PROOF WE'RE NOT AS CRAZY AS YOU MIGHT THINK!
I suspect quite a few of you scratched your heads over why Ann and I kept returning to the Fanal Forest over and over again. Well, a you-tube video came across our NewsApp feed about a week ago that proved that Ann and I are not crazy . . . or maybe better put, not that unusual for photographers. The video demonstrates why, when a photographer goes to Madeira, they really should check out the Fanal Forest. And in the case of the photographer in the video, it was pretty much the only place he visited during the 8 days he was there.
If you have 20 minutes, check out this video (captioned) to see why we went there and to see in video form, what I tried to describe in our several blog posts:
Now if you’re wondering whether his experience was anything like ours, well I can tell you it was (except he was a bit more dedicated about tromping out in the pouring rain). How do I know that? Well, when I first started watching the video I asked Ann, “Hey, do you remember this guy from our trip?” Ann said she wasn’t sure, but I thought we had. The instant his wife appeared in the video it was confirmed. We had. To us, they were known as “the couple at the table.” During several of our stops there we saw them, at the table in the video, doing image downloading (I thought blogging), and then heading out to photograph. On a later occasion, I remember him in his long yellow rain poncho (made me think such a long poncho was a good idea). In other words, our trips overlapped. (From the date and number of days there he mentioned in the video, I suspect that he was there from November 22 - 30. We left the 26th.)
There’s very little he said I would disagree with. Regardless of the conditions, the Fanal Forest is stunningly beautiful.
Even in the bright sunlight, it’s a joy to walk through.
And when the fog arrives, something magical happens.
And watching his video made me think of the advantages of photographing quickly and without a tripod - a very different way than Ann and I work. His images are beautiful and it’s obvious that each is made with intention and precision (even though they’re hand held). And like us he kept returning to the Fanal Forest day after day, though it seems he stayed longer each day than we did.
Now, you might be thinking that, regardless of how beautiful the Fanal Forest is, the video is not proof that we are not nuts, but is simply proof that the video maker/photographer is also nuts. Well, as logical as that argument may be, we have other proof of our sanity (though I can’t speak to his if your suspicions are correct about returning again and again to the Fanal Forest).
After our return from Madeira, we found out that as part of obtaining our Portuguese Class “C” driver’s license we had to have a psychological examination. Apparently Portugal wants to keep all of its crazy drivers driving vehicles less than 3,500 kg, though we’re not sure the government has been totally successful in that regard given how crazy the semi-truck drivers can be (maybe they only want sane drivers for vehicles between 3,500 - 7,500 kg). The bimobil is a 7,000 kg rated vehicle, thus the need for a class “C” instead of the usual class “B” license. Rest assured, both Ann and I have been certified to be psychologically fit to drive a vehicle weighing under 7,500 kg.
So we’re not totally crazy - photographically or otherwise!
Bimobil update: the folks at bimobil started building the shell of the living cabin on December 13. Apparently, the schedule has them starting work on the interior a few days before Christmas, and will resume in the new year after their holiday break!