An ode to a very special winter...

This is not the typical winter photography, altough it was taken just a few weeks ago, in the middle of a extremely cloudy and gray day... I was studying for my exams, until I decided I had to go out and forget a bit about obligations, and feel the pleasure of photographing in the middle of mother nature. Unfortunately the time was very cloudy and rainy on the hills near my house, where I really wanted to go. On the contrary, I could see some light breaches in the areas near the sea, so I'd probably get better pictures there... altough my heart wasn't satisfied with that option... so.... how not to follow it? I went to the hills!

It was a 20min car trip, where the rain seemed like wanting to strongly explode from the heavy clouds above, and the strong wind to burst out through everything.
Then I reached a quiet spot with a great view, with the intuition that perhaps nature would change a bit the elements, and show me its beauty in the next moments. I waited and waited, wandering and feeling that cold and pure air, filling my soul with warm prana, until something very special happened... It wasn't the first time, but it was a rare one... suddenly a breach starts opening in the sky, revealing the always blue sky behind it, and the encompassing sunset light behind it, giving a very warm and special tone to everything... I was amazed with what was happening, as if nature would ever listen to me and satisfy this desire of a single human soul... probably she didn't hear me, but what I wanted to see had started to appear right before my eyes...

Needless to say I spent a wonderful half-hour shooting and shooting and shooting... From lots of photos I took, I choosed this one to symbolize winter in my country - Portugal - which is far away from being gelid and snowy white like in other countries, but which always surprise us with beautiful weather changes and great light bursts that enlighten all the beauty that nature has to offer us...

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Taken in Serra de Monchique - Portugal