Welcome dear reader!
I’m very happy today because I’m writing my first post here, the place where I’ll be sharing stories, tips, reflections, and much more about landscape photography.
Today I’m going to tell you what I’ve been up to this weekend, and I’ll share an interesting place you can visit to take landscape photos.
Wanna feel like you are on another planet?
This morning I woke up early to visit a place I had been planning to go to for a couple of weeks. I had packed my backpack the night before, so when I got up all I had to do was have breakfast and get in the car. I drove for about 45 minutes until I reached the area I wanted to explore, although something happened that I definitely wasn’t expecting.
The GPS told me to turn onto a dirt road off the main highway. The further I went, the worse the conditions became. There was thick vegetation brushing against my car, plenty of potholes, and the ground was really uneven. After driving for about 25 minutes and getting close to my destination, I suddenly found a closed gate blocking the way. I had no choice but to turn around and take the entire road back, losing almost an hour in the process.
Still, I decided to try reaching the Tinto River from another spot. I got back onto the main road and drove in the opposite direction until I reached the Gadea Bridge, where there’s an access point that leads down to the riverbank. This time I finally made it, and I was lucky because there was a small path running along the river that I could drive through. At last, I was able to take all the photos I wanted.
The Tinto River is a very peculiar place. Due to several factors—such as its high concentration of iron and heavy metals, along with the low oxygen levels in the water—the surrounding landscape is tinted with a reddish color. On top of that, a strong smell of sulfur fills the entire area. Very few living organisms can survive in its waters because of these conditions, which is why the river has been studied by NASA, as it shows certain similarities to the planet Mars.
It’s true that, because of the area’s intensive mining activity, these conditions have become more pronounced over time, but studies have shown that the Tinto River already had these characteristics long before mining began.
So if you ever want to feel like you’ve traveled to another planet, make sure to visit the Tinto River!
Yesterday I was on FONAT 2025!
Yesterday, the FONAT (National Nature Photographers Meeting) took place in Alcalá de Guadaira, a town not far from where I live. I felt really lucky when I saw that two of the photographers I follow the most would be there giving their talks. They were Morten Hilmer, a wildlife photographer, and Isabella Tabacchi, a landscape photographer. Both talks were incredibly inspiring and entertaining, and they shared plenty of stories behind their images.
I also had the chance to see the exhibition that had been organized there, and to discover the work of other amazing photographers.
That’s all for today — hope to see you again soon!