Postcard from Lisbon

Oh salty sea, how much of your salt is tears from Portugal? — Fernando Pessoa

I have thick brown hair and a Portuguese last name that I cannot pronounce. Culturally, I’m as Scandinavian as smoked herring, but ethnically, there is not much of a difference between the local fishermen in Lisbon and me. As we walk through the winding streets of Alfama and Barrio Alto, I’ll casually greet locals with a “Bom dia,” or good morning, and whenever we pass by a bakery, I’ll ask for “dois Pastéis de Nata”. While I blend in, I cannot help but wonder that I am nothing more than a stranger with Portuguese blood running through my veins. No different than the humble feeling of being invited into someone’s home and treated like another family member. The city is foreign, yet everything feels so familiar.

All images were made with a Fuji X-Pro2 camera, with either an adapted Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4, a native 18mm f/2, and/or a 56mm f/1.2 lens. Brief edits were made using homemade presets in Lightroom.