Last month we were at Serra do Pilar in Vila Nova de Gaia to see fado singer Gisela João perform on the first night for Cais de Fado. By day, Serra do Pilar is a facility of the Portuguese Army and closed to the public, but on occasion it opens up to serve as an event venue. If the name Serra do Pilar sounds familiar, it’s also next to a monastery which has a terrace with the best view of Porto over the Luís I Bridge. I only started shooting from that viewpoint last month, and since then I’ve been back at every opportunity for more.

I carried two cameras with me the night I took these photos, switching between the two depending on the lighting conditions, using the FX body for the performance and the DX body for the wide angles. Night shooting is a real challenge, and the only time I’ll bump up the ISO from its lowest position. If the ISO is above 400, I’ll typically run the photos through a noise reduction program. Event night shooting is especially tricky: mixed lighting throws off the white balance, motion blur has to be controlled, lights and shadows are constantly moving around. I shoot manually 100% of the time, and it’s tough to get the settings right every time, in-camera. Yet, I get such a kick out of it, because when it works it is really gratifying. (I sound like such a masochist!)

Enough tech talk, back to the photos. You’ll find more in the growing Cais de Fado album.

July 24, 2014
Album: Cais de Fado 2014