Pushpa & Pedro at Câmara de Lobos

Pushpa and Pedro live in Germany. Her roots are Indian, his are Portuguese, and they chose Madeira to get married. The week before, that plan nearly fell apart. There were strikes across the island, and the municipal office that handles weddings got caught up in them. Right up to the last days they didn’t know if the ceremony would happen. So we agreed to keep the shoot date open, in case everything had to move. Then the word came: the wedding was on, that same day. The council staff held the ceremony for them anyway.

The Session

The day was bright and a little too warm, which isn’t the usual Madeira weather. We met after the ceremony and started in the square at Câmara de Lobos, under the red umbrellas strung across the street.

From there I wanted height. There’s a set of steps that climbs above the village, and not everyone says yes to that. Pushpa and Pedro did.

We went all the way up until the whole of Câmara de Lobos sat below us. The harbour, the painted boats, the houses stacked up the hill.

They followed wherever I pointed. Some of the spots we reached are not easy to get to, odd corners and angles most people walking through the village never see.

Câmara de Lobos for Couples

Câmara de Lobos is a working fishing village ten minutes west of Funchal. Colourful boats in the harbour, narrow streets, old men mending nets on the front. Churchill painted here. It feels more lived-in than the city center.

For couples photography in Madeira: the village itself, close and textured at street level, and the height above it, where the whole place opens out behind you.