Lisbon, Portugal
There were many clouds at sunrise but it was a dream to arrive by sea to Lisbon, the famous capital of Portugal like an ancient navigator. Like Vasco de Gama on the way back from far Asia, this dream came true. From the deck of the National Geographic Endeavour, I saw the first lights of the city turning off at the same time that the sun changed from red to yellow, to white. I wasn’t alone, and all of the guests on board knew about this magical landing today and they woke up early just to get this emotion. It was a windy morning and the big city (of three million inhabitants) was still sleeping and it looked like we were the only ones that enjoyed this fantastic moment.
Some small fishing boats were on the bay made by the estuary of the Tejo River. The National Geographic Endeavour received the pilot just down from the big bridge that has the same shape of the Golden Gate in San Francisco. A tug boat pulled a strong line to help our ship during docking. A few minutes later, and we were on the land again for discovering a new culture and lifestyle.
My group was a small one that decided to discover the city on foot. It rained a bit and the low clouds made it all seem unreal. Nothing is as nice as walking on unfamiliar streets, slowly trying to discern what would make good images. Sorry, I forgot to tell that I'm Massimo, a photographer from National Geographic, and most of the new friends that are walking with me are seriously in love of photography. We visit Lisbon together in a soft challenge to get the best image, so that she can give us, when back on board, the feeling of the place we just visited. It was a slow walk, watching in all directions. Monuments, palaces, human activity, everything that captured our interest as photographers. It's a free game. "Do what you like, what you feel," I said to everyone. No rules, just discover Lisbon. No pressure, I was there for them and I shot by my own. A sort of living school of photography, on location. The traffic was running now like any other big city but it didn’t distract us. We got an old tram to climb up on top of the hill of Lisbon. Staying on board a tram is a live, lovely experience. She smiled at every passenger that tried to enter this crowded coach. I and some others could stay there for hours to shoot the facial expression of each passenger. But it was time to get out and proceed on foot. Was it an exercise walk or not?
But I always say that photography is a journey done on foot. That's the best way to look, find and shoot a nice moment of life. If you’re too fast, or you are moving by car, you cannot get the right feeling with the place and the right picture. For shooting a nice photograph, you need to be in the right place at the right moment and, because it's a picture, with the right light. Moving on foot is the right way to capture the feeling of the place and stay in contact with the locals. Lisbon is nothing without her nice people. I'm never tired of watching the people around me, and that's what I want to transmit to my "students".
At the end of the tour, we were all together at a local restaurant where many Portuguese go for lunch. It was the most recent view of Lisbon's life that I had in mind when I jumped on the ramp up to the National Geographic Endeavour. It has been an exciting day and I've never seen so much of a big city in one day, that's for sure, but I have many memories. I am sure that the guests will share with me their pictures that would give to me more memories so I can keep dreaming of the day when I'm back again to Lisbon... if possible by sea again, as a navigator.
