Pic(k) of the week 14: Vasco da Gama bridge at the blue hour

End of March, I spend a week in Portugal on a mixed holiday/photography trip. The first few days, I revisited the capital, Lisboa (Lisbon) and was pleasantly surprised how the most Western European large city has changed since the World Expo in 1998.

One of the most remarkable architectural achievements, is the new "Vasco da Gama bridge" which opened March 28th 1998, just in time for the World Expo '98. With a total length of 17km, the bridge is Europe's largest one. It was built to relief its older brother;  "the 25th April bridge".

I was particularly interested in photographing this architectural beauty in pre-sunrise light. Online research brought me to the "Parque Tejo"; a park at the western site of the bridge, ideal for a sunrise shoot. Because I planned to arrive at the site well before sunrise, the scouting the day before proved very valuable.

Not totally unexpected, the taxi-driver called me a "crazy man" when he picked me up from my hotel at 0515am in pouring rain.

2013 Pic(k) of the week 14: Vasco da Gama bridge at the blue hour

Fortunately the rain eventually stopped and just before sunrise the dramatic sky turned a beautiful blue/magenta. 

Image details:
Nikon D800 with 14-24 2.8 Nikkor lens
Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with Markins ballhead
ISO 100, 14mm, f4.5, 10s
RAW development in Lightroom 4.4RC
Nik ColorEfex detail enhancer

Over the next few days, more images will be uploaded to my "Lisbon"gallery.

The second part of the trip consisted of a 1000 km drive around the Alentejo area, East and South of Lisbon. More the coming weeks...

Remember, "The person attempting to travel two roads at once, will get nowhere"- Xun Zi

BJORN







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