Richard Vanek - Black and White Photography

So yesterday I have won Nikon F80 on e-bay. I have feeling that my camera shopping is over. Maybe anybody like to buy my Olumpus OM-2 spot meter? Let me know.

Today I was at Henry Cartier Bresson exhibition in Berlin. There I realize that he died recently (3rd of August 2004). I like his photographs very much. As we agreed with Viera, his pictures are full of beauty even they often capture poor people and sad moments. This lyric and romantic view in his pictures makes them for me nice. He shows to me that one can always find nice side of things!

I am selling my Olympus OM-2 spot meter body. If you are interested please let me know. Camera is in perfect shape, like new. I bought it from original owner and based on his claims and my usage, camera saw about 20-30 films all together.

I have just got my new Lens, Nikkor AF 50/1.8D. Well it is plastic as all the auto focus lenses I guess, but it is better than I saw before. Even manual focus ring is useful and focusing has a little feeling is not like moving nothing. I put it on my Nikon F80 and everything start to work. This lens has even aperture ring and DOF scale on it. Auto focus is quite noisy, not extreme but well you can hear screws working :-)
I wish I could have a more time to play with it, but after coming from work today I joined my wife with rebuilding room of our kids. Quite a work it is almost midnight and I only jump here and there to play with camera. It was nice to fin out that with this lens camera is focusing without assist light in quite dark. When I compare view finder of F80 with my OM2n I can say it is brighter but smaller.

And tomorrow small trip to France I am taking F80 with me, first life use. I tell you more tomorrow. And I hope I will have some more time when we will finish this house activities to put new shots, I have quite a lot of them.

We are just arrived from our one day trip to France. We visited city called Lille, close to Belgium border. I am quite tired, but I need to tell you that this F80 works nice, it is pleasure to take picture with it. Focusing is fast ( not instant, but much faster than I do by hand). Viewfinder is nice and bright. Still I need to get used setting of aperture by dial on camera and not ring on lens.

I am quite sure that I will be not able to post any pictures before our holiday trip next week. It is pity but I really can't make everything and I like to make things right. So little bit more waiting for you and me :-)

Today we arrived in south of Portugal, to the small city called Quarteira. It wasn't the best begging as we arrived at 8:00 local time in front of apartment and reception was closed. Title on the door indicates that it will be open from 9:00. Luckily after around 20 minutes older man came and open earlier as he know he should expect us.
Anyway we have to wait again until at least 11:00 o´clock for our room as they have to clean it up. Than we have got option to move to top floor apartment with nice view or other one on second floor. As I really likes view I went for first with possibility to switch to other as Viera doesn't like higher floors (in this case fourth).
After we had move in the apartment we find out that view was nice but furniture was in desolate state as well as beds. Very hard mattresses. Well I am not too much picky but for the money we pay I was expecting much much more. We complaint a little and we have got a lot of promises but no action. So we waiting for tomorrow when we should be able to switch to the other apartment, which we saw and it is in much better state with exception of the view :-))

After we have got some sleep afternoon, being awake from 01:45 at the morning we felt much better. And we went for a dinner at around 20:00. We found nice restaurant next to the port and fish market building. Service was great and food! I never eat better fish in my life. Well I didn't eat a lot of them. It was really great sitting on terrace and watching fisher mens leaving for fishing in a dark of the evening. We eat too much, portion for two people was like for four and we also pay a lot. Too much I think, but it was great and we have got our experience :-)
Tired we went to sleep on terrible beds on hard mattresses. I asleep in two minutes, I think.

I was quite surprise, I slept very good. Quite refreshed I went morning to shop to buy fresh baguettes. Whole morning I spent them walking across the small city taking few pictures of people and old building which isn't many here. Viera spent morning on the beach and we hope we can move to new apartment finally today after 15:00
We have plans to go to close bigger city Faro with bus after we arrange the move.

I feel much better today and seems that Viera as well. Morning next day I plan to go to the small fish port here and take some picture of returning fisher mens. After that we arranged renting of the car and have ideas about trip to inside of the country.
BTW: I am writing this notes from small stand on the beach with ADSL connection :-) I hope I can write more in next days as well.

We at the end get different apartment I am not sure if it is any better but Viera feels better and that is good. After that we take bus to the Faro, bigger city near by, the one which has airport and were we landed yesterday early morning. Bus was surprisingly OK. Nice cool air conditioned place and trip to longer than 30 minutes even with traffic jam at the busy crossing. As we get out in bus station we walked few street and got to the historical place. Dominant church with big bells was interesting. I walked up to the tower's terrace just next to the bells. Nice view from there and also nice church inside. We walked little there and found small place, which has a coffins in ground and altar made from humans skulls and bones. I hope shots will turn interesting.
We walk around historical part having some drinks and than returned for last bus at 20:00.

We eat grilled sardines on small restaurants were sympathic guy shows us how to eat them properly with bread. We also drunk Sagria, refreshing drink with red wine lemonade and floating peaces of apples and lemon. It was nice evening and with full stomach we walked down the beach to our place to get some sleep as we planed long trip for tomorrow. More to inside of the country.

I am actually writing this few days after it happens as days are so full at the evening I am so tired that I have no much of energy to go down and write. So what happened today.

We wake up really early to be able to catch fisherman's returning from the see. So being before 07:00 on the fishing port. Surprise was that you actually can't walk there. All port, which is rather small is surrounded by fens. Only entrance is through building which is kind of auction hall for selling fishes from boats.
We first walked around and saw people putting fishes to the cars and taking them to shops or mostly to the restaurants. Boats where coming one by one always, unloading fish and transferring them to auction building. I came to the entrance and wanted to take few shots after I did two owner came to me saying I can´t take pictures there. Viera was standing behind and when I was trying to come to the building other man at the entrance gesture that I can´t come inside either. Pity we went out and I did few shots mans loading small trucks with fish. Then Viera take her cigarette and I alone returned to entranced and somehow it happen I cross entrance and walk slowly with the bunch of the fishermen to the other side and find myself on the fish port. Just in a time new boat was approaching.
Unfortunately this one didn't bring any fish. Totally empty. I was wondering bit around port and than returned back to auction building. I did quite shots there and observer how handling of the fish is done. Fish were brought here from boats and than mixed with ice and placed in boxes with numbers placed on top. Than these boxes were placed on rubber transporter and moved inside of the hall. There like in theater buying man were standing each with small device in hands. As box with fish was moving they were biding for the boxes. When box reach end of rubber transporter it has his new owner. His name was put on box and than moved out of the building and loaded in truck.


I left the building and rejoined surprised Viera. Than we together walk to next building which was secondary marked for fish. Fishes there were clean cut and sold to private persons. We can buy fish there as well if we wish. Small building with stoned tables and people cleaning, cutting and selling fish. I did quite a shots there as well. There was a bit more light and rising Sun brought even more. Some people like me shooting there and they eve posed sometimes with fish. Especially one women in funny hat in shape of fish :-)

In a walk from port we passed place with weekly marked. They were just building up strands. We walk through and didn't find anything extra special.
It was about 9:00 when we were back in our apartment, which we changed day before. After having night there we realize that this one hasn't much advantages over the previous one and we just lost quite place and nice view :-(( Well never mind.
9:30 I pick up the car we rented from today for next three days. After small breakfast we went for our first trip by the car.
On our trip to Tavira we stop in small village named Estoi. Unfortunately we arrived there little to late for opening ours of castle there. We had a coffee (bika - small nice coffee you can get in any bar, pub here. Just ask for it in any place and you will get top quality short espresso.) and than walked around the castle and village. I find broken wall and wanted to enter the castle´s tower. I even walk to the beginning of rounded staircase, but than returned back as I wasn't sure if it is not going to broke down with me. It was in very bad state and I did´t feel really safe.
As I left broken wall I found my wife in discussion with nice old lady next to flower tree of some kind. I did few shots and joined then in hand-gesture language discussion. Lady would have around 70 years or something but she speaking French, Portuguese, Italian and I guess some kind of local dialects as well :-)

Tavira is mentioned in lonely planet as interesting place but we didn't find it any exceptional. Nice city but in lunch time in full sun we were rather tired and that could effect our views. We walk on both sided of the river and through small streets around.

On our way back this afternoon we stop in village named Olhao. This really surprised us with extremely small streets turning around in direction from city toward port. Interesting to walk there. In this afternoon we found four older man playing domino there. Of course while we were watching I made few shots. It was interesting to see gestures and mimics in their faces.
I like this place more than Tavira. We were hungry but for dinner it was still early (18:00) so we drew back to our place and after the shower we went at around 21:00 for dinner.
Viera had a nice fish Sea bass and I took light tuna salad. It was very very good and nicely filled us with a taste!
We walked a bit around the beach and returned back to get some sleep.

Today was a long long trip. We saw a lot of places and we drew few hundreds km as well. We first visited city bordering with Spain, city named Vila Real de Santo Antonio. It was still morning when we come there. (BTW: this car is crap can´t drive more than 100km otherwise rear axe will say bye to the rest of the vehicle or our brain jump out from vibration :-))))
Well lets come back to the small city. We found really shopping fever here. In one main shopping street it was really boiling and Viera joined the crowed :-) I was happy to leave soon and visit near by castle named Castro Marim. Nice fortress, looked like original even too much original ,looked like some kind of movies must be done there before. It was nicely in that kind of shape like one can image it used to be 400 years ago. Old things were wooden and used and rubbish on the ground. I did quite a lot shooting there. Then we went to Alcoutim. Road was bringing us through burned country. A lot of placed damaged by the resent forest fires. I was looking for safe place to stop on this narrow curly road for some time. When I finally found one I completely scared Viera, as she wasn't expecting me to break so suddenly and even wanted to stop in this dead places. I hope you will be able to see some of the shots which I did on the places. It is sad place. Yesterday I have read in some local paper published in English for tourists, that most common cause of this fires is cigarettes from cars!!!

Alcountil was in stage of complete rebuilding. A lot of road works was going on so we only take ice tea and moved on as Sun in lunch was really heavy. Maybe some other time we will visit this village which is above the river/border to Spain. One can see on other side of the river fortress.

At the begining of the afternoon we arrived to city named Mertola. Very nice small streets lead us to the castle, which tower was in reconstruction. Small streets were nice place for walking seeing local people living there under the castle in small houses. We wanted to get dinner here and we choose restaurant O Nautico mentioned in lonely planet. Unfortunately we have to wait until 19:30 to be open. Nice person offer us some local foot, Which turns to be extremely similar to meal we use to eat back in country of our original Slovak Republic, which was shock for him :-))) Anyway we had a nice chat with him and than head back to Quartiera. We went by small street and in night it was a kind of magic you can´t find in The Netherlands, it was total dark there only new moon and light from car. Nothing else. Than we reached highway and to our surprised it was paid. 3.30 euro to get us for last 100km home.

After yesterday we took this day light. First we went on beach to get some color, which we only got on some parts of our bodies while being on trips. Than Viera like to visit shopping center of Faro. This turn out to huge complex which we didn't expect. After that in the evening we drive to small village north of Faro named S. Bras de Alportel. Relaxed walking in small street of historical part of the city and drive back to our place. This was relaxing day and we really needed it.

We took our dinner in the same restaurant we learned to eat grilled sardines with bread. Unfortunately it was so good today. Nice person served us as the last time, but my Cod fish was really served in very oily sous. Maybe it should be like that but it wasn't really fit for my stomach :-)

We returned car and took bus to Loule when we went to market. It was like visiting normal market in Poland. Most things made for tourists, but nothing really local. We on other hand found local market with fruits and fish. We bought some fruits and some unknown to us combination of figs and amandel nuts, which turns out to be really delicious.
Afternoon on beach and evening dinner in same small restaurants we eaten few days before. Today we tried Salmon. I can tell you much better than I ever eat back in The Netherlands :-)

Our time here is closing down, tomorrow we leaving. Beach with low tide today and huge waves was really refreshing for me as I do not like very much just laying on beach. Small walk around old houses in our village. I guess tomorrow packing and than last swim in ocean.

Back home. I have brought some films and add the to those which I already had here waiting to be developed. It is quite amount around 30 rolls to be done. Well I will have some work.

After doing some cleanup, painting in house and some other house work I finally had a little time today and developed two Fuji Neopan 400 which I have shot in Portugal. They contains shots from fish market I visited Wednesday previous week.
By looking to wet negatives I can see that they nicely exposed. I will be not able to do any scans as we leaving tomorrow back to Slovakia and will stay week there.
Anyhow I am looking to be back here and start working on my material which I have quite a lot now! It is funny at the beginning of the year it felt like slow year comparing with 2003 and than just after my visit to Carolien Shroeder it started.