"The Essence of Portugal" is a fine art series of color digital composite photographs blending still life and travel imagery. Inspired by a recent trip to Portugal, the work explores beauty, impermanence, and the fluid nature of memory. The images juxtapose the deliberate, precise nature of still life with photographs that capture my imprecise, elusive memories of Portugal. Influenced by the Dutch Masters, the images evoke a temporal blend of past and present, real and remembered, reflecting how beauty, though sometimes brief, can leave a lasting imprint.