Sophisticated weather station

Looking for a replacement for my cheap digital no-brand cr.. weather station, which I bought six years ago in a general store, I began a few weeks ago to do a bit of searching.

In the Funchal Pilot station we have the trustworthy (for advanced amateur standards) Davis Vantage Pro 2, well renowned by weather buffs worldwide. For use at home, however, the price of nearly 700 Euros is a deal breaker, since I also don't need so much complexity and parameters. Now I'm looking for accurate, simpler and cheaper. A few days ago, aboard the Icelandic research vessel Neptune, I've noticed this advanced equipment that seems to fit the bill. The only drawback is the inexistence of a reseller in Portugal.

Picture taken aboard the RV Neptune (IMO nº 7504237), with Panasonic DMC-FT3 compact digital camera.

Summer weather

During my seafaring career, we used to pray for days like this. At sea the weather simply cannot be better than this. The sea surface with the texture of olive oil and the "good weather cumuli" reflecting on the calm surface below. Sea of ladies, we used to call it. Because if it was always like that even (more, I add) women would be seafarers.

Sea of ladies indeed.

Picture taken on the mountains of Madeira, facing the North coast and the town of Santana, with Nikon D300 and Sigma EX 18-70mm f/2.8. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Perfectly Clear Lightroom plug-in.

The spectre of Brocken

As we can read up on the Wikipedia, the Brocken spectre "is the apparently enormous and magnified shadow of an observer, cast upon the upper surfaces of clouds opposite the sun".

Due to the frequent local optimal conditions for this phenomena to take place, the peak of Brocken - Harz Mountains, Germany - gave its name to this particular atmospheric halo. However, its presence is frequent in mountain regions, as long as you are walking above the clouds and the sun is on the right angle to project your shadow onto them.

Strangely, these conditions in Madeira are not the easiest to find. Most of the times the atmosphere is either fully clouded or not at all.

Or, as one fellow hiker wisely pointed, on the vast majority of Madeira hikes you're walking in the cloud.

Sometimes, nevertheless, generally at morning or evening times, we can also have a glimpse of this optical phenomenon, while hiking along our highest peaks:

The Spectre of Brocken, photographed two days ago, at evening time, on the trail and close to Pico do Areeiro.

Picture taken with Nikon D40X and cheap AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G II ED with B+W 52 E KR3 1.2* filter.

Legendary among mountaineers, the Spectre of Brocken has a mixed fame, which is both mystical and sinister. Perhaps the most famous of the latter connotation was achieved on the nineteen century, during the first successful climb of the Matterhorn.

The mountain, "conquered" in 1865, by a party of seven, claimed the lives of four on the descent, falling to their deaths due to a broken rope.

According to Edward Whymper, the expedition leader, on his book "The Ascent Of The Matterhorn", this tragic finale was preceded by a spectral vision forming in the clouds nearby and resembling crosses.

To this day many Historians still claim that the phenomena they saw was simply the Brocken spectre playing games with their already exhausted minds.

Was it?

The spectral phenomena witnessed by Edward Whimper and his companions, while descending from the first ascent of the Matterhorn, as illustrated on his book "The Ascent Of The Matterhorn".

Being in the right place at the right time

Landscape photography is mostly that, right? But even if we happen to be on the right place and things, nevertheless, still look dull, we can always sit down, relax and enjoy the view. The right time may happen at any moment.

Fog bow (or glory) near the Pico Ruívo Mountain Hut. Fog bows are similar in formation as the common rainbows, however since the water droplets that reflect the sun light are much smaller than the ones on rainbows, they always have weaker colours.

Picture taken with Nikon D40X and Nikkor AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED  VR kit lens. Post-processing (increasing saturation and contrast, slightly underexposing) in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1.

Rainbow over the Pontinha breakwater

Rainbow over the Pontinha breakwater, a few days ago and after the departure of a Costa Crociere cruise vessel. Snapped this photo while returning back to the Pilot Station, from the deck of the Ilhéu do Lido Pilot boat.

Picture taken with  my trusty Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 working camera and post-processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom ver. 2.3.

Autumn leaf

It's now official.

Meteorology changed abruptly in the past couple of weeks. The weather in Madeira is moving towards Winter. And contrary to the past two years, it seems that the upcoming rain season it's going to be exactly that: rainy.

Not that I'm complaining. The land was already needing some water, with the levadas around the island with dangerous low levels, thus compromising the cultures, the hydroelectric production and also the fresh water supplies to the population. We never, actually, had any shortages in these matters. However, since Madeira is fully dependent on pluviosity to equilibrate the water consumption all the population welcome these early rain showers with a smile.

Oh well, as long we don't have strong winds (Pilot's worst enemy in this neighbourhood), the Autumn season is clearly welcome. And I'm sure missing the colours.

Autumn leaf close to Queimadas, last year's Autumn.

Picture taken with Nikon D300 and Sigma EX 18-50mm f/2.8 DC HSM.

Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop CS3.

Fall skies

The weather in our North-Atlantic island is slowly changing towards Winter. I've noticed that already about two weeks ago, while at work, early one morning in the port of Caniçal.

The hot temperatures and hazy skies of the morning time, regular during the past months, gave their place to a fresh dawn breeze and crystal clear atmosphere.

In the mountains things are no different and during the past two weeks the reduction of daylight time was so abrupt that made it noticeable.

Luckily, as in the previous year, we'll have a peaceful transition to Autumn. Meaning general decreasing of air temperature, increasing of the cloud cover and, hopefully, some rain showers (it has been a dry year and the levadas through all the island are somehow on the low level) and light breezes from the North. Better than that, only Spring time, during May and early June.

The skies look already different and yesterday, while descending from Pico Ruívo I had the first glimpse of the next season as you can see by the colors in the photos below.

Yesterday, while descending from Pico Ruívo, the highest in the island, I turned back, looking West, to watch the setting sun. The cloud cover, nonexistent during the afternoon time, was already thickening as a premonition to the rain showers promised for the next few days.

The cloud shape has also changed and the Summer sky, composed mostly by Stratus and Cirrus clouds, gave place to the more water-friendlies Cumulus clouds. During my professional mariner's life, we used to call Cumulus "the good weather clouds". Life's always good for a seaman while navigating under a sky filled with these puffy friends.
Pictures taken with Nikon D40X and cheap Nikkor AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED kit lens.
Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop CS3.