I am an early riser. At home the dog sees to that (Mila has no concept of a lie-in), and the habit follows me on holiday, dog or no dog. If I am going to be awake anyway, I might as well be out taking pictures, because the light at that time of day is usually brilliant. In Portugal, the Canaries, places like that, the colours first thing can be wonderful, and that was what I was after at the Barragem do Funcho in the Algarve: warm sunrise colours reflecting off a perfectly still reservoir.
I found my sunrise and decided to really slow things down. With the lens stopped down to f/22 and the ISO at 100, the camera called for an eight-second shutter. Eight seconds is tripod territory. Oops, no tripod.
So here is the cheat, and most people never think about it. All across Europe, anywhere there is a beautiful view, somebody has put a seat there, and the seat faces the view. The best spot has already been chosen for you. That bench is your tripod.
Fold up a jacket, put it on the bench, rest the camera on top and compose your shot. Set the self-timer, press the shutter and let go. The timer means nothing is touching the camera when it fires, and the result is a long exposure that is perfectly sharp, front to back. This one is eight seconds. No tripod, and no heaving one around with you either.
The variation for early mornings, when you are probably wearing a fleece: take it off, fold it in half, put it on something flat and rest the camera on that. Same rules. Hold the strap, just in case it slips, and always use the timer. I have made exposures of five, ten, even fifteen seconds this way in low light, with a lovely deep depth of field.
The Barragem do Funcho feeds the Albufeira region, and on a July morning at half past six it gave me this. A bench, a jacket and a bit of Portuguese sunshine.
For the photographers: Fujifilm GFX100S, GF 32-64mm at 41mm, f/22, ISO 100, 8 seconds, self-timer, jacket on bench.
You can find the print in the shop: Barragem do Funcho - Framed Fine Art Print, Algarve
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