Agrada Beach Sunset

As part of our 2025 Portuguese adventures, Anastasia Arteyeva and I visited Agrada Beach at sunset. This is a large beach with small entrance and surrounded by cliffs with sea stack features and large boulders. And also very popular. We arrived about 2 hours before sunset and shot until there was no light left. One side of the beach, semi permanent sets are used to shoot wedding and engagement pictures. On the more rugged / rocky northern end there were a few groups of photographers and models shooting. The tide was coming in and the surf was very powerful with strong undertow and occasional sneaker waves. The surf was so powerful coming in and out it knocked us both down several times. It was in this challenging environment that Anastasia performed her magic shooting in the powerful surf, climbing up boulders...generally going places other models did not tread. She was also the only model shooting nudes on the beach. She had an admiring audience of other models and photographers astonished at her creativity and posing. And the combined dramatic landscape,

beautiful gold / lavender / red fading light, Anastasia's bold posing challenging the environment and my shooting resulted in THE BEST PHOTOSHOOT OF MY 30 YEARS IN PHOTOGRAPHY. For additional photos from this shoot, check out the Portugal 2025, Agrada Beach Gallery in the main galleries in the website.

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