Portugal on 35mm Film:
On the 12/03/22 I set off with the Royal Marine Surf team on a oversea's surf training camp for a week. I use the phrase "training camp" loosely as it was essentially a surf bum's pilgrimage to Ericeira, Portugal.
Despite having with me a fantastic DSLR camera and large telephoto lens I took it upon myself to shoot primarily on 35mm. Not just any point shoot however but my late Grandfather's Pentax MX. The film I used was Kodak Gold 200, Portra 400 and Illford XP2 400.
The week prior to us leaving there was a lot of nervous anticipation among the team due to the fact the the forecasted swell was going to be massive with pulses at 11ft @ 17 seconds on the charts. We planned to head south to find shelter and any of the elusive "wrap arounds" on offer.
We surfed two spots, Estoril and Carcavelos. A head high to double point break that was slow and fat I found it unappealing but still snagged a handful of waves. The latter was a fast, heavy, hollow sand bottom beach break. It was here I took an abslotue flogging, landing face first into the sand on every wave I took off on. But I did mange to hunt a small inside right hander where I completed an average top turn and a few pumps along the face. However it was an absolute treat to watch the locals rip the ass out of the place. I saw a dozen successful tubes and concluded they are a different breed but that's what happens when you live in a spot with that type of wave.
A lot of our time was spent in search of quality Cafe's, coffees and a certain pastry called 'Pasteis de Nata'. A delicious custard filled tart, highly sort after by one particular member of our group...
To tell the truth a lot of our time was spent searching for waves similar to what we were used to surfing in the UK, as if we could some how replicate our experiences surfing at home. We scouted one location that had the potential to offer up a wave similar to a secluded spot in North Devon but due to hazardous rocks and exposed reef it was a no go. We made due with what was on offer but the exploration was an excuse to take in the local area and see parts we might of otherwise miss.
Some Illford black and white shots. I purposely slowed my shutter speed to 1/15th/ and 1/30th of a second to achieve a speed blur effect.
On the long drives there were some fantastic vistas flying past my window in the back seat, little snippets of hidden gems and reeling waves inaccessible from the road due to steep cliffs. There is so much potential where we were and we barely even scratched the surface.
I hope to return soon...
