Madeira has some of the the biggest waves in Europe and popular for surfers. The power of these waves is just insane. The waves around the island flow onto the coastline roads, popular for tourists and photographers who come to stand in the way of the waves or watch them launch onto the roads and over passing cars. This image was captured on my drone, I wanted to get a birds eye view of the colouration and formation of the water as the waves crashed over.
The Hawaii of Europe, Madeira, located off Africa's Northwest Coast. A beautiful island with grassy mountains, waterfalls, fog, tropical flowers and beautiful shorelines. The rugged volcanic landscape really stands out against the waves crashing in. Madeira is the main island of the Madeira archipelago, an autonomous region of Portugal. I set my drone off to capture an ariel image that portrayed how beautiful this island really is.
Madeira has some pretty amazing landscape. Just like the Fanal Forest. High in the mountains, this forest is home to ancient laurel trees. There’s such an eerie vibe when the fog drowns the landscape. You can hike for hours on many routes around this massive forest. Located between the Seixal and Ribeira da Janela mountains, it is one of the few remaining laurel forests in the world. I came here twice on our recent trip and had a different experience each time. It is truly amazing.
Madeiras island, slowly turning into darkness with the glow of the sunset dipping below the volcanic landscape. Porto Moniz situated in the northwest of the island has natural pools formed by the volcanic rock and is a very picturesque town on the island with lots of palm trees and flowers. I took this photo on my drone for an ariel image of the town as the sun set. I was pleased with the colours and the lights in the town coming on as the night sets in.
Madeira is full of Levada trails and the 25 Fontes hike is one of the most popular. The Risco waterfall is surrounded by mountains and rainforest. The hikes are very steep and can be dangerous with no hand rails, but the rewards at the end are spectacular. I set my drone up , right above the waterfall to create this birds eye view image of the waterfall from the top and the lagoon down at the bottom.
Deep in Madeira’s mountains lay some of the most beautiful roads I’ve ever traveled on. The scenery is stunning, complete with cloud inversions and masses of greenery. The first time we drove down this road I was in absolute awe as you wind in and out of the clouds. This was a must stop point, for this exact shot.
Sexial beach in Madeira is a beautiful black sand beach contrasting with the green mountains and crystal-clear waters, met by waterfalls running down the mountainsides. This beach felt like paradise. Madeira is always referred to as the Hawaii of Europe and it totally is. I took this long exposure shot sat on the beach while looking at the surrounding mountains and waves lapping on the shore.
The Fanal Forest in Madeira from above. This Laurel UNESCO forest is famous for the clouds amongst the ancient trees, high in the mountains. I got this image with my drone as I saw a wave of cloud coming in. It can be so sunny here and in a few seconds, caped in cloud and cold. The ever changing climate is what makes this place unique. One of my highlights from the trip to Madeira.
Pico do Arieiro is one of the most popular spots for watching the light rise about the rugged peaks. Hiking to this point in the pitch black can be terrifying with vertical drops on either side of a very thin path, yet it is extremely rewarding. I managed to find a spot I was happy with, as I wanted the morning glow to highlight the mountains, yet have a good view of the sun itself. Walking on the way back over the way I had come in the dark was quite shocking when seeing how daunting it looks in the daylight.
Madeira island is classed as Portugal but is quite close to Africa. Due to location the island gets a lot of heat and is lined with flora and subtropical rainforest. The peaks stand out above the crystal clear waters surrounding the jagged landscape. You can walk along the old roads on the edge of the mountain sides that are no longer drivable due to fallen rock, so most of the roads go through the mountains, but you can get great views like this image I captured.
Off Madeiras shorelines are seastacks known as IIlheus da Ribeira da Janela. Here you can really sense the power off the ocean waves as they crash inwards. Plenty of stones line the beach and many people come and sit here to eat h the sunrise or the sunset. I came here for sunset and wanted a long exposure shot due to the ferocity of the waves. I also managed to capture the moon to the far right. The sky was made up of beautiful pastel tones.
In Madeira, there's a place popular with tourists called Ponta do Sol. Up here you’re in the centre of a cloud inversion that rises from the crater below caused by old volcanoes on the island. This shot was taken from the summit of the viewpoint overlooking the hazy mountains. It looks like the mountains just go on and on. I captured this once there was a break in the cloud inversion that engulfed the platform.
This UNESCO world heritage site holds one of the last Laurel forests in the world. The cloud forest is a special place to take a hike. This amazing atmosphere amongst the twisted branches in the Fanal Forest high up in the mountains on Madeira island is densely coated in fog a lot of the time however the weather changes constantly which makes it ever more exciting. I sat in the midst of the clouds and waited for the exact moment to get the tree visible enough et still engulfed in clouds.