WTL Video 7

Footage captured with DJI Mavic Air and Canon 77D in several locations in Oliveira de Azeméis and Ovar, Aveiro, Portugal between 2018 and 2019.

[EN]

Summer nearly there, June, my favourite month nearly coming and I can't go home and, like me, many people! To fight against the boredom and depression caused by the Covid-19, I got together some footage of my visits to my parents home in Portugal. Those clips were recorded on several visits and during different seasons like Winter, Spring and Summer and in several locations around my parents place, places of my childhood and that I always go back when I'm in Portugal. 

The little park with the chapel is called "Parque de La-Sallette". It's a little park at the top of a hill in the city of Oliveira de Azeméis. It's a very popular spot for a walk and to practice exercise but it's highlight is in August when we celebrate the "Festas de La-Sallette" with concerts, 2 big processions and a large range of attractions perfect for family and friends to gather... of course now that is hard with the Covid!

I got footage in 2 different beaches also! One is the most popular one, "Furadouro" in Ovar, is where everybody goes and, the other one, "Praia dos Marretas, Torrão do Lameiro", is a bit more secret, it's a "desert beach" with only pine tree forest, sand and sea! That is were I got that beautiful time-lapse of the sunset!

But this video is really special because my boys are there! My two nephews, João "the skateboarder" and Eduardo "the drone assistant". They are growing, soon they won't be teenagers anymore and this video brings back to life my little adventures with the two of them!

I hope you enjoy and I hope this video makes you want to know a bit more about the Aveiro Disctrict!

Stay safe!

[PT]

Verão quase aí, Junho, meu mês favorito quase chegando e eu não posso ir para casa e, assim como eu, muita gente! Para combater o tédio e a depressão causados ​​pelo Covid-19, reuni algumas cenas das minhas visitas à casa dos meus pais em Portugal. Esses clipes foram gravados em várias visitas e durante diferentes estações do ano, como inverno, primavera e verão e em vários locais perto da casa dos meus pais, lugares da minha infância e que eu sempre volto quando estou em Portugal.

O pequeno parque com a capela chama-se "Parque de La-Sallette". É um pequeno parque no topo de uma colina na cidade de Oliveira de Azeméis. É um local muito popular para passear e praticar exercício, mas o destaque é em Agosto, quando celebramos as Festas de La-Sallette com concertos, 2 grandes procissões e uma grande variedade de atrações perfeitas para a família e amigos se reunirem .. Claro que agora é difícil com o Covid!

Também fiz filmagens em 2 praias diferentes! Um é o mais popular, "Furadouro" em Ovar, é onde todo mundo vai, a outra "Praia dos Marretas, Torrão do Lameiro" é um pouco mais secreta, é uma "praia deserta", com apenas pinhal, areia e mar! Nessa praia foi onde gravei o time-lapse do pôr do sol!

Mas este vídeo é realmente especial porque meus meninos estão lá! Meus dois sobrinhos, João "o skatista" e Eduardo "o assistente de drone". Eles estão crescendo, logo não serão mais adolescentes e este vídeo traz de volta à vida minhas pequenas aventuras com os dois!

Espero que gostem e que este vídeo faça você querer saber um pouco mais sobre o Distrito de Aveiro!

Manthem-se a salvo!

WTL Video 6

Footage captured with DJI Mavic Air at Castletown, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland.

[EN]

One year after my first visit to Castletown, I went again to shoot a video. For some reason that I can't remember, I didn't like what I captured and the footage was forgotten for over 1 year and a half! This week and with all the Corona virus situation, I had time and inspiration to do something with this material and here you have!

Castletown is a lovely place for walk. After so many visits, I still didn't manage to visit the house! But now that you are here, check the photos that I took in October 2017 and tell me what you think!

[PT]

Um ano após a minha primeira visita a Castletown, fui lá novamente dest vez para gravar um vídeo. Por alguma razão que não me lembro, não gostei do que filmei e as imagens foram esquecidas por mais de um ano e meio! Esta semana e com toda a situação do vírus Corona, tive tempo e inspiração para fazer algo com esse material e aqui está!

Castletown é um lugar encantador para passear. Depois de tantas visitas, ainda não consegui visitar a casa! Mas já que você está aqui, veja as fotos que tirei em outubro de 2017 e me diga o que acha!

Post from October 2017:

• https://watchingthroughlens.blogspot.com/2017/10/shot-no26.html

Shot no.48

Photos taken in Rome, Italy in November 2019 with Canon EOS 77D with Canon lens EF 75-300mm and Lumix G9 with Leica lens 12-60mm.

[EN]

Finally Rome! I used to say that if I wasn't born in Brazil I would like to be born in Italy! I was always fascinated by this country... It's history, culture and of course, il calcio! This trip happened thanks to my beloved sister! She had a conference in Rome and she asked if I would like to meet her there. Of course, I said yes! Even more so because after she would come back to Dublin with me to spend 2 days with me and to attend my graduation ceremony.
I went to Rome for 4 days. We stayed at the Hotel Portamaggiore, a 3 star hotel. Don't expect big things, mainly regarding the breakfast, the selection was very poor but, on the other hand, it has very good deals and it's near the train station, has several buses stops around the area and not too far of a walk from the metro. In front of the hotel, there is an ancient Roman city gate with 2 aqueducts. The hotel was just enough for the time we spent there.
Rome is a city full of interesting places to visit so forget the idea that you will see a bit of everything! During this visit, the places where I spent most of the time were the Vatican and the Coliseum and its surroundings. To visit each place you need at least one full day and then you still have to face the infinite queues to buy tickets and to get into the places. Go very early, that is the trick! Rome is full of tourists and you are one of them, so be patient! I wasn't, my big mistake!
The Vatican might be one of the smallest countries in the world but be mindful that the entry for the Vatican museums is not near St. Peter's square and knowing that fact can help you save precious time! I didn't know that and besides losing time, I also lost 55euro. In Rome, the security is very strict but in the Vatican, they are even more strict! To get into the Vatican museums you have to pass through 2 security points. The first one is a normal airport x-ray machine, the second one is when you are passing through the turnstile. The security man at the turnstile didn't let me pass through with my backpack where I was carrying thousands of euro in photographic gear. My option was to leave the backpack there and collect it at the end of the tour when that entry would be closed, so I would have to collect it at another point of the museum. I really didn't feel comfortable leaving all my equipment behind. That's how I lost 55euro. The normal ticket is around 20euro but I bought with a tourism agent for a Portuguese guided tour. Don't be silly like me, just buy the normal ticket and get the audio tour and you will be more than fine! That is what I did 3 days later with my sister and we really enjoyed it!
The Coliseum is big. I didn't try a guided tour after my experience at the Vatican. So I can't really tell how long it would take. I remember looking at my watch and realizing that we were there for over 4h. The Coliseum is a beautiful monument but what I enjoyed the most was the Roman Forum, just beside the Coliseum. The Roman Forum is an area where there are ruins of ancient government buildings and beautiful gardens, you can still get into some of them! I spent 5h at the Roman Forum and didn't manage to see it all but I'm one of those who is constantly reading every description! And to make me waste more time, I was trying to read all the information written in Italian to figure how much could I understand!
Other places I visited but didn't spend much time at were the Piazza di Spagna and the Fontana di Trevi.
As you can see in 4 days there is so much that you can see if you are interested in knowing about history. It was great to make me want to go back to Rome, I still have a lot to explore there!
What about you? Have you been to Rome in such a small amount of days? What was your trip plan? Did it work out the way you wanted?

[PT]
Finalmente Roma! Eu costumava dizer que, se eu não nascesse no Brasil, gostaria de nascer na Itália! Eu sempre fui fascinado por este país ... A história, cultura e, claro, il calcio! Esta viagem aconteceu graças à minha amada irmã! Ela teve uma conferência em Roma e perguntou se eu gostaria de me encontrar lá com ela e passarmos alguns dias juntos. Claro que sim! Ainda mais porque depois, ela voltava comigo para Dublin para passar dois dias comigo e assistir à minha cerimónia de formatura.
Eu fui a Roma por 4 dias. Ficamos no Hotel Portamaggiore, um hotel de 3 estrelas. Não espere grandes coisas, principalmente em relação ao pequeno almoço, a seleção é muito pobre mas, por outro lado, tem ótimas ofertas e fica perto da estação de comboios, tem várias paragens de autocarro e não fica muito longe do metro. Em frente ao hotel há um antigo portão da cidade romana com 2 aquedutos. O hotel foi apenas o suficiente para o tempo que passámos lá.
Roma é uma cidade cheia de lugares interessantes para visitar, então esqueça a idéia de que você tentará ver um pouco de tudo! Durante esta visita, os lugares onde passei a maior parte do tempo foram o Vaticano, o Coliseu e seus arredores. Para visitar cada lugar, você precisa de pelo menos um dia inteiro e ainda precisa enfrentar as filas infinitas para comprar ingressos e entrar nos locais. Vá muito cedo, esse é o truque! Roma está cheia de turistas e você é um deles, então seja paciente! Eu não fui paciente, meu grande erro!
O Vaticano pode ser um dos menores países do mundo, mas fique sabendo de que a entrada para os museus do Vaticano não fica perto da praça de São Pedro e saber desse fato pode fazer você economizar um tempo precioso! Eu não sabia e além de perder tempo, também perdi 55 euros. Em Roma, eles são muito rigorosos com relação à segurança, mas no Vaticano são ainda mais rigorosos! Para entrar nos museus do Vaticano, você precisa passar por 2 pontos de segurança. O primeiro é uma máquina de raio-x normal de aeroporto, o segundo é quando você está passando pelo torniquete. O segurança do torniquete não me deixou passar com minha mochila, onde eu carregava milhares de euros em equipamento fotográfico. Minha opção era deixar lá a mochila e recolhê-la no final do passeio, num outro ponto do museu pois a entrada já estaria encerrada. Eu realmente não me senti confortável deixando todo o meu equipamento para trás, então logo no início da visita voltei para trás e saí. Foi assim que perdi 55 €. O bilhete normal é de cerca de 20 euros, mas eu comprei com um agente de turismo para uma visita guiada em português. Não seja bobo como eu, basta comprar o ingresso normal e obter o guia áudio e você ficará bem! Foi isso que fiz 3 dias depois com minha irmã e nós gostamos muito!
O Coliseu é grande. Não tentei uma visita guiada depois da minha experiência no Vaticano por isso, não sei dizer quanto tempo isso levaria. Lembro-me de olhar para o meu relógio e perceber que estávamos lá já há mais de 4h. O Coliseu é um belo monumento, mas o que mais gostei foi o Fórum Romano, ao lado do Coliseu. O Fórum Romano é uma área onde existem ruínas de antigos prédios do governo romano em que alguns dos quais você ainda pode entrar, e belos jardins! Passei 5h no Fórum Romano e não consegui ver tudo, mas sou um daqueles que está constantemente lendo todas as descrições e tirando fotos! E para me fazer perder mais tempo, eu estava tentando ler todas as informações escritas em italiano para descobrir o quanto eu conseguia entender!
Outros lugares que visitei, mas não passei muito tempo, foi a Piazza di Spagna e a Fontana di Trevi.
Como você pode ver em 4 dias, não há muito o que você pode ver se está interessado em conhecer a história. No entanto, desfrutei muito desta viagem pois me fez querer voltar para Roma, ainda tenho muito a explorar por lá!
E você? Você já esteve em Roma por tão pouco tempo? Qual foi o seu plano de viagem? Funcionou do jeito que você queria?

Shot no.47

Photo taken at the Poolbeg Lighthouse, Co. Dublin in December 2018 with Canon EOS 77D and Sigma lens 10-20mm F3.5 EX-DC and DJI Mavic Air.

Over a year ago, I went to the Poolbeg Lighthouse in a very cold and wet winter night (stupid idea) to take some photos! It was so cold that most of the photos were a complete fail! From that day I only posted 1 photo here on Solo Shot 25. My fingers were frozen and I wasn't able to properly set the camera! So I just forgot about those photos. But, looking back at them and after some edition work, I got those 2 photos. I really like it and I got my lesson, to never delete the photos just because I didn't like it at first sight!

The Poolbeg Lighthouse was built in 1768 and is located on the Great South Wall at the Port of Dublin which extends from the Ringsend's Poolbeg peninsula nearly 4km out into Dublin Bay! It's a beautiful walk that takes between 30 to 40min depending on your pace and the sight at the lighthouse is just indescribable! I strongly suggest you try it but please, don't do it like me! It can be dangerous too as the path is quite uneven so make sure that, if you go when there is low light, you bring a flashlight, warm clothes and comfortable footwear. At the end of your walk, you can enjoy a hot chocolate or a coffee with Mr. Hobbs Coffee!

Enjoy the walk and bring your camera! :)

More info;

• About the Poolbeg Lighthouse:
• https://lovindublin.com/dublin/looking-for-something-to-do-take-a-sunday-stroll-along-the-great-south-wall-walk
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poolbeg_Lighthouse
• https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/dublin/attractions/poolbeg-lighthouse/a/poi-sig/1574757/35979

• About Mr. Hobbs Coffee:
• https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/dublin-lives-meet-david-hobbs-15924996

Shot no.46

Photos and video produced at Ticknock Forest, Dublin, Ireland in December 2019 with Lumix G9 with Leica lens 12-60mm, Canon 77D with Canon lens 50mm f/1.8 and DJI Mavic Air.

A new place that I discovered in Dublin, Ticknock Forest at the Dublin Mountains. I heard about this place maybe 6 months ago but never had a chance to go there. This time, my motivation was to do the Tchikita Christmas Video. Basically is the video at the start of this post. If you follow me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vitor_mc_oliveira/) you probably saw my Tchikita videos where I dance that music in a place with a nice view (https://www.instagram.com/p/B11l2G2A1Uu/, https://www.instagram.com/p/B0gjQ1rgt8h/). 

It was a very cold day in December, late afternoon, the sun was nearly setting down so it was the perfect time to shoot the video. My idea was to shoot only the video but the landscape surrounding me was so, so, so beautiful that I had to take a few photos. Thank God because that gave me the motivation to create some content for the blog.

Ticknock is located in the Dublin Mountains, has good access with carpark if you are driving and the area is also served by the Dublin Bus 44B. Only about a half-hour from Dublin City Centre. Ticknock offers 10km of mountain and forest walks with an amazing view over Dublin City, Dublin Bay, Bray Head and the Wicklow Mountains. The park has mountain bike trails and a shop where you can also rent your bike and equipment with a little coffee shop! There are several marked trails and when you are tired you can stop for a picnic! This visit was very quick but was enough to make me plan the next visit! I will do the Fairy Castle Loop trail and I promise many photos!

See you in 2020 with many more adventures!

Have a happy Christmas and a wonderful 2020!

P.S.: Thank you to Marta who was a crucial help to produce the video!

Solo Shot 35

Photo taken at Cliff's of Moher, Co. Clare Ireland in September 2019 with Lumix G9 with Leica lens 12-60mm.

I won't be talking much about this photo and about this trip because I have a huge amount of photos from the Cliffs. I'll, eventually, do a post about the Cliffs where I spent literally over 5h shooting. Unfortunately, I have no aerial shots because drones are not allowed and even if they were, it was extremely windy so (so windy that the water that would normally fall down the cliffs, was coming up!!!) I wouldn't be able to fly it.

This photo was only a macro experience and because you can't identify the location I decided to post it as a Solo Shot. Do you like it?

Solo Shot 34

Photo taken at Ireland's Eye, Dublin, Ireland in July 2019 with Lumix G9 with Leica lens 12-60mm.

On my second visit to Ireland's Eye, I went on a mission to collect footage of an old church that there is on the island. The walk to that church is made between high bushes surrounded by those beautiful purple flowers and of course, nearly every flower had a bee and eventually, they got used to my presence and allowed me to get closer and take some of my first macro photos! This is the best one!