"Woah"

It's late June 2018. I'm four weeks into a six-week adventure through Israel, Portugal, and Croatia. I was based in Lisbon, Portugal at the time, and that's where I met up with a buddy-from-way-back, Dan.

One easy decision later, we're on a road trip in a Smart Car.

I've spent the past four weeks walking and photographing everything, so a few hours in a car with loud music was a welcome break from hours in the sun, tilting and turning my head every which way.

A day of photography is hard work. You're on your feet most of the day and, at slow shutter speeds, every muscle in your arm needs to be perfectly still. The beauty of it is that, these locations are awesome, but you don't need to travel to flex your aesthetic and literal muscles.

This story is about the Cabo de Roca lighthouse, but if this breaks 100 likes, I'll write another one about the whole road trip!

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I want you to pause for a moment. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and imagine your favourite outdoor scene.

Don't just see it, but really feel it all. See the sky – are there clouds? What shape are they? What size?

Now imagine the air running across your skin. Is it a stiff breeze or a soft breeze? Is the air warm or chilly? Maybe it's right at body temperature.

Now, inhale deep into your whole body. Notice how fresh and clean the air smells and tastes when you inhale.

Exhale. Notice the smile on your face as you release this intentional breath while imagining your outdoor scene.

You're fully present, here and now, imagining every sense of your favourite outdoor experience.

Now back to the story.

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We reach the lighthouse around 4pm, and it's been quite the day.

I open the car door and step out. My first instinct is to recoil in annoyance as the choppy ocean wind slaps my face. The same breeze delivers a whiff of that distinctly potent, incomparably salty, and infinitely satisfying smell of the ocean. I take a slow, deliberate inhale (as you just did), filling my being with the origins of life.

Exhale. Life's too short to be bothered by the little things.

The wind settles down, and I get my first glimpse of the entire coast. I take several moments to relax my focus from the wind and absorb the panorama with the same relaxed gaze.

I think I hear Dan's moderate tone whisper 'Woah' into the breeze. I turn to agree, but he's rummaging through the back seat. The next moment, realization: "I made that sound!... Woah."

He's already unloading our trunk of food and beer. We have a few hours until the sun sets and enough time to eat and drink before exploring, so that's what we do.

As we walk towards the coast, I can't shake the feeling that, once my nomadic days are over, a view like this is where I could call home.

The sky is blue, and the sun is high. Tourists abound, taking their time pacing back and forth across the landscape. We step off the pavement and onto dirt paths, surrounded on both sides by bulbous, squishy grass - like mini aloe vera. This is their home; we're just passing through.

The ocean smell is strong. Though it's settled into the background of my awareness, I make a point to give it my conscious attention.

We approach the cliff's edge and look for a suitable backrest to dine against.

I sit and, before the first bite of a sandwich wholly irrelevant to this story, I relax my eyes. I gaze out over the ocean and to the horizon. "Woah."

The unrelenting wind assaults the lettuce leaves, pulling them from the sides of my sandwich like a blade of grass in a tornado.

We finish eating, have some laughs, and get to exploring. I take another minute to savour the last of a dry Portuguese beer and appreciate everything about this day so far. My eyes slowly close as I take another deep breath. I exhale and stand up.

Upright now, I can't help but steal another breath. In a moment of silence – the kind of inner quiet that gives space for the world around to populate your awareness – I hear thunder, like a grumble from Earth itself. But how? There are few clouds above us.

I move closer to the edge and look down:

The sound isn't thunder, but the rumble of rolling water pushing and pulling rocks, crashing them against each other. "Woah…"

I treat myself to another whiff of salty ocean air before pulling out my camera. This time, I can taste the salt on my tongue.

I walk back and forth, taking in the many angles of horizon, cliff, fields, and lighthouse. Until one moment, just under a lip at the edge of the cliff, I turn and witness the scene this story is about.

*Click* "Woah!"

The woman's name was (and I'm assuming still is) Uliana. I didn't know her when I took the photo, but it became a smooth transition to introducing ourselves.

I show her the picture, and the three of us get to know each other. The wind, never ceasing, surrounds us, insulating our laughter from the world around us.

Some hours later, the sun touches the horizon. The air gets colder, our trunk is empty, and we all have a long drive in different directions. We go our separate ways.

I open the car door, but, before sitting down, I gaze out over the water and take a final deep breath.

Inhale. With my eyes closed and all at once, I see the unending view, hear the sounds of ocean displacing rock; of laughter fighting against the wind, and smell the ever-present salt soaking into everyone and everything it touches.

Exhale; "Woah." With that sound, I imprint every sense in my memory to remember them forever.

I take my seat and realize we've been walking back and forth for five-ish hours. Photography will do that.

23/10 day - would live again.

Why I chose this photo & how I took it

I chose this photo because, of all Portugal's one-take-wonders, Wallpaper-Level Location gets some thing right.

The scenery is breathtaking at every angle, so I didn't need any special techniques or peripheral equipment. The only edit was a slight crop.

(I'll add the shot one more time here, just to save you from scrolling up and down to compare the photo to my notes.)

First, the awesome composition! Uliana on the left and the lighthouse on the right balance the photo's sides, while the plants and the sky balance the top and bottom. There's no traditional focal point here – the whole photo is the subject. Like the real-life scene, the best way to experience this photo is to relax your gaze and absorb it with every sense.

Then there's the colour contrast. Green on blue with highlights of yellow, red, and white give life to the composition. The lack of a distinct subject would hurt, rather than help this photo if it weren't for the colours. There's a distinct contrast between all the parts, but they all work together to make something greater than their sum.

Finally, the vibe. This perfectly captures the day: complications are inevitable (Uliana clutching her jacket against the breeze), but everything happens as it should (the colours). And if you're present for and open to the experience (the composition), you'll see something worthwhile (this photo essay).

All that said, I didn't choose this photo, per se. I picked the outdoor vibe I felt would bring the most joy, and, of all the day's shots, Wallpaper-Level Location brought me the most joy. I hope it brings some to you too.

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