A photoblog from Mallorca
I was on family holiday on Mallorca in july and had off course planned just a tiny bit of landscape photography too. Yes it`s possible to combine as the few photo sessions were at times when normal people are in their beds, sunrise that is ;)
Being the first time in Mallorca and not quite know what to expect, I was in a adventures mode. We were based in Cala D Or on the east coast the first days. The only location I planned to shoot in this region was Es Pontas. Its an impressive sea stack. I had the alarm set to 4.45 and headed south for about 35 minutes through narrow roads and small villages. When I arrived it was pitch dark, a lot of bugs, insects and other unknown creatures in the air. So it was good to have the head torch. ;) The location was very easy to find though and just about 10 minutes hike from the car parking. I met no other people at the location.
The weather forecast said some high clouds but they didnt show up, so it was a rather dull blue hour wait until the sunrise. I also found it hard to find good compositions. After several shots from the viewpoints above I decided to do a steep climb down to the sea level. I was a bit unsure about going down being alone, but it was quite easy and felt safe. I got closer to the sea and foreground rocks. The angle to the sea stack itself wasnt quite right as it was impossible to get separation to the coastline rocks. Anyway here are some photos from that blue hour and sunrise
I returned to Es Pontas the same evening a part of a round trip to other places in the region, Es Trenc and Calo Des Moro. Both were great places for sunbathing and nature. Seen some great photos from Calo Des Moro but the place were too crowded with people when I was there in the middle of the day.
Here are a couple of photos from the sunset at Es Pontas
Next up on the trip was an appartment in Porto Pollenca in the north of Mallorca. Great town and perfect base for many other locations in the north region as the Formantor peninsula. I did a scouting drive one evening and came across various tree scenes just before the second and last real sunset shoot on the trip. Here are some photos of pine trees on the Formentor peninsula
Next up was the actual sunset and blue hour in various locations overlooking the Formentor peninsula. As the light and the landscape unfolded I got the headless chicken mode and didnt stick to my initial plans at all. Anyway the photos themselves came out great I think, and not just the obvious compositions you expect too see from this area.
The first photo below is shot directly to the west without including the setting sun. The layers in the mountain were amazing
The next photo is shot to the east just next to the Albercutx Watchtower.
All the photos below are shot from close to the road to the Albercutx Watchtower. The landscape, clouds and sunset colours all came together and it was all about finding some foreground interest
The next photo is shot from Mirador de El Colomer and the last one of Formentor was a 5 seconds exposure as it was way into blue hour.
After some days without thinking about photography I returned to the same area for a sunrise session. There were some low clouds present and some dense mist in the horizon to the west that seem to block the sun light. Here are a few photos overlooking the Formantor before sunrise.
Since the clouds in the horizon were that dense I took a chance of driving to another location. Suddenly the sun appeared just as I arrived. I wasnt prepared so I didnt get any great photos during the first moments of the rising sun.
Anyway here are some photos some time after the actual sunrise
This next photo is shot to the west where the clouds were turning all red and the mountains got this deep red hue and fantastic contrast
I finished the morning session with a drive to Cap Formentor which is only possible before 10 am due to regulations. The photo below is overlooking Cala Figuera. It might look flat and accessable but I can tell you that the landscapes along the route to Cap Formentor is steep and dramatic.
A shot by the road overlooking some saling boats in the cala
The last few days we drove south through the mountain regions to Fornalutx. The weather was overcast and mostly dull and flat light . At Mirador de s'Entreforc though there were some short moments with dramatic light to go with the amazing mountains leading down to the sea. Here is one from that location, shot just by the main road. The torrent or rock formation in the foreground goes all the way down to the Sa Colabra Beach. I didnt get any great photos of that famous road unfortantly
This last photo is from out last day in Mallorca when I had a early stroll through the empty streets of Fornalutx. Seems like a nice and calm place to live..!
Well thats it from this Mallorca trip. I might add some photos later. Below are some other random raw and mobile phone shots. I didnt plan or bring the camera one night when the most amazing sunset happened. The sky and clouds were almost bleeding. Havent seen anything like it really. Well it doesnt show that well it those poor mobile shots
