After a few days off, I’m back! 2018 was a busy year for me. I didn’t make any long trip this past year, but I tried to go outdoors every week and get to know Switzerland a bit better. And I think I did well! I spent almost one day a week in the mountains and hiking has become one of my favorite sports. I discovered a lot of stunning places, I got a bit fitter and strong and I took thousands of photos! And, on the way, I learnt a lot!! About photography: composition, color; about the editing process, etc. I even learnt a few things when I created the new website to replace my old WordPress blog! I got to know my new camera and lens… And I published more than 500 photos in 44 posts in 2018…
Definitely, I needed a small break! These past weeks I’ve been in Spain, enjoying the Christmas holidays with my family and friends. I tried not to think a lot about the blog and social media during these days. But I had my camera with me and I’ve been taking a few shoots. Some are just family portraits that I will keep to myself, but I also had the opportunity to wake up early and enjoy the sunrise alone (well, luckily, during winter in Spain the sun doesn’t rise very early in the morning :P) in the countryside. And there, I was also able to see a sky full of stars…
And I have news! Apart from relaxing and being with my family, I also wrote an article… Yes! An article! With my photos!! It’s been published in an online travel magazine, Stade Magazine. And here’s the link to the article:
The Last Days of the Ice Giants by Mercedes Catalan
So, here’s my first post of this new year… With some photos I took in Extremadura, Spain. This 2019 looks promising. I have already a few trips planned. And I’m so looking forward to putting on my boots again and being back in the Swiss mountains!! And I’m eager to share all of this with you!
A sky full of stars. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 30mm f/2.8 20sec. ISO3200
Shooting star. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 30mm f/2.8 15sec. ISO4000
Winter Milky Way. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/2.8 15sec. ISO4000
Sunrise in the olive grove. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/250sec. ISO100
Golden hour. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 24mm f/22 1/25sec. ISO160
The olive grove. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/25sec. ISO160
Winter flowers. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 70mm f/4.5 1/250sec. ISO160
Frosty sunrise. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/80sec. ISO100
The cow and the sunrise. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/80sec. ISO100
Frost. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 70mm f/4.5 1/640sec. ISO100
The cow. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 70mm f/11 1/40sec. ISO100
Golden hour. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/1250sec. ISO100
¡Me encanta!
Mil gracias, Carmen!!! 🙂
Wow, those star photos and the Milky Way are amazing!!!!!!! The other pics too! Congrats on the article, great!!! 🤗🤗 I’ll read it tonight 😊
Thanks a mil, Snow!! I was very surprised when they asked me to write an article about the photos I took in Zermatt!!! 🙂 It doesn’t happen very often, so I’m super happy to see my photos on a travel magazine!
And yes, I’m super lucky to have a place in Spain where I can see the sky so clean… it’s a privilege these days! I don’t usually take this kind of photos but with so little light pollution, it would be a shame not to practice night photography, right? And it’s fun to see how the new camera and lens capture the sky… it’s such a huge difference with my other camera! I just love the improvement, hehehe
I love that kind of photos!!! Over here seeing the stars is hard: in the summer the sun doesn’t set, in the winter it’s too cold!!
Oh, don’t tell me that!!! I’m so looking forward to being in Lapland and seeing the stars and the northern lights!!!
About the summer “nights”…. I suffered that when I was living in Sweden… even a bit in Ireland! Nights were so short and none of my apartments in those countries had blinds… how do you deal with that? I cann’t sleep with light!!! Hehehe
Hope you see the Northern Lights! When was it you’re going again? I didn’t see them when I went!
I’ve been dreaming with the Northern lights for years… since I was living in Stockholm! And I missed them in Iceland because I went in summer (and, you know, long days and no nights… hahaha)
So I hope I can finally meet the lady Aurora in Lapland!! We’re going in late March… I’ve heard it’s the best time, as the days are a bit longer and there’s a lot of snow yet (I’m also so looking forward to doing husky sledding and meet some reindeer…. do I sound very tourist????)
Well… all of that is very exotic to me too. There are no reindeer where I live, only in the north 😊 So no it doesn’t sound touristy! But the husky sleds are a bit touristy since as far as I know they have nothing to do with Finland or Finnish culture and are just imported for tourists. (I might be wrong though!) 😁
Probably you’re right and the husky sleding is the most touristic thing to do in Lapland… just after visiting Santa Claus!! Hahaha. Well, I need to plan a bit more the trip, I just have the basics: flights and accommodation!!! But I’d definitely love to do a sled trip and meet the reindeer!
Actually the Santa Claus part is quite Finnish and something Finns would do too! Finns truly believe that Santa Claus lives in Finland. Really!!!! 🤣
Was it Finnish or Swedish Lapland you’re visiting btw? I hear that on the Norwegian side of the border you can see the Northern Lights every day!
Then I will include again a visit to Santa Claus!! I will let you know if it’s worth the trip, so you can take your babies when they’re a bit older, hehehe
I’m going to Finnish Lapland. One week, from Rovaniemi to Inari!! I hope the weather is nice (very cold but nice), because I want to go snowshoeing at the National Parks along the way, hehehe.
🤗👍❄️☃️🌨
Son preciosas Mer y La Luz increíble. Enhorabuena y un beso
Mil gracias, Isaac!!! Sobre todo por darme la oportunidad de tener un lugar con un cielo tan bonito y unos amaneceres así 🙂
Great article Mercedes. I’m sure I’m not the only one who enjoyed visiting Switzerland with you last year. I look forward to seeing more of the Swiss landscape this year.
Thanks a lot, Anne!! After the Christmas break I was looking forward to start the new year with something special… And the sky in Extremadura is always that special thing that I can only practice once or twice a year!! Hehehe
I hope this year I can surprise you not only with Swiss landscapes, but with other destinations too!! Make you feel like you are travelling with me to these wonderful landscapes is the main purpose of this blog… and it makes me really happy!!!! 🙂
Have a wonderful week, Anne!
La Nebulosa de Orion!! <3
Uy, tengo teleobjetivo nuevo…. verás lo que podemos fotografiar la próxima vez que vayamos al campo!!!