Photography in Lisbon

 

Lisbon is a dream of a town, and a heaven for photographers. There are motives everywhere, and everybody is very relaxed about being photographed. You need to be reasonably fit for walking, though. A MetroCard helps, available for 7€ and valid for 24 hours after first activation on all metros, buses, and trams, including the world-famous 28 line. It is a reloadable card, and every passenger needs one. 

Look for the "Miradouros", the viewpoints. For strolling, the "Baicha" is best. There are hills on either side, one featuring the castle, the other one various interesting spots like the museum of the old cloister, destroyed in the big earthquake in 1755. Just discover the town on foot.

There were some photographers with tripods and backpacks with photographic equipment. But I recommend a single camera and lens, as light as possible. My choice was the Nikon Z5 II and the 24-70 f/4 "kit lens". It proved to be the right workhorse and fit for the job. 

This time, I took most images at f/8 in mode A with a maximum ISO of 1600, occasionally f/4 for more object isolation. The very good IBIS allows one to get along with this setting. Occasionally, you may want to use S mode to pause an action. After sunset, this implies high ISO numbers, however. Some would take a prime lens like the 50mm f/1.8 S. But if you plan to shoot at f/8 for a good DOF, you will not notice any difference. Trust me, I tried.

As you see, I post-process my photos. My editor of choice is Lightroom, and I rarely need Photoshop, nor anything else. For the picture above, I had to switch to mode S, use a fast shutter speed, and increase the ISO. I showed the guy that image, and he asked me to share it with him. So, I developed it later in Lightroom and sent it to him by mail. To brighten the skater, the Motive selection in Lightroom was handy. Noise reduction is simply 50%, with masking at 50% too. You can also reduce more noise in the selection.

By day, Lisbon is a city with very high contrasts. I tend to embrace that, even enhancing and emphasizing it sometimes, leaving parts of the image in black. To enhance the blue sky a bit, the dehaze slider in Lightroom is helpful. And add a bit of warmth, but not too much. Sometimes, selecting the sky and enhancing the blue is necessary. Believe me. The sky really was like that!

Often, it is difficult to get a nice composition or an interesting scene. I am fighting between taking a picture just to remind myself that I was there, or skipping the location because the light is bad. The older I get, the more the latter decision wins. I do not have to take a photo of every tourist location. You find all those on the net now. You can even walk through the town in street view.

I took some panoramas for later assembly in Lightroom. But they did not work well. I prefer a single scene with a single subject and a foreground to add a story and a connection. But the places get rather crowded, especially in October, when the town isn't heated up much and the skies are clear. Lots of tourists arrive at that time, and the cruise ships unload even more.

The usual places to visit include the monastery in Belem. But we were shocked to see the line in front of it, with people obviously standing in the open sunlight for an hour or more. The tickets have time slots. So, I do not know why there were queues at all. If you can make it, they say that the visit is worth the entry and the wait. We gave up, however.

I suggest visiting the botanical garden nearby or strolling along the Tejo River. There is the MAAT museum of modern architecture and art. If you like that kind of stuff, visit it. It is famous. You can simply walk along the coastline, see the Belém tower, or the exploration sculpture. But protect against the sun, unlike the man in the picture below!

Another place to visit is the market hall. It is almost downtown, within walking distance. When we were there, it was immensely crowded and noisy. We went elsewhere for lunch. That scene reminds me of the Oktoberfest in Munich, and I do not like to be there either, besides taking photos. 

Another place to visit is the Expo area east of the town. Take the metro to get there, exiting at "Oriente". You can visit the sea aquarium. It has time slots too, but was not crowded at all when we were there. There is also the Vasco da Gama bridge, the longest Bridge in Europe, to look at, and the tower. You might enjoy the short cable car ride.

The following picture reminds me of a very important point in post-processing, at least from my perspective. I like vertical lines to be strictly vertical. Many photographers don't bother. But pictures look so much more professional if you care for your vertical and horizontal lines. That applies to the background in portraits, too, by the way. My idea is that everything is either perfectly straight or really distorted. There is no in-between. When photographing architecture, I either take the picture perpendicular to the walls or from the side, like from a 45-degree angle.

This is my short report from our 7-day stay in Lisbon. Most of all, enjoy your visit! Go to the small bars and restaurants and order fish. I prefer a cup of white wine along with it, but they also have good beer. Later, you can add a cocktail, which is offered almost everywhere. Have fun!

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