Things I Love: The Western Algarve, Portugal

I discovered Portugal just last year. Deciding to take a pre wedding season break away from the UK, and away from Ibiza, we rented out our home and headed off to Portugal. We stayed at a yoga and surf camp (which whilst a great experience, reinforced that I am not a camping-kind-of-girl), and discovered the incredible beaches of the Western Algarve. I was totally blown away.

I think it’s really important to take a break from photographing when I am not working and I am not one of those photographers who always carries a camera on them. I think it’s good to really immerse yourself in life and experience the world with all your senses, not through a lens. To give your eyes and your mind a rest, and integrate with the world fully. So usually I leave my ‘proper’ camera behind and take a toy camera instead, a Holga, Diana, Polaroid or even a little digital point and shoot, and only shoot if I happen to feel like it, rather than to document the events of my trip.

However in this instance I was feeling my love affair with my Contax film camera (which I use for my professional work) and decided to experiment with taking it away with me. I am glad I did…the light and the landscape blew me away and when I got the images back from the lab a few weeks later they connected me right back with all that sublime beauty. It was so quiet and the beaches gloriously empty, the food was great, it was super affordable, and when we went back for a more luxe experience later in the summer, the service was great.

I’m going to do a few posts on Portugal. This is my favourite.