Before I started this personal site/blog, I had a Smugmug portfolio, as I previously recounted here. It was easy enough to setup and I had it online for a long time. I never used it for real, but I always loved some of the photos I had showcased there. Unfortunately, most of those originals were lost on my 2012 incident, and I only have whatever version was upload to that portfolio and which I downloaded later. Also, all these photos have an ancient copyright watermark that I made sure to include. The internet was a weird place 10 years ago.
The cover photo is from my hometown, Rio de Janeiro, and of one of its main symbols, the Pão de Açúcar – Sugar Loaf. I love how it fills almost the entire photo, while we can still see more of the Sea Mountains that form the city and state of Rio in the background. Let’s continue with Rio, then.
Silhouette of Christ, the Redeemer
Christ, the Redeemer with the moon behind it
Fireworks at the opening ceremony of the Rodrigo de Freitas floating Christmas tree
The Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon floating Christmas tree
Shoreline of the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon with the Corcovado mountain behind it
Guy doing stand-up paddle at the Ipanema beach
The Ipanema beach and the `Two Brothers' hills during the night
Sunset as seen from the Leblon beach
The Sugar Loaf cable car as seen from below, clouds above it
Windy roads and street cable car tracks of the Lapa neighboorhood during the night
On these 9 photos we can see many iconic locations of Rio. Christ, the Redeemer, twice - including a moonshot I planned so much to take. The Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon with its iconic Christmas tree, still holding the record for the tallest floating Christmas tree in the world. The Ipanema and Leblon beaches, with the `Two Brothers' hills in the background and incredible sunset. The Sugar Loaf cable car and the hills of the Lapa neighborhood.
Next, let’s turn to Europe. During my 2-year stay there, while studying in France I did quite a bit of traveling around. That’s the amazing thing about Europe: with two free days and about €30 for a train ticket, you can go mostly about anywhere you want.
First up, France. I lived for a couple of months in the city of Vichy and, while there, visited the Mediterranean Côte d’Azur, with the cities of Montpellier and Cap d’Agde, Nice, Cannes and Monaco.
The Allier river, dividing the cities of Vichy and Bellerive-sur-Allier
The Millau Viaduct, still the tallest bridge in the world as of this writing
Sunset at Cap d'Agde
A man swimming in the sea in Nice
I know there are many problems with these photos, but they represent my early photographer and I love them for that.
Still in France, I moved to Nantes for my engineering studies. From there, I travelled quite a bit to Paris, of course, but also had amazing times in Normandy, specially Saint-Mallot and the Mont Saint-Michel, and at the Loire valley, famous for its numerous medieval towns and encrusted with more than 300 unbelievable castles.
A red maple tree, all red, in front of a Japanese style house, in Nantes
The Eiffel Tower seen from below
The Eiffel Tower, seen from the Montparnasse building, with the La Defense Paris neighborhood in the background
The Mont Saint-Michel
The Château de Chenonceau and its gardens
The Château de Chenonceau, a bridge-like castle in the Loire Valley
Amsterdam channels
The centennial park in Brussels
A fountain in the Trafalgar Square, in London
The Nyhavn -- New Port, in Copenhagen
The Northern Lights, in Tromsø, Norway