself on the ground not to scare it and get a better shooting perspective. I still had to change lenses for my macro, but that was all done while I was laying down. The scene was too dark so to give a little spark to its eyes I used my lantern slightly offside to my left. After many many shots in different positions and a slow approach, this was my favorite image.
Not far from here, spring was all over the place and fields covered with beautiful mixed color flowers were a constant scenario. I found this poppy a bit lonely in respect to its surroundings, so it was a perfect contrast to photograph.
Common poppy. International Douro, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L – 200mm, f/2.8, 1/400s, ISO 320
Raising your head above the ground the view can be quite different. This time a white stork on her nest with a village as a background, something usual to see in Portugal. Although it is not that visible in this image, the nest was on a small isolated tree and three chicks were there, sometimes popping their little heads out. They’re the white spots on the bottom of the image, close to their parent’s legs.
White Stork. International Douro, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L, Sigma 1.4x TC – 280mm, f/4.5, 1/800s, ISO 100
Cereal plains are also a feature of this natural park. Close to sunset time, the light is warm and beautiful and a lonely cork tree can be the best subject to capture the essence of the landscape.
Single cork tree in wheat field. International Douro, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L – 21mm, f/8, 1/160s, ISO 250
Single cork tree in wheat field. International Douro, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L – 70mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 400
I’ve also updated my gear list. You can see the new items here.
Beautiful place. Thanks for sharing it with us:)
Thank you Jorge! You’ve got some great shots of Myanmar =)