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Madeira: Roadside Landscapes

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Ok couldn't resist! Here are a few more shots from brief stops on the roads in the valleys.

D7000 35mm 1.8



Above: The 2 shots above were on the way to the north coast through the Nun's Valley. Just love seeing all the different micro climates around which show such a diverse landscape. Almost Thailand mixed with Scandinavian forests.

 

Above: Tiered landscapes fill most of Madeira, people build where they can, housing or storehouses as close to the crops as possible.

Below: The final resting place of my sunglasses :( RIP knockoff D+Gs. One of the many waterfalls around the Island.


Below: Quick snap in the bus at the top of one of the valleys. Just loved seeing the mists roll over, reminded me of landscapes you might see in an 80s fantasy movie

 

Madeira: The Levadas Walks

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These were taken on some of the famous Levadas walks on the Island.

Taken with D7000, 35mm 1.8 lens

The Levadas are the aqueducts created to send water from the mountains down to the drier areas. There are loads of different walk trips available, most walks are about 6-8km but there are ones shorter and longer depending on your own tastes.

If you don't have a car to get around most tours cost about 20-30 euros which will take you to the location for your days activities. A lot of these are so different it is worth doing a few (we did a couple of different ones along with a jeep tour).


Above: Along the walks you may come across some of the locals that live up in the valleys. Home made honey and knitted stuff! There are also a tonne of vineyards around the Levadas due to the perfect climate. The locals grow on every bit of fertile land available.
Below: Our jeep heading off after leaving us at the start of the walk. We met up with them again later in the afternoon.


The below photos were taken along the way to the walks, just out of the jeep for a little break. These were higher up towards the highest peaks on the Island. There is something very Jurassic Park about the Island which is awesome! (I think a lot of people think it's just a place for old people but there's plenty to do there! Lots of mountains and cliffs! There are even activity holidays there for climbing, abseiling and such )




 More Madeira photos to come! Around Funchal (the main city)



Madeira in Black and White

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Nikkor 35mm 1.8 D7000, Madeira




The shots below are from one of the original and still running rum distilleries on the island. It is a white rum made from the sugar cane also grown on Madeira. The rum is typically mixed with honey and lemon juice to make the local drink Poncha (which is very tasty!)








Panoramas of Madeira

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Here are some panoramas from my recent trip to Madeira, a really nice island off the Moroccan coast.

These were stitched in PS and taken with a 35mm 1.8 on a D7000 (lens distortion removed before stitching in Lightroom).

Click the images for a larger view!







These are quite narrow due to taking them Landscape at the time (they needed to be taken pretty quickly as it was windy up the peaks so not too much time to think. Hope you like them anyway!

I bought Lightroom 4 on the way back from the trip, just waiting for the postal delivery (got it retail, cheap on amazon at the moment). I'll give it a full test and review as soon as I get it. I've been using lightroom since 1.4 and have enjoyed using it since, I'll be testing the other shots taken in Madeira with it.

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