Many people ask me if I took this photograph with a drone—but I didn’t. It was taken from the top of a cliff in Nazaré, Portugal, looking straight down.
As I climbed higher, I saw completely new things—things from a different perspective. As in life, sometimes we cannot see certain things clearly until we rise to higher and broader perspectives. In this image, for example, I observed the peacefulness of an empty beach, waves rolling gently, and an old man walking in silence—pensive, lost in thought—as he wandered along the deserted shore.
But here’s the interesting part. From that high vantage point, I could observe many things happening at the same time. Just meters away from this tranquil scene, 10-meter-high waves were crashing violently against the rocks—the famous Nazaré Giant Waves. Two entirely different moods, unfolding simultaneously. A reminder that what we see depends on where we focus our attention.
From that same viewpoint, I could focus on many other things—each one distinct, unfolding in its own way, part of a different reality.
In fact, all the photos in this series were taken from the exact same spot, without moving even a meter. The only difference? Where I pointed my camera.
This is an exercise I often practice in my photography. I observe without physically moving, paying attention to the different moments and stories happening around me. I try to enter a fully present state—to simply see, without judgment, and attempt to understand the world unfolding before me. And in doing so, I always see so much more—so many details that would otherwise go unnoticed. Isn’t this true in life as well?
At any given moment, there is so much happening around us. And yet, we must make a choice: What do we focus on? What’s the story that resonates with us? What is the subtle narrative that we want to capture, to express, to make meaningful? By centering our attention and being fully present, we uncover what truly matters to us—what needs to be shared. In the process, we also learn about ourselves. And, interestingly enough, we often end up seeing exactly what we were looking for all along.
What have you discovered lately by becoming fully present—either in your surroundings or within yourself?
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