Santorini has many great locations to take photos, and many great locations to take photos of. Oia is one of those locations that is a great subject to photograph.
So what is the best view of Oia? In my opinion this view from the top of the caldera is the best view of Oia, showing the small town perched on the end of the caldera. This is one of my favourite pictures of Santorini.
This is one of the reasons I love taking pictures of the Greek Islands – some of them are small enough that you can photograph a winderful scene and then walk to it!
Why do I like this photo so much?
It is the flat blue water that makes the image for me. The reflections of the white buildings of Oia shimmering off the flat blue sea. And with such a clear blue sky the sea has that lovely deep blue colour symbolic of Greece.
The different textures in the water make this image so appealing to me – I find the scene so wonderfully relaxing. I can imagine being sat on a balcony on top of the Santorini caldera with a cold beer looking out on this scene. And that for me is what travel photography is all about – creating images that make you want to be there.
How did I decide on this composition?
I was trying to get somewhere else to take a photo, but I kept looking over towards Oia, constantly watching the sea as it changed over the course of the morning. I had to stop as the sea had reached this wonderful flat state.
I knew I wanted some different photos in my set of images of Santorini. It is not just about the sunrise and sunset on Santorini – there is much more in-between.
So this was not an intentional photo, I just had to stop to take it.
It was an easy capture – pretty much what you see is what I was looking at and exactly what I wanted to capture. Sometimes I can spend a long time on a composition, and sometimes it is a pretty instant thing, like with this image.
Sometimes we all need to remember that photography is about taking photos, not a technical exercise.
Where was the photo taken?
The GPS co-ordinates were not recorded on my Canon 6D but I know where the photo was taken by back tracking the day’s activities. Here is the location cunningly marked on the screenshot from the Map Module of Lightroom.
In the background you can see the island of Sikinos. When I return to Santorini one thing I want to do is charter a boat and have a look at some of these tiny uninhabited islands from which there shold be some great views looking back to Santorini.
What time of day was the photo taken?
9:45am. About 5 ½ hours after I got up. And I was on the move up the caldera to find a location for the next morning. Before I go back for a quick breakfast that is. I was fuelled on snacks and not enough fluid – a point for another time!
What photography gear did I use to get the shot
- Canon 6D
- Canon 24 – 105mm F4 L Lens (focal length used 17mm)
- Manfrotto 190 Go tripod with geared head
- Loupe Viewer
- No hat – it was long after sunrise
- Oakley sunglasses
- Red shoes (feet dreading the day ahead)
- Not enough snacks or water
I used the Canon 24 – 105mm lens as I was walking from one location to another. This lens as such a great focal length which is great when walking about – on some trips I have just taken this lens and been absolutely fine so if I need to travel light this is my go to lens.
Im ny Peak Design Everyday Backpack I also had the Canon 17 – 40 and 70 – 200mm lenses.
What camera settings did I use?
- Aperture F16
- Shutter speeds 1/500th second, 1/2100th second and 1/125th second.
- ISO 400
- Back-button focus
- Focal length 84mm
- AV Mode
- 10 second self-timer
- RAW format
One interesting fact about the image.
I took this one photo and that was it. Just one image capture and then I kept on walking.
Is there a behind the scenes video of this shoot?
No – I stopped moving from one place to another to get this shot. And at that time the last thing on my mind would have been taking a video!
How did I process the image?
This is the main processing in Lightroom, using the Basic and HSL panels
What am I trying to achieve with my processing? I am trying to recreate the scene that I was looking at before I raised my camera to my eye. The scene that made me want to take a photo.
I am not doing anything fancy in Lightroom and Photoshop – I am just trying to make the content of the image look the best I can.
I am trying to enhance the features within the image.
And finally I am correcting all the errors introduced at the time of image capture, and anything that is creeping in at the edges.
And having done all this I want viewers to look at my photo and not think – that was a great job in Photoshop! My image editing should be so subtle and natural that you don’t think of it when looking at one of my photos.
What could I have done to improve the image?
To be honest this is the scene I remember looking at, so I am happy with the photo. But lets be critical here.
Well having the actual GPS co-ordinates would have made it better for me, but that is just me. No-one else cares.
Got it. Over to the right on the top of the caldera is a building which is cut off by the composition. I could have composed it better so there was land at no half building there. And of course I could just remove it in Photoshop.
Would anyone else care? Probably not. I have looked at this image numerous times and only when ansering this question did I come up with this point.
And that is why i have this question in each and every post – it forces me to look at the final image critically as part of my writing – it is important that I do this so I learn for future shoots.
And what are my thoughts on this image?
I like it. It is not one of your run of the mill photos of Santorini. I have looked at lots of pictures of the Greek Islands, and feel that this image represents this part of the island really well.
Enough of me – what do you think of this image?
Let me know your thoughts not only on this image but also my thoughts – do you agree with what I have written about this image, and do you have any questions about the image capture or image processing?
One last thing
If you want to buy this image, or want to speak to me about future collaboration email me at sales@rickmcevoyphotography.co.uk.
Rick McEvoy ABIPP – Photographer, writer, blogger
