"Thirsty Fields"
Date Taken: 06-10-2007
Canon EOS 30D, Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6EX DC HSM, Hoya Super HMC Pro1 Circular Polarizer
Exposure: f/22, 1 second
 
The salt pans and marshes surrounding the Algarve town of Castro Marim are part of the 20 sq. km. Sapal de Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António Nature Reserve, one of the most important wetland areas in Portugal. It is home to thousands of aquatic birds that come in search of its excellent nesting conditions or to use the area as grounds for seeing out the winter. Although I saw a dozen black-winged stilts and a couple of storks while I was there, it was the landscape that made me visit the reserve in the first place. Rolling hills, cracked earth patterns and hundreds of little rivers and pools of still water are what to be expected here. The contrast between the desolate feelings of the foreground and the perfection of the pure green olive grove and blue sky of the upper section drew my attention here.