Since our Casa Rural website went live it has featured photographs from our iPhone camera.

They’ve been good. Sometimes even great. But a comment we have heard repeatedly from guests was that Casa de Olivos holiday apartments are so much more than the photos. 

A great compliment indeed, although one that suggested to us that there was room for improvement. 

Since we’re constantly enhancing the apartments and gardens, it is hard to know when to call in the pro’s. But it was late spring, the new hammock had just arrived, and we were as ready as we’d ever be. Time to bite the bullet, or click the shutter.

True to our commitment to support local partners, we contacted Abel Sogues in Traiguera. We’d met him covering many local events, and we had looked at the lovely portraits in his studio window in town. He clearly has a great eye. His work exudes a photographer who knows how to frame subjects, use light effectively, and capture intimate moments with ease. We had our photographer.

After a quick tour of Casa de Olivos, Abel understood our brief and a date was set for the photoshoot. As ever, when conditions are critical to the finished result, the weather gods had their fun with us. Unseasonably strong winds and rain battered us in the days leading up to the shoot. Thankfully, on the day, the clouds finally parted and gave us the bright blue skies and warm sunlight that we are used to. We worked furiously to tidy up the gardens ready for the outdoor shots while Abel clicked away in the apartments.

The anticipation while we waited for the photographs to come back was almost unbearable! It reminded me of waiting for a 35mm roll of film to be processed and come back as prints. I’m showing my age! I remember hastily opening every wallet of photos and pouring over them to see what my camera had captured. Although the technology has changed completely these days, the excitement remains the same.

Inviting Abel to collaborate with us has been so worthwhile. Living and working here every day, we tend to come back to the same vistas and  angles for our photos. With a fresh eye, Abel has found so many new perspectives on what is so familiar to us. His photographs have presented the Casa de Olivos apartments, gardens and all the finishing touches to us afresh.

It’s no mean feat to surprise us with images of a place we know so intimately. But so many of the little details that guests have commented on so favourably now were picked out for us too. The views from The Perch, and of course the new hammock, captured with an honesty and flair that we could never achieve, and it is as if we are seeing them for the first time.

We really think these photos do justice to the real thing. Keep checking our website while we update it with the new photos, and follow us on Instagram to see what we’re up to. Of course, there’s only one way for you to find out. Book now to experience Casa de Olivos for yourself. Sustainable luxury that doesn’t cost the earth.

Leave your footprints by the pool, not on the planet.

Claire & Ed