As someone who makes videos for YouTube, I, like many others, have been inspired by a photographer/videographer named Peter Mckinnon. I've been watching his work for years. But, one video of his really impacted me, primarily because of the driving force behind his story–to take a photo. That was a strong enough motivator for him to partake in an adventure, even when the end result (getting that photo) was not guaranteed. I thought it was such a fascinating concept.
As much as I enjoy taking photos, I've never thought of photography as a spark for an adventure like the Bucket Shot was for Peter Mckinnon. That is until I found myself in Sintra, Portugal.
The Airbnb Experience
I've documented my Airbnb Experience tour in greater detail in a previous video. However, for this article, I want to highlight an element I didn't discuss. This aspect affects every curated tour ever created, which is the amount of time a tour group can spend at one location. My traveling style is that of spending hours at a single place if I'm enjoying its vibes. I really love not being told by somebody that it's time to leave when I don't want to leave. When it comes to partaking in that tour structure, the one I went on in Sintra was great overall. Top-notch, except when the "timeframe" issue crept up at a place called Cabo Da Roca, which had this incredible lighthouse. And while I was there, I felt like there was more to that location, another layer that, to find it, needed a closer inspection.
Such layer(s) are often ones that tour guides don't bother telling you about because what's the point? There isn't enough time for you to enjoy those nuances of the environment, those little things that can add up to a killer photo from a photographer's standpoint. Ultimately, we visited that location for about 30 minutes, and we were gone, on to the next stop.
But by that point, the seed of an idea was planted and began to take root. And like Peter Mckinnon’s Bucket Shot, I had no idea whether this idea– propelled by photography, which was a first for me–was going to pan out the way I had envisioned. So I let it sit for a few days.
The Second Take
The situation was as follows: I was back in the heart of Lisbon. It is a city that is amazing and had so many more areas within walking distance of my Airbnb to be explored. So the question I kept asking myself was, do I want to use up an entire day to go back to Cabo De Roca—a place I had already visited—to take a photo? A photo in which its composition was visualized from a perspective I didn't get to see. Nor was I even sure if I could even place myself in the proper position for that composition. So in my mind, the whole notion felt like a rough sketch in which I strongly felt wasn't going to materialize the way I'd hoped it would.
So I sat down at my favorite craft beer spot in Lisbon, turned the idea over a few times in my mind, and settled on... Fuck it. Let's do it.
For this mission, I wasn't going to have a guide or driver telling me that it was time to go, so the first step was to figure out the logistics of getting to Cabo Da Roca. And after a few minutes of research, there was a direct train route to Sintra. Once there, I would jump on a bus where its final stop was Cabo Da Roca. Simple enough, and so there I went.
Once I arrived at the Sintra station, I made my way to the bus stop, where I was greeted by a crowd of people waiting for the same bus. It felt like every traveler in Lisbon was like, yeah, let's go to Cabo Da Roca today. So, needless to say, it was packed. And after a while, you could just smell everyone's body odor intermingling and hotboxing the whole thing. Combine that with a bit of motion sickness from all the twists and turns of the road, and it was a very un-enjoyable ride. It's comical how bad that ride was.
But eventually, I got there. Maybe not in the happiest of terms, but I got there. I was still questioning this little photo adventure, but the fresh air, the beautiful scenery, and the weather got me back in the game. And so I was off to find this location that I had envisioned. After lingering in the tourist area, I noticed a faint outline of a trail up the road that seemed to cut into the hills.
So I made my way there, and before long, I'm weaving my way down the coastline where the light tower gets smaller and smaller behind me. Everywhere you look is picture-worthy at this point, but it just wasn't IT. So I kept going farther and farther until, at one point, I was about to call it quits. I had taken so many photos during this little hike that I said to myself, one of them has to be good enough, right? But just as that thought crossed my mind, I saw the trail incline and veer off to the left and decided to make that the final stop. And once I got there, THAT was it. THAT was the spot. Everything I had envisioned seemed to materialize the very second I got to the top of that hill.
At first, I was stunned at the beauty before me, but then I put down my pack, took out my camera, locked in the settings, positioned the subject, and took the shot...
What started out as a rough draft of an idea resulted in not only my favorite photo during this campaign in Europe but a fascinating experience in the act of chasing that one photo. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but what adventure is? You gotta take the good with the bad and decide whether it was worth it. For me, it definitely was and got me thinking in a way I've always applied to just travel, which is: what's next? How can I make my next trip bigger and better? I believe infusing that ideology with photography will lead to killer photos, bigger adventures, and more stories to share. Episode 2 of The Shot is currently being drafted, and I hope you tag along for the ride. How's it going to turn out? Stay tuned.
And always, work hard, invest in yourself, and travel the world.
For all my photographers, join me as I capture My Best Photo In Europe! I describe my mission in Portugal that took me from Lisbon to Sintra. Additionally, I cover topics that you should definitely know about when considering a traditional tour vs. venturing out on your own to visit Sintra. It's a must-visit town, but the method in which you get there makes a HUGE difference. Sit back, relax, and enjoy episode one of THE SHOT!