Photo of the Month - April 2025 | Leonardo Graboski Veiga

Hello! In this edition’s Photo of the Month, I bring some photos of Matinhos city - one of the most frequented coastal cities in the state of Paraná.

In total, three beaches were the stage of the following photos: Praia Mansa e Praia Brava in the balneary of Caiobá, and Praia Central de Matinhos. Besides, there are photos where the Praia Central de Guaratuba can be seen in the horizon, as it is on the opposite side of Praia Mansa after a bay.

I leveraged this trip to test some of my new K&F Concept filters, being them the UV, CPL, and variable ND2-32. Without a tripod, I couldn’t get much benefit out of the neutral density (ND) filter, but I could still play a bit with it.

I also exercised in practice the use of the 18-55mm and 50-200mm lenses, getting an interesting notion of distance and aperture angle.

Praia Brava de Caiobá

Straight on arrival, I tested taking some shots from the apartment’s balcony:

And could even capture a surfer from afar:

I got out with the 50-200mm lens and the ND variable filter playing taking random pictures:

Found some apparently inexperienced fisherman on the way…

…and others a bit more seasoned:

Visited the new pier on Praia Brava…

…and the river that flows into it:

The next picture’s credit goes to Nat, who captured the adventurous moment:

Next, some photos of Praia Brava with the famous Morro do Boi as background:

And various other photos taken at the Morro do Boi’s base:

I liked this one, with all it’s moss:

I found another fisherman, this time daring at the rocks’ edge:

And took the opportunity to play a bit with some conceptual photos of the rocks:

And only due to it I noticed that the black spots are mussels. Tip: to see closer, open the photo in a new tab:

And I also took a picture of the boardwalk, which was calm as everyone was enjoying on the sand:

On another day, I went out to capture the sunset in Praia Mansa (photos in the next session) and after that I went to Praia Brava on the way home.

With a low tide, it was possible to have fun trying to hunt down some water mirrors. The next photo was also taken by Nat, credits to her:

The cloudy sky on the background also had its own charm:

I found a couple of quero-quero on the way:

At this time of day, surfers like to ride.

As the light of day was almost over, I had to use a high ISO sensibility, and it added a lot of grain. In the next photo, instead of trying to reduce it with post-processing, I actually raised it to give this photo an older, kind of different vibe:

Next is one of my favorites of Praia Brava’s sky on the sunset, where I could grab the crimson lights on the sky and the water reflection:

At night, the beach also has its charm…

…with the posts that light the shore forming a nice pattern.

Photos in the direction of Praia Central, to the north…

…and Praia Mansa, to the south:

And to wrap up the Praia Brava session, the night movement of people walking lazily on the boardwalk:

Praia Mansa de Caiobá

All of this section’s photos were taken in an afternoon, right before the last photos in the previous section:

An invitation to enter the bay water for a calm bath:

A tiny waterfall made of some stairs done as a water drain:

A quick peek at the bay from behind the vegetation:

Pra quê mais? (“More, what for?” in a free translation)

View of the bay with the Praia de Guaratuba on the background, photo taken from the Praia do Belo:

And another one pointing towards the bay and Guaratuba, taken from the Prainha de Caiobá:

I also took some “documentary” photos, registering the people still enjoying the end of the day.

Due to it being a beach with no waves, people leverage it to perform recreative activities such as stand-up paddle, kaiak, jet ski, or just enjoy the natural pool:

And to wrap this section, a photo of the alley that connects Praia Brava and Praia Mansa, with a highlight to the beautiful blue Beetle and an easter egg only for those who know:

Praia Central de Matinhos

This post’s last section has a bit of the urban environment, because Matinhos’ downtown has a bit of life that is not found in the touristic destination of Caiobá.

We begin with one of the main commerce streets:

A seller of hammocks:

A charming motorcycle:

There are also surfers in the Pico de Matinhos. Well, in this case, I only photographed one of them:

And on the beach there are several canoes parked, probably given that the municipality’s fish market (Mercado Municipal de Pescados) is located there.