About Me

About Grays.Life

I'm James — a photographer, runner, and technologist living in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. Grays.Life is where I write about the things I actually do. Like long runs through the Óbidos wine country, thinking too much about camera gear, baking sourdough that took about 5-years to get right, and the occasional deep dive into web technology.

The site started as a personal blog and has grown into something I genuinely enjoy building. Most of what I write comes from real use. I won't review a running shoe until I've run for miles in them, and I won't write about a piece of camera kit I haven't actually shot with. If something doesn't earn its place in my bag, it doesn't end up on the page.

Running

I run year-round on the roads and trails of the west coast of Portugal. I've completed the Lisbon Marathon, run the Sanguinhal Wine Trail, and logged thousands of kilometres in everything from racing flats to cushioned trainers. The heat here is unforgiving. In summer running starts at 6am or not at all. Over the years I've developed strong opinions about shoes, heart rate monitors, and recovery, which is where most of my gear writing comes from.

Photography

I shoot with a Sony A7 paired with Zeiss Loxia lenses, a combo I switched to after years with Fuji and haven't looked back. My photography spans landscapes, street, and the occasional slice of Portuguese rural life. I usually process in Capture One, but I have been working in Pixlemator Pro lately, as well as Luminar Neo. I write practical how-to guides when I find a technique worth sharing.

Technology

By background I'm a technologist. This site itself runs on a custom CMS I built on Cloudflare Workers, D1, and Remix. Partly because I wanted full control over performance, and partly because building it was interesting. I write occasionally about web development, tools I use, and the infrastructure behind the site.

Food & Fermentation

I bake sourdough every week, and have been experimenting with fermented foods and drinks with beet kvass a current favourite, particularly around long training weeks. I find it an excellent energy boost! Portugal has excellent ingredients and I try to make use of them.

Get in touch

If you have a question about anything on the site, want to collaborate, or just want to talk cameras or running shoes, use the contact page. I read everything.