A Shepherd's Tears, a photo from Acores, Islands

Photographer's Note

The village of Sete Cidades in the island of Sao Miguel offers the most often photographed vista in the island. In Fernando Galmeida's post Approach S.Miguel Island Lagoons (II) you can see the traditional approach to this beautiful area. Legend has it that a King lived in one of the hills surrounding the valley and he lived alone with his gorgeous, with green eyed daughter. The princess would go on walks through the hills everyday, and one day she met a sheperd he had beautiful blue eyes and soon they fell in love. The king eventually heard of their passion and put a stop to it by sending his daughter away. The couple was granted one last meeting to say good bye. They cried as they parted and the valley was filled with their tears. The blue laggoon was formed by his tears, the green by hers.

The lakes are actually formed inside an inactive volcano crater, in areas surrounding it there are some fumaroles and some hot springs (not as many as in Furnas). The village was isolated for a long time because of the treacherous roads, but now it is easy to reach it. The day was a crazy symphony of weather and photography was difficult. We had been hiking in the valley for a while when we came to this area which is a bit off the beaten path. The trees overhanging the lake have these delicious berries called groselhas and as we sat on the side of the road gorging in berries the sky finally cleared (only for a while) This photo was taken on the same day as
FENCE, Vivaldi -TOS Violation , and Headache in Green.

This phot was cropped levels, color adjusted and and rotated. because it was such a large photo it was saved at a lesser resolution some quality my have been lost.

ChrisJ, apache, Jeppe, Galmeida, fer, Emile, gaby, pamastro, robiuk, leonorkuhn, bedford67, dsidwell, apazevedo, Tue, orme has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ChrisJ (171822) 2005-06-14 3:58

Hi cristina

Good use of the foreground vegetation as a natural framing device. Excellent lighting sharpness & color. Well done!

weswang (18247) 2005-06-14 10:35

Hi Cristina, A beautiful natural frame to this beautiful landscape picture. The color changes and the reflections on the water made this picture very attractive. Good color contrast and nice DOF. A picture with clarity, depth, and sharpness. Well done.

apache (1426) 2005-06-14 14:06

Hi Cristina,
And a very nice compo. I like the way you have shown the branches and the vegetation behind the lake.
And a very touching story. Thanks for sharing
Ranjith

Jeppe (18654) 2005-06-14 17:37

Hi Cristina - the sight of a tree leaning in the lake reminds me of a similar place here and a shot I never got - I like the many fine views from this "remote" Atlantic islands - given by you and Fernando - thanks.

john_c (24666) 2005-06-15 1:19

A very well framed scene with terrific composition, Cristina. I like the POV whereby one appears to be peering out from the bushes to an enchanting and peaceful scene. There is a subtle but effective sheen on the water which further enhances. I like this scene very much. Regards. John.

Galmeida (12559) 2005-06-15 4:47

Bom dia Cristina,
Obrigado mais uma vez pelo seu Link e por publicar mais uma belo foto desta lindissma ilha. O meu recente foi tirado à Marina e também faço um Link a uma outra foto sua. Gosto do angulo que tomou a este magnífico cenário. As cores estão excelentes bem como o enquadramento. Nesta zona tive bastante sol o que também em certa medida aconteceu consigo.

Bem visto, capturado e realizado!
Parabéns.
Fernando

fer (1478) 2005-06-15 12:20

Olá Cristina!
Mais uma linda foto,dessa ilha maravilhosa!O enquadramento ficou uma maravilha.
Adorei
Fica bem,
Fernando

singuanti (15250) 2005-06-15 23:22

Hi Cristina. I like the way you filled out the composition with the tree branches. The colors are nice as is the light. A fascinating note too. Maybe a bit more sky would be nice but still a fine shot Cristina.

PJE (20758) 2005-06-15 23:53

Very nice Cristina. The branch on the bottom has such depth that it makes me feel that I am going to fall over ..almost. I love your commentary on this place too.

Emile (20352) 2005-06-16 1:36

Beautiful picture Cristina.
Very well captured, with an excellent natural frame.
Very sharp and good colors.
Nice DOF.
Well done.

gaby (19819) 2005-06-16 5:55

Hi Cristina,
splendid landscape - great compo and perspective - very nice -
Thanks
Gaby

walktowilli (168) 2005-06-17 2:26

I think you are the winner of this site. I love your photos, each and every one of them. It will take me a long time to critique each one, but I just might do it. This pic is so pretty and great DOF and comp. You go girl!

robiuk (10807) 2005-06-17 16:50

Uh,
this looks fantastic, very untouched and unspoiled nature and now I started thinking about planning my next holiday in Portugal.
This place really looks inviting thank to your photos. I can see you chose your POV for each shot very carefully, Cristina!
Well, it really pays off!
Thanks a lot,
Robi

aloyho (6798) 2005-06-17 22:41

Hi Cristina,
You have captured and expressed this scene beautifully to the story behind this place - the serene, quiet and lonely atmosphere. I like the POV and the way you frame this shot with the open space in the middle. Great shot!!! All the best.

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-06-18 6:58

Il y a beaucoup de sensibilité et de legende dans ce regard sur cette vallée.
La composition est bien construite avec ces branches d'arbres qui tombent et de ce POV il y a une très belle ouverture.
j'aime beaucoup
jean Michel

Há muita sensibilidade e de legende neste olhar sobre este vale. A composição é construída bem com estes ramos de árvores que caem e deste POV há muito bonita abertura mim gosta muito
Jean Michel

ben-u-ron (483) 2005-06-20 17:05

Encantadora! OS meus parabéns! Gosto particulatmente dos ramos em primeiro plano que "emolduram" a fotografia.

Cumprimentos,
Carla

quantabeh (5205) 2005-06-20 17:45

very beautiful composition, Cristina. The calm and quiet depicted here is very catchy. The foreground is beautiful, like a window opening to the distant, but personally I would have liked to see more of the distant, than the foreground.
regards,
Behrang

leonorkuhn (16237) 2005-06-20 22:33

Que lugar lindo, Cristina. Estes locais privilegiados acabam inspirando lendas. Luminosidade, definição, cores, excelentes. Parabéns pelo bonito trabalho.
Um abraço
Leonor

oochappan (4880) 2005-06-21 4:30

A fine piece of nature, well framed and though those threes we see over the water this village, nicely done Christina
Hrnk

pamastro (7296) 2005-06-22 0:48

Looks like a very beautiful place. The story is a good one that they have come up with to describe the beauty. The grey day works well here, too, though perhaps this is a place it might have been nicer to have some light shining through. But that's obviously beyond control. The point of view offers that feel of peeking through branches. The one branch extending from near the corner helps bring the eye into the well framed water. Nicely done.

bedford67 (80) 2005-06-22 4:55

Hi Christina,
Here a quite beautiful legend been useful by a photograph superbly carried out. Many exceptional places have their legend, but it is often difficult to be informed of it when one is that of passage. The colors are well development and contrast quite carried out. Cheer.
Cordially, Jean Patrick.

dsidwell (9783) 2005-06-23 17:30

It's fun to gaze through the trees at a lovely scene, Cristina. Well framed and lovely photo!

andrebonavita (0) 2005-06-24 7:58

Gostei da foto, curto fotos assim, com o verde meio que fazendo moldura. A foto ficou inclinada pra direita ou é impressão minha?

Abraços

apazevedo (5469) 2005-06-26 11:55

Olá Cristina!
Bela nota introdutória e também uma linda foto, com óptimo enquadramento e perspectiva, transparecendo uma grande tranquilidade...
Belo trabalho!

Tue (92328) 2005-06-27 18:57

Hi Cristina,
Very good natural framing to show us this lake and the landscape in the background! I like the lighting here as well, good work! :-D
Groetjes,
Lars

orme (7219) 2005-06-28 23:06

Beautiful shot, Cristina. I like how you have framed it with the trees around the edge and the tranquil atmosphere that you have captured here. The sunlight in the distance 'valley' is excellent. Well seen.

danyy (0) 2005-06-29 17:51

Bonjour Cristina,
un agréable clin d'oeil à un petit endroit de nature bien accueillant pour un repos, un excellent cadrage qui inclu cette petite fenêtre formée par la végétation.
Well seen and done .
Daniel.

MarekP (4750) 2005-06-29 18:57

Hi Cristina,
I like this view very much. Such "wild life" photos tend to be too scatterd and inordinate, but you have managed to arrange this view into a very good, well balanced and appealing composition with a strong mood. Very well done!

Thanks,
Marek