A week of unrelenting heat and intense light did not lend itself to photography. Thankfully the week ended with the start of our holiday in Albufeira in the Algarve district of Portugal.

The ocean is calmer here - perhaps because it approaches from the south and not the west. While I can't swim well enough to enjoy the sea itself, it is a setting that inspires photography. Particularly late in the day as the crowds thin and the light softens.

In color, this image is a vibrant representation of the blue hour - the time between sunset and nightfall. The goal of post-processing is to represent how a moment feels. In this case, the moment was about the looming darkness. Expressing it in black and white allows the heaviness of the sky and the foreground shadows to set the mood and the moment.

Yet it is not a threat of darkness but the promise of quiet. The sea is relatively calm, and the seagull is peacefully in light, doing what they always do, chasing the ripples.

f7.1 1/500 sec ISO 200 June 26, 2022