PORTO BUILDINGS PART II

A few people mentioned that they were looking forward to seeing more photos from Porto which really made me excited about them all over again. Sunshine and Summer seem like a long way away at the moment, so its nice to indulge with these photos and pretend maybe its sooner than it is.

Camera: Refurb LC-A
Film: Fuji Chrome 200
Location: Porto, Portugal

Porto Buildings Part I

So the time has come to attack the 200+ photos I have from Porto that I haven't uploaded to the internet yet... are you ready? I am, I can happily look at photos of sunshine and memories all day.

I think there is going to be quite a few parts to this series as a lot of the photos I took were of fascinating buildings in Porto - they were so varied and colourful!  I spent most of my time walking around, looking up and generally falling behind Thomas and his brother whilst we looked around the city. Ha! 

Camera: Refurb LC-A
Film: Kodak Ektar 
Location: Porto, Portugal

Balconies...

One of my favourite things about visiting Europe is the balconies on buildings. It's a little odd I know but I loved them in Paris too (I took as many photos of them there...) but there is something so lovely about them, I just can't help myself.

When I was writing yesterday's post to describe the trams, I couldn't quite seem to find the right words and then Polly (hi Polly!) left a comment saying they were romantic and it hit the nail on the head for me.

Porto was romantic - not in an over the top, obvious way like Paris can be sometimes, but in a charming, subtle more relaxed way where the colours brightened your day, the little details (like the mannequin and the porcelain dog above, you saw them right?) caught your eye and the people were friendly and enthusiastic. And I think these balconies capture that romantic feeling perfectly too.

Cameras: Olympus OM-10 & Refurb LC-A
Films: Kodak Gold 100, Agfa Vista 200 & Fuji Color 200
Location: Porto, Portugal

Fountains Abbey Part I

It's no secret that I have a love for photographing abbeys - Kirkstall, Bolton and Whitby Abbey are some that I've shared so far on here. So I was incredibly excited about visiting Fountains Abbey.

Like Kirkstall Abbey, Fountains Abbey is a Cistercian abbey - in fact Fountains Abbey is the mother ship abbey of Kirkstall, with Kirkstall being the 5th daughter house abbey to come from the estate, something I didn't actually realise before we visited...

Every time I go around these abbeys I can't help but think how sad it is that Henry 8th had all the monasteries pulled down in the 1500's during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Although it is great that they are all so well preserved now and fascinating tourist attractions, I still can't help but picture how beautiful they must have looked in their prime and also how striking they could still look now.

Location: Fountains Abbey, England
Camera: Zenit B
Film: Fuji Superia 400