‘Old School’ advertising in Portugal

In 1963, Pan American Airlines (Pan Am) installed a billboard on National Highway 1, which was the main road that linked Porto to Lisbon. Over 50 years later, that billboard still remains on the side of what is now an otherwise ordinary building in the village of Costa do Valado. The road is no longer

The Volta á Portugal, 2014

A couple of weeks after the Volta á Portugal do Futuro passes through Oiã and Carris, the big race, the Volta á Portugal, starts. Normally, the smaller race takes the same route as the main race, which means that we get two national races passing by within a couple of weeks, and few can say

Volta á Portugal do Futuro 2014

Every year the Volta á Portugal, the Portuguese equivalent of the Tour de France, passes our house in the stage that starts or finishes at Oliveira do Bairro. A couple of weeks earlier, the Volta a´Portugal do Futuro, for new racing cyclists, passes on the same route. This afternoon, we were delighted to see the

Vagos Open Air 2013 – Evergrey

Keeping up the Scandanavian influence, Moonsorrow were followed by the Swedish progressive metal band, Evergrey. With an epic 14 song setlist, Evergrey haunted the audiencee. Sadly, I had to leave before the end of Evergrey’s performance, so missed the last few tracks, and also the bands Sonata Arctica and Lacuna Coil. Setlist: When the Walls Go

Vagos Open Air 2013

Yesterday was the first day of the Metal festival Vagos Open Air where we covered Secret Lie, Bizarra Locomotiva, Moonsorrow and Evergreen. Today is Web, Tarantula, Rotting Christ, Iced earth, Gamma Ray and Testament. It promises to be a rocking day, and a big thank you to the organisers for a fabulous event. The atmosphere

Geek moment of the day…

For the past few days we have been on an enforced sabbatical from the Internet, brought on from the fact that thieves stole the telephone cables supplying broadband, TV and telephone to our house (and many other houses in the area). Of course, this provided a grand opportunity to catch up (or re-watch) a load

Surfing at the Praia de Bairra, Aveiro

We finally had an opportunity to go to the Praia de Bairra to photograph the surfers. These are not of the client that we were asked to photograph but are of a group of surfers who joined us for a morning on the waves…

Helicopters exercising over Oiã

The Portuguese military is hosting an exercise in Ovar, near Porto, and each day the helicopters are flying over Oiã. There are only about 8 or 10, but it is fascinating to watch them go over. When you flick through these images, see if you can spot the airmen sitting on the edge of the

Before we went to the beach…

…I had a chance for a little early-morning bee chasing…

Surfing photography – a dry run

We found ourselves on the beach at the weekend, which was nice. On one of the beaches there were a crowd of surfers, both experienced and novice, on the waves. I had tried once before, but it wasn’t too successful, and we have been asked to photograph a surfer in the next couple of weeks, so

Feira Medieval at Troviscal

This year, the local council at Oliveira do Bairro sponsored a Medieval Festival (Feira Medieval) in Troviscal, a few km away from where we live. These medieval re-enactments are incredibly popular in Portugal, and although the weather was not ideal, the Companhia De Teatro Viv’Arte put on a fabulous show. There was jousting, and eagles, dancing and

Feira de Medieval, Oliveira do Bairro 07-09 June

In a couple of weeks there is a Feira de Medieval, presented by Companhia de Teatro Viv’Arte, in Troviscal near Oliveira do Bairro. The Companhia de Teatro Viv’Arte present all over Portugal and a couple of years ago, when we first arrived in Portugal, they had a feira in Mamarrosa. I had never been to one of

Troféu de Karting Díario de Aveiro, Third Stage

Last weekend was the third stage of the Troféu de Karting Díario de Aveiro. Although it was windy, it was a lovely warm afternoon and a thoroughly competitive race, enjoyed by all …

Aveiro Elite Club at Kartódromo de Oiã

In a couple of weeks time, on the 08 and 09 June, the Kartódromo de Oiã will open its doors to the Aveiro Elite Club. this annual tuning event is always a fabulous weekend for anyone who likes cars. It’ll be our second chance to attend, and something that we are looking forward to immensely.

I (heart) Vespas

This entry was inspired by Doli Siregar and this post… It was taken at the Festa de Caramulo last year, probably the most fantastic car show in the known universe. Well, Portugal…

Let the festivities begin…

Starting in late April or early May the village festivals take place across Portugal. Associated with local saints, the festivals are an opportunity to eat, drink, and generally be merry. Nowadays, the evenings are given over to bands who tour the country, playing a mixture of traditional Portuguese music and covers of rock songs. This

A rose by any other name…

The sun came out. Just long enough for a quick photograph…

From Hero to Zero

We were watching the news at lunchtime where a new form of protest was seen to be emerging. The Finance Minister, Vitor Gaspar, was at a university in Lisbon publicising his new book. Each time he opened his mouth to speak the audience, mainly students, burst into laughter. This is a far cry from just

Trofeu de Karting at Kartódromo de Oiã

The local newspaper, the Diário de Aveiro, sponsors an annual Karting challenge at Kartódromo de Oiã. At the last meeting we were fortunate enough to be able to cover the event…

There now follows a short interlude

The other day we were fortunate enough to have time to take a walk. For a start, it wasn’t raining, and we had just finished a recent video project. The birds and insects among the flowers were a sight to behold and, of course, as we had taken a camera, there were opportunities to capture