Street Photography in Porto

Ribeira is the postcard: narrow, colorful houses leaning on each other along the Douro, with cafe tables along the quay. Roman Fox starts his Porto plan here at sunrise, and that is the time I'd pick too, before the restaurants set up and the tour boats fill. Walk the quay, then go one or two streets back into the lanes, where he found the best light of the day. A good frame is a figure on a stairway between houses with a strip of river behind. By midday the quay is packed with visitors. Mind the edge of the quay, which has no railing in places.

The Ponte Luis I is a two level iron bridge finished in 1886. The upper deck carries the metro and people on foot, the lower deck carries cars and people along the river. Roman Fox recommends the top deck at golden hour and again at sunset. The Wandering Lens notes long exposures with the metro trains crossing. For street work, use the walkway as a stage: silhouettes against the sky, people leaning on the railing, a train sliding past behind them. A 24 to 70mm zoom is useful here. The upper deck is high and windy, and trains pass close, so keep to the walkway.

Sao Bento is a working train station with an entrance hall covered in blue and white tiles showing scenes from Portuguese history. It is also a tourist stop, so you will have people in every frame. The Wandering Lens suggests using that: work the crowd with shadows and long exposures of travelers moving past the walls. I'd come early in the morning, when commuters outnumber visitors. Stand with the tiles as a backdrop and wait for one person to cross a clean patch of wall. Commuters are on their way to work, so keep out of the flow toward the platforms.

Bolhao is the historic city market, reopened after a long restoration. Stalls sell fish, fruit, flowers and food on two levels around an open courtyard. The Wandering Lens liked the interior from the ground floor and from the balconies, which let you look down on stalls and shoppers. Morning is when vendors are setting out produce and locals shop. A balcony frame, with a vendor and a customer framed by crates of fruit below, works well. Security told the Wandering Lens photographer to put a tripod away, as tripods are not allowed inside. Buy something and ask before a close portrait of a vendor.

Santa Catarina is Porto's main shopping street, pedestrian for most of its length and busy all day. At the corner with Rua de Fernandes Tomas stands the Capela das Almas, covered in blue and white azulejo panels. The tiles make a patterned wall behind people walking past, and that is the picture: a single figure crossing the blue. Late afternoon light is good here. The corner gets crowded with people photographing the chapel, so use them as subjects too. The street is also a good place to practice candid work in a crowd, since people are busy shopping.

Miragaia is the old riverside quarter just west of Ribeira, and it is much quieter. Washing hangs on the balconies and stairways climb up from the river. It is one of the places recommended for fewer crowds than the center. I'd come in the afternoon, when the sun falls along the lanes toward the river. Look for residents on doorsteps and cats in doorways. Because it is residential, keep it low key and make the place the subject. Ask before a portrait, and do not shoot into open doors or windows.

Cross the river to Vila Nova de Gaia for the view back at Ribeira. The quay has rabelo boats, the old port wine barges, moored in front of the port cellars. The Wandering Lens calls it a favorite stroll at any time of day. Above the bridge on this side is the Serra do Pilar monastery viewpoint, a classic sunset spot that gets very crowded. Arrive early or shoot the crowd itself: rows of people watching the sun set over the city. The Wandering Lens noted that some building lights switch off at midnight, so do not leave the night shot too late.

Foz is where the Douro reaches the Atlantic, about 6 kilometers from the center. Roman Fox walked there along the river and found good photos on the way. At the end is a long pier with a lighthouse, where waves break over the walls and people watch the spray. That spray against a figure is the picture. Wind and low sun in the late afternoon help. The breakwater and pier can be dangerous in heavy seas, and Roman Fox warns about the waves, so stay off wet walls when the sea is up.