First Summer evening

The Summer Solstice happened in Portugal on the past Saturday, around 2244 LT. Marking the longest daytime of the year, short of fifteen hours by less than six minutes, this auspicious date encloses in itself the nostalgic sentiment that, from now on, we are heading, on the Northern Hemisphere, inexorably towards the Winter season, with the day length decreasing at a steady pace up to the next Winter Solstice, on the 21st of December.

Up here, surrounded by the warmth and peace of the late afternoon breeze, among the highest peaks of Madeira, we feel the solitude of a telluric connection to the Earth as if we were in Stonehenge.

For me the monolithic presence of the distant peaks and the green meadow on the foreground is as close as I can imagine my own very personal druidic temple.

Nikon D300, with the usual 18-55mm kit lens. Manfrotto tripod and Junior Geared Head.

After the storm...

...comes a calm.

After clearing the stormy skies of these past couple of days, a rainbow appears on the late evening over the Pico Ruívo Trig Point. A strong reminder of nature's endless capacity for rejuvenation and restoration of equilibrium. Likewise, during my past seafaring life, I've seen countless tempestuous days evolving into the most peaceful ones. In these present days, during which both our common human destiny and willpower are, somehow, being put to the test it would do us good to remember that it's scientifically proven that all the storms, past or future, eventually end someday.

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and old sixty bucks second-hand Vivitar manual focus 24mm f.2.8. Post-processing (if we can call it that) in Photoshop CS6.

Spring in Madeira

Canary island geraniums and ferns near Pico das Pedras, on the Northern coast of Madeira. Late evening of a rainy June day.

Picture taken with Nikon D300 and Nikkor DX 18-55mm AF-S G VR kit lens. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop CS6.