A horsey view of the world

NY underground... literally

2009-03-22T04:48:00.005Z

The ice castle...

2009-02-15T05:02:00.000Z

Second home.

2009-02-14T04:35:00.003Z

Here I am again in this cold town that for some reason captures my heart so much.

Maybe it is because of these moments... a frozen river.

Life on the fast paddock

2009-01-23T00:56:00.003Z

London bridge is falling down... Chronicles of a long journey, part I (London)

2008-12-28T00:40:00.013Z

So, my long journey started in London. We didn't have much time in London, actually just a few hours, 6 to be more precise. But it is against my religion to just stay put and wait in an airport without taking a peek outside... So this was my first real incursion into London, a place where I've stopped before to catch flights to other places. It is a bit ironic that I first got to know the US and not a city that is so "close to home"... But it was very interesting to have this perspective of London, now that I have lived in the US for half a year. Things do make more sense now! Starting at the fact that people actually care for greater causes (like in the US)...
... going on to the "small pub culture"... never without fish and chips and burgers, of course!
Out of all of the places I've visited so far, the US and UK are still the only ones where you see men in suits riding bikes, wandering in the middle of the streets. An interesting and eco-friendly phenomenon!
You still get the feeling of being inside a movie... all the movies and shows really make you get a sense of familiarity with the place that you just don't get with other cities. All these places really ring bells inside my head...

... you also find small cozy corners, lost in the middle of the city...
... absolutely stunning Xmas decorations...
... and things that you ONLY find in UK!!!

A dolphin view of the world...!

2008-12-27T01:43:00.005Z

It has been a while since I've posted last, mainly because I've been traveling 180º around the world... That placed me in the extreme opposite from Portugal, New Zealand, the most amazing place I've visited until now. There are tons of photos, and lots of stories to be told, but while I don't get the time to write them down, I'll leave you with a dolphin view of the world. To all the wildlife photographers who photograph these wonderful creatures, I admire you, because taking great shots of dolphins is VERY difficult. They are extremely fast and playful, and it must be somewhat like horses - you must learn to anticipate their movements. However, most of the time they are under water, which makes the task... well, a bit more difficult. Enjoy!

And finally, the horse.

2008-11-06T00:54:00.002Z

The crazyness and the joy of being alive

2008-11-06T00:52:00.002Z

The "horse power"...

2008-11-06T00:49:00.000Z

The intrigued look

2008-11-06T00:43:00.000Z

The dust...

2008-11-06T00:42:00.004Z

The mirror

2008-11-06T00:17:00.006Z

Horsey details

2008-09-28T23:04:00.005+01:00

How many details of your horse do you miss everyday? Have you taken a time to look at him... Notice the real look on his eyes, get to know him on the ground before you mount. Let him be free and be a horse, and he will show you what he is truly made of. Notice that most bay and dun horses ears' tips are black. That he'll be curious and explore everything thoroughly, and be very intrigued about the mirror...
Just as you never fully know a person, you might never fully know your horse!

Just a few more (Red Bull World Series Air Race)

2008-09-09T00:43:00.003+01:00

Yes, I know I promised them all, but it's so late here... zzzZzzz... selecting photographs is an NP-complete problem, for those who know what that is, so they will understand me :-) Anyway, a selected few just from the beginning:

Let's look at the air race trailer!

2008-09-08T02:29:00.002+01:00

Today was a crazy day... I was with at the media center for the Red Bull Oporto Air Race 2008 all afternoon, in the sun, taking pictures of crazy pilots doing absolutely stunning moves! This is just a preview... More to follow :-)

Portuguese orange liqueur

2008-09-06T01:49:00.002+01:00

I've been having some fun recently shooting traditional Portuguese bottles of wine, liqueur, glasses, making arrangements, etc. This was done with one flashlight, and was just a test... but didn't our old bottles look beautiful?

People, frogs, ducks... part I

2008-09-01T22:20:00.000+01:00

For me, a previously European girl and now a world's citizen, Boston is an amazingly beautiful, charming, and special city. As a Portuguese inhabitant, it's not always easy to see the bright side of life - it seems that we are taught to be negative and give it up from the beginning. But no matter what, Americans always succeed in embracing life the way they can and fight. They have stamina, they aren't afraid of taking risks, they're true entrepreneurs in spirit. And Boston has a special magic to it...

Capturing his soul

2008-08-20T22:55:00.003+01:00

A rebel horse, who doesn't like to be tamed by these strange beasts who force him to do strange things. Still, he's ridden by a 12 year old ;-)

Human or centaur...

2008-08-16T01:09:00.000+01:00

... can you really tell the difference?

Why the long face?

2008-08-12T00:52:00.005+01:00

I found this horse lost in his thoughts... with an absent look on his face... but since he is the horse of kings (as the French say, "Balzanes trois, cheval de roi!"), he kept standing there and patiently waiting for his owner.

Good luck riders

2008-08-09T20:28:00.004+01:00

With all the polemics around some very polemic Olympic Games, sometimes people tend to forget that the athletes are fulfilling their life's dreams, and that they worked harder than many others to get where they got.
Without politics and without bias, can we remember to wish good luck to the first ever Portuguese Dressage Team? Well done, the world will be watching you :-)

Little cute doggy study

2008-08-07T01:59:00.004+01:00

Mirror, mirror on the wall, aren't these the cutest models of all?

Painting with light - Dancing Lusitanos

2008-08-04T01:51:00.008+01:00

Some photos from this weekend... Trying some abstract techniques yet again :-)
Dancing Lusitanos, in Lousada, Portugal.

Quote of the day:

Abstracting again

2008-08-02T00:52:00.003+01:00

And aren't trivial moments the most beautiful of them all?

Quote of the day: "I guess that’s all forever is...Just one long trail of nows. And I guess all you can do is try and live one now at a time without getting too worked up about the last now or the next now." (Nicholas Evans, The Horse Whisperer)"

Ghost horse

2008-07-29T01:33:00.003+01:00

Just because I missed posting something, I haven't got out lately, I miss my camera even though it's right here... A sort-of-not-so-old-photo.
This is a horse with a curious story. One day, he woke up, already in his elder days, and decided that no one would ever ride him again. And no one did. He did that decision for himself... Nobody ever truly owned him, and he showed that... now. After years and years of serving people.
(Portugal)

Risky business

2008-07-25T01:22:00.000+01:00

I love photographing Horseball (can you tell?) because the action moments are more than many, and I love experimenting with new (if somewhat risky) angles. I was standing at the place where they usually go after scoring a goal... or trying. It was worth it, wasn't it? :-)

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

The way to achieve your goal!

2008-07-23T01:04:00.003+01:00

But who did? :-)

More moments...

2008-07-15T14:45:00.002+01:00

Moments of joy, moments of pure wildness, moments of beauty.

(Lousada, Portugal)

A post with no photo

2008-07-15T13:33:00.005+01:00

This will probably be the only post with no photo in this entire blog, I promise. However, I thought that it might be of interest for all those who, everyday, search in Google for Portuguese costumes, traditions, and "way", and end up lost in this little corner of the Equestrian Portuguese World, or my World, or... that.

This is an article - "Portugal holds on to words few can grasp" published in the International Herald Tribune and written by Michael Kimmelman, starting with a description of the mythical, mystical, and mysterious poet that defines our country so very well, Fernando Pessoa. It ends with a description of the way of being of the Portuguese people and country, what defined us as we are today as a whole.

Now the big question is... are we supposed to "get rid of it" to pursue a better future? Will we be able to? Portugal is a country where, after all, you find everything (in a small scale, comparably to other countries), but still, you can find everything. Just ask all of us who at a certain point in their lives, spent some time abroad...

Some very memorable and truthful quotes from this article:

Eduardo Lourenço is perhaps Portugal's most distinguished literary critic. Pessoa is "an exception, being a great writer," he said the other afternoon. "But he had a way of being that is distinctly Portuguese." He paused to find the right words. "It has to do with everything and nothing — that we Portuguese can have everything, but still feel we have nothing."

Portugal, he explained, had discovered half the world by the 16th century but still felt itself a failure for having not discovered the rest. The national mind-set, Lourenço said, is "a combination of megalomania and humility."

Midnight Summer Dream

2008-07-13T02:33:00.001+01:00

This kind of photos is highly unusual of me... mainly because I'm not a particular fan of "Photoshopping" too much. I like to adjust some color levels, brightness, contrast, sometimes do some sepia or B&W, and that's about it.
So here was my personal challenge of the day: to produce a photo that looked "Photoshopped" but isn't... apart from color levels. ;-) It's nice to experiment around, and this time I experimented with someone's, errrr, random water hose ;-) I'm not really sure whether I like this photo or not, I think it needs to grow on me. What do you think?

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

The good, the bad, and the ugly (Horseball Part II)

2008-07-11T01:01:00.001+01:00

There are some moments in Horseball where the adrenaline rush is so much that you can't figure out who gets more into the game... the riders or the horses!

Just look at the eye on the horse to the right... He's in a complete "I'm going to get you" mode!

Protecting the ball at all cost!

Just let go of me ;-)

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

On to the movie - Opening credits (Horseball, Part 1)

2008-07-09T02:05:00.000+01:00

I finally got some time to select some Horseball photos! I'll be posting them for the following days...

A girl in the heating up phase...

... discussing the game strategy...

Goall!!!!

... and a characteristic photo of the players after they have scored, or tried to score... everyone looking up!
I actually got so into photographing the game that I didn't notice what was right in front of me... this is not the only shot in which the gray horse appears to have a left blind eye. It's amazing that he is out in the field giving everything with the others!!!

And a "ramassage" moment. I have to try this sometime :-)

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

The Portuguese Riding Costume... "O Traje Português de Equitação"

2008-07-07T01:02:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I received an unusual request: a mother is sewing a Portuguese Riding Costume for her daughter and wanted to know more about it. Now, I'm not an expert in the Portuguese Riding Costume and I'm a bit new to the "blog world", but from my point of view, this was an interesting example on how the blogging phenomenon can be used to help complete strangers on the other side of the world, or sometimes, even next door! So I did my very best and here are my two cents, illustrated. :-) I'm including pictures of both the female and male riding costumes since there are some common things. So, on to what really matters... There are many creative options for the costume, so I'll start by stating the common things: trousers, white shirt and hat. These are mandatory.

The complete riding costume also includes a jacket (called "jaqueta" in Portuguese) and a vest wore underneath (called "colete" in Portuguese). Many people don't wear the jacket when it's too hot, for obvious reasons. In that case the vest should always be worn instead.

Most people use a very thick "fazenda" jacket, called "samarra", when it's too cold. It's a traditional jacket from Alentejo and the collar is usually made of fox fur, or an imitation. It can be either very long or waist-level.

The fabric of the costume is called "fazenda", and it can be thicker or thinner according to the part of the outfit. The most common colours are black, grey, brown and dark blue, although some (mostly girls) use dark bordeaux and beige as well. Most people use the same colour for the jacket and pants, but some people choose to wear different colours, such as in the photo above.

Both men and women commonly wear short boots and chaps. These can be one of two kinds: the so-called “chaps with nails” (“polainas de pregos”, shown in the picture above), which are traditionally used in tauromachy environments, and the true “Portuguese chaps” (polainas à Portuguesa), which are tied on the sides with thin leather shoestrings. Portuguese boots feature a slightly taller heel than traditional riding boots, as well as a slightly larger sole to form a slot where the spur rests. Full length boots are also seen but more rare nowadays.

The main difference between the male costume and the female's is that the female's includes a skirt that is completely "cut" in half in the front. This is so that it opens and allows the woman to sit in the saddle, as shown in the picture above. Suspenders are used to join the pants and skirt together. Men usually wear suspenders as well since the only belt used with the costume is a silk belt for decorative purposes (called "faixa" in Portuguese).

Both men and women's costumes feature fabric ornaments and fabric buttons in the jacket (the jacket is never completely closed), called "alamares" in Portuguese.

The women's hat is different from the men's since it usually has "ponpons". Many people buy their hats at "Chapelaria Coelho", in the small village of Golegã in Portugal. The hat is usually made of rabbit fur. The shirt can have more or less lace (called "renda" in Portuguese), according to each person's taste.

The hair of the women is usually braided or wrapped into a bun and then covered with a net. The earrings can be either simple pearls or "arrecadas de viana". The latter are made in gold and they have their origin in the Portuguese city Viana do Castelo. Some images are available in this link for the Museu Ourivesaria Freitas.

For those who want to know more, I recommend the bilingual book "O Traje Português de Equitação - The Portuguese Riding Costume", by Lina Gorjão Clara and João Gorjão Clara, 1995. It's written in Portuguese and English and it has multiple illustrations of the endless possibilities of the costume.

(Pictures taken at Golegã, Portugal, Alenquer, Portugal, and Algarve, Portugal, in public horse fairs, from 2000 to 2005).

Let's look at the trailer

2008-07-06T02:36:00.005+01:00

Well, I've had some requests for Horseball pictures from some people who are just plain curious to see them, so here's a small preview! I'm sorry, just can't find the time lately... I hope they're worth the wait ;-) For those who aren't familiar with the sport, it's a sort of basketball played on horses! Of course, you don't dribble, and if the ball falls, you're supposed to pick it up while you're on the horse - that's called the "ramassage" (shown in this photo).

Many technical words in Horseball come from French, because the sport was invented in France. Here are the rules of Horseball summarized in a simple manner.

It's a very exciting sport to shoot because it's very fast - and dusty, sometimes :-), and the possibilities are endless! Stamina, adrenaline, everything!!

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

I'm a Lusitano...

2008-07-03T00:09:00.006+01:00

These photos were taken, again, in Ponte de Lima, in the Working Equitation ("Equitação de trabalho", in Portuguese) shows.
For those who aren't familiar with this Riding discipline, it is made of 3 or 4 parts, according to the country of origin (? - correct me if I'm wrong). There is a "maneability" test, meant to test the willingness, elasticity and courage of the horse (and rider :-) ), a "velocity" test, which features more or less the same obstacles but is meant to be done at the greatest speed possible, a Dressage test and a cattle test which is optional (at least here in Portugal). The Lusitano horse excels in this Discipline, for its character and strength.
This used to be the Equestrian Discipline I photographed the most, since I spent more than 6 years riding Lusitanos that did precisely this at my old riding center. Nowadays I'm finding more challenges in photographing other disciplines. Managing to anticipate a horse's move is not always trivial - and even when it appears trivial (such as the trot extensions in Dressage), it's not at all easy to capture the perfect moment. It requires not only a trained eye, but that "horse sensibility", or is it "horse sense", the one everyone talks about?
Anyway, what was kind of funny for me is that after spending some time now in a Riding Center where most people are show jumpers, I have a bit more of feeling for the "jumping anticipation". And I could tell that some people (and horses) face the bull with no problem, they open gates, close gates, do flying changes with no problem at all, and then... the jump (which is the height of a hay bale) was their bigger problem. :-) I'm not meaning to offend anyone, I didn't jump for 9 years or so, and always took it as trivial. Guess what... Made a fool out of myself with my own horse at my brand new riding center. It was fun. :-) Oh well, on to what really matters.
I sincerely admire those who could manage to be in the traditional Portuguese riding costume (called "traje") in that sun and heat... The clothing is REALLY warm, only those who have tried it know what I'm talking about! Oh, by the way, the rubber band on the hat isn't part of the Portuguese costume, as someone told me in the past, it's part of the Spanish riding costume. We Portuguese like to pick our hats from the ground when they fly away... :-D On to the photos!

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

Horses and wheels...

2008-07-01T01:04:00.000+01:00

... no, not cars! Today is Driving day after all... There were so many Horseball pictures that I just didn't have enough time to make a selection! A photographer's life is tough... :-) And no, they weren't "monkey" pictures, I just experimented so much with angles and subjects that I now have to make a decision ;-)

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

Dreaming...

2008-06-30T01:17:00.001+01:00

... is he dreaming of having is own horse? Perhaps...

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

All the beautiful people, all the beautiful horses...

2008-06-29T22:35:00.008+01:00

Dressage horses are always so shiny, powerful, beautiful. And when they move...

Today is Dressage day, tomorrow will be Horseball day!

These photos were taken at "Feira do Cavalo" in Ponte de Lima, a small and beautiful village in Northern Portugal. The conditions were amazing: 2 very large paddocks for competitions and training, subdivided in dressage carrières that were later removed for the Horseball games.

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

A goofy moment

2008-06-29T19:46:00.007+01:00

I just couldn't resist... This is the goofy image that photographers, either professional or amateurs, often make of themselves. :-)

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

Dressage, dance and harmony

2008-06-29T19:34:00.004+01:00

It was a pleasure to enjoy the performance of our Olympic rider, Miguel Ralão Duarte, with Oxális da Meia Lua, in the Final of the Portuguese Dressage Cup, in Ponte de Lima, Portugal, even though the weather was very very hot (around 36ºC or 97ºF) and the light was very harsh, every photographer's nightmare.

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

A furry look

2008-06-24T23:44:00.004+01:00

(Lousada, Portugal)

Connections and disconnections...

2008-06-23T00:07:00.006+01:00

Two colts playing in the hot sun, never getting tired. Who can get tired of looking at them, anyway?

There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill

Or a woman.

(Lousada, Portugal)

Man's touch

2008-06-22T14:55:00.005+01:00

"In riding a horse, you borrow freedom."~Helen Thomson

(Lousada, Portugal)

Tree of life, tree of dreams.

2008-06-22T03:18:00.005+01:00

I think that yes, all our lives can be mirrored in horses. And it doesn't even take that much of an imagination effort...

(Lousada, Portugal)

Care to dance?

2008-06-22T03:00:00.005+01:00

And so we danced, and danced and danced and danced...

(Lousada, Portugal)

Confessions of my first time...

2008-06-11T00:50:00.009+01:00

... photographing show jumping :-)

Although I started my equestrian path as a jumper, the immensity of equestrian images featuring jumping out there was just too much for me to "risk" the boredom of... you know, doing what everyone does. As it turned out, I was wrong!

Maybe the resulting images are just too... out of the ordinary for most people, but photographing show jumping can be thrilling, especially if you can approach the obstacles almost freely... (while photographing horse racing, I had the suicide tendency of laying on the ground and doing some exciting photography, some of which is in my portfolio now).

So when Nuno (he who tries to correct my bad riding habits) asked me to go and photograph a show I replied "errr, but, oh, I never photographed jumping". My only "jumping pic" is the one that has been posted in this blog, long ago, and it was a rare inspirational moment.

But... ok... I have to admit it now... absolutely thrilling moments to photograph:

Possibilities for original and out of the box images are almost endless...

... obstacles are colorful:

... there are relaxed moments...

... and if you're not careful you might end up getting accidental images that you actually like :-)

Porto, Part I

2008-06-05T09:56:00.005+01:00

"Caves Taylor"
Vila Nova de Gaia, with Porto on the background. There are some that say (actually, most) that the best thing about Gaia is the view :-)

The famous Port wine :-)
Vila Nova de Gaia again, with bridge D. Luís and Porto in the background...

Views of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) - Part I

2008-06-04T01:23:00.004+01:00

They say the answer is in the question... MIT is a place where you question yourself, everyday. Or, as they say, try to take a drink from a fire hose.

Walking around Stata Center.

Well, this is a very geeky joke, but what would the world be without 'em?

E-waste and the environment... We're cutting on paper (?), but e-junk spreads like an epidemic. It's amazing what you can find by surprise in every corner of the Stata Center. There's something new every day!

Academic tradition in Portugal

2008-06-04T00:43:00.001+01:00

It has been a while since I finished undergrad, but I can still remember the sense of union that our academic traditions give us. Some of these traditions, present in most Universities in Portugal, started in Coimbra and have its origins in the 17th century. Back then, everyone used the same academic outfit - it was meant to be humble and warm, so that there were no visible differences among the student's social conditions. Things evolved so that eventually there was a distinction in the clothing - and the way of behaving - among different majors, years in school, etc. Nowadays, most of the tradition is still respected: university students still wear this uniform, called "traje académico", freshmen have to respect their elders and join in the praxe, and there are several academic groups. When their main activities are traditional folklore, "fado" and dances, they are called "tunas". These photos are from a performance of the "Tuna Feminina da Faculdade de Engenharia do Porto", in the ITW'08 conference, at the Palácio da Bolsa, in Porto.

(Porto, Portugal)

2008-05-21T02:47:00.001+01:00

"Take most people, they're crazy about cars. They worry if they get a little scratch on them, and they're always talking about how many miles they get to a gallon, and if they get a brand-new car already they start thinking about trading it in for one that's even newer. I don't like old cars. I'd rather have a goddamn horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake". ~ J.D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye

(Cotobade, Spain)

Back

2008-05-19T01:30:00.001+01:00

Back to the most beautiful city in the world. Porto, that is :-)

(Porto, Portugal)

Views of New York - 2

2008-03-22T05:14:00.000Z

My favourite city in the world has the right to several posts :-)

Busy little bees, busy little feet. Times Square.
No need for introduction here.
United Nations - 1.
United Nations - 2. It was rather inspiring.
Many New Yorks. The other side of the mirror...

(New York, USA)

Views of New York

2008-03-22T05:10:00.000Z

These remind me of Germany now.
We all live in a yellow school bus...
American pride...
BHPhoto, a paradise for photographers.

Apple is amazing. But Apple Store in 5th Av. is AMAZING.

(NY, USA)

Moving on

2008-03-20T05:50:00.000Z

(NY, USA)

Where are you?

2008-02-17T06:18:00.001Z

(Barqueiros, Portugal)

The Observer

2008-02-17T06:17:00.001Z

(Barqueiros, Portugal)

Traquinas...

2008-02-17T06:15:00.000Z

(Barqueiros, Portugal)

Saudade...

2008-02-10T23:54:00.000Z

I miss those small moments that you live in the stables, like appreciating the scent of the straws...
... watching the training sessions...

... and my little golden horse.

Fear?

2008-02-10T23:34:00.000Z

Moments later he was begging for me to scratch his head though! :-)

Munich Indoors 2007

2008-01-23T23:55:00.000Z

It was a pleasure to escape a little from "real life" when I was working in Munich, Germany, to appreciate the grace of those beautiful but big German horses in action.

(Munich, Germany)

Beauty

2008-01-22T23:58:00.000Z

Beauty. Passion. Effort. Sport. Art. What else? :-)
(Golegã, Portugal)