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Kasimatis Suites – Photos of Santorini

Photos of Santorini

Tag: Kasimatis Suites

Where can I see the sunset in Santorini from my hotel room?
A view of the stunning sunset over Thirasia, part of the caldera of Santorini. Kasimatis Suites offers fantastic views of the caldera and the sunsets which change from day to day in Imerovigli on the Greek Island of Santorini

There are many great hotels in Santorini. Careful selection however is needed if you want to get the best views from the rooms in these hotels.

Where can I see the sunset in Santorini from my hotel room? You can see the sunset from the rooms at Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli. Look at this photo which was taken from our bedroom. How cool is that?

Not every room in Santorini gives you such great views so if this is important to you make sure you check when you book. Just thought I would reiterate that point. Walk around the winding footpaths between all the white buildings and you will seee what I mean, and why I am labouring this point.

Why do I like this photo so much?

Well I am an architectural photographer. And also a landscape photographer. And a travel photographer.

So put these three things together and I am a very happy chappy.

And to be able to sit in your own hotel room and look at the sun, the sea and Thirasia is a wonderful thing.

I look at this photo and I can feel the warmth of the sun when I was there.

This photo makes me want to be there, which makes this image a big success for me.

I love the shadows from the chair and flare of the sun in this image.

And that fact that you look at this photo and know instantly that this is the view from a hotel room of the sun about to set over the caldera.

How did I decide on this composition?

I was sat in our hotel room at Kasimatis Suites watching how things aligned. I had a can of Mythos on the go (that is local beer for those not familiar with Greece and beer!) which helps free my creative juices.

Well lets be honest this is hardly rocket science. All I had to do was align the table and chair with the scene going on over Thirasia and compose for what you see.

There is a bit more about the scene I photographed and what you see in this image which I will come onto later in this post.

Where was the photo taken?

At the Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli. On the map from Lightroom you can see where our room is would you believe!

What time of day was the photo taken?

5:40pm. Beer’o’clock time!

What photography gear did I use to get the shot
- Canon 6D
- Canon 24-105mm F4 L Lens
- Manfrotto 190 Go tripod with geared head
- Certainly a beer. Probably a can of Mythos (too early for wine)
- And most defnitely my loupe viewer so I could see what I was looking at!
- And no hat.
- And flip flops. Now that is the way to work! Beer and flip flops!
What camera settings did I use?
- Aperture – F22
- Shutter speeds – 1/400th second, 1/1600th second and 1/100th second
- ISO – 100
- Focal length – 32mm
- AV Mode
- Back button focus
- Auto bracketing
- Handheld
- Live view
A quick word on the camera settings. F22. Why use that aperture? Simple.

I think I might have said this before. F22 on my Canon 24 -105mm lens gives me that lovely starburst effect. F22 is the minimum aperture, ie the aperture which lets the least light in, as the opening through the aperture blades is at its smallest.

And for this shot I needed to get the table and the caldera in focus, so the minimum aperture gave me the maximum depth of field.

One interesting fact about the image.

Go down to the processing section and you will see what I had to do in Photoshop to get this finished image.

Is there a behind the scenes video of this shoot?

No. It was taken in our room. I didn’t think of doing a video. This is becoing one of my biggest regrets – not taking as many videos as I could have done.

But there is a behind the scenes photo taken with my iPhone. I know – I have some explaining to do! There is more stuff in this scene than there is in the photo. Yep I know that and will confess to all this removal work shortly.

.

As you can see there is also a difference between the capbilities of my iPhone 7 Plus and my Canon 6D with bracketed image capture and all that good stuff deployed.

A big difference.

How did I process the image?

Ok. First things first. I have removed stuff from this image. There it is out in the open.

I will come back to that.

This is the RAW file. This is the two stop over exposed image (1/100th second at F22 ISO 100).

And this is the HDR Merged processed image.

And this is the processnig I did in Lightroom to get the result above.

The big work in this image was removing the sunlounger, umbrella pole, table and the bits of ornaments on the white wall.

These bits all took time to remove.

But why did I remove them?

Well these are all things that I could have removed if I had the time (and a tool kit for the umbrella pole) but I did not know that I was going to get such a great shot and to be honest I didn’t think about moving all this stuff at the time.

I was trying to photograph straight into the sun which is not the easiest of things, and sometimes you just can’t see stuff that should be removed from the image.

And with sunsets and specific locations like this trying to capture the sun above the table (roughly) in the middle of the doorway means there just isn’t time.

In circumstances like this I am comfortable removing things from an image using Photoshop – they are after all man made things introuced into the scene.

And what tools did I use in photoshop?

My go to removal kit
- Clone Stamp Tool
- Spot Healing Brush
- Patch Tool
As you can see by checking out the finished image at the top of this post there was quite a lot of stuff removed, probbaly the most I have removed from a photo.

What could I have done to improve the image?

Would the sun in the middle have improved this photo?

Or would the inclusion of my wife have improved it? Yes of course she would, with a glass of wine off to the left taking in the late aftenoon sun.

That is a very important learning point – why did I not include my gorgeous wife in this photo?

And what are my thoughts on this image?

I love it. If you want to be to see the sunset in Santorini from your hotel room then this should do.

Santorini is such a great location to take photos, and I was delighted that our hotel became a complete part of that whole wonderful experience.

Enough of me – what do you think of this image?

Do you like this photo of the sunset viewed from a a room at Kasimatis Suites?

Do you agree with me removing the things I did from this image?

Let me know what you think.

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
27/10/2018
Imerovigli or Oia sunset – get the best of both my way
A stunning sunset photo from Santorini taken from the cliffs of Imerovigli looking towards the town of Oia. A gorgeous glowing sunset and the lights of the town all add to this stunning scene.

This is the last image that I will talk about on my new website Photos of Santorini. I hope you have enjoyed seeing and reading about my photos.

Which is the best – Oia or Imerovigli sunset? I say the sunset view of Oia from Imerovigli – its a great view which is one of my favourite sunset views of Santorini. Why choose when you look at one from the other?

On this particular evening just look what was in front of me – just stunning.

And this is why I love Santorini so much – quite simply a stunning Greek Island with stunnig views.

One of the things that I have noticed is that in 5 days I got a great number of images that I could use commercially – well over a hundred. On a travel photogrpahy shoot I am normally happy to get one image that I will use per shoot, so to get so many in 5 days is just fantastic for me.

And all this makes me want to do is go back to Santorini and photograph the rest of this wonderful Greek Island.

Why do I like this photo so much?

Santorini is renowned for its views, and for it’s sunsets. And sunset colours don’t get much better than this.

In this photo we are looking at the small town of Oia, which is perched on the end of the caldera just before it drops into the Southern Agean Sea.

In the background you can see Sikinos and Ios, two small Greek Islands that I would love to visit, as well as some even smaller islands which don’t even have names (as far as I can tell).

I love the sunset colours in this image, with a range from magenta to light orange with lots of different shades in the middle.

You can see the lights of the buildings on the town of Oia, as well as Oia Port down to the right.

There is a solitary boat going round the headland – is that a sunset crouse or a fishing boat? Well will never know.

And in the background amongst all those lovely colours other islands dotted around the Southern Agean Sea.

Such a lovely scene which I was very fortunate to witness and photograph.

How did I decide on this composition?

Well that was easy enough – it was sat there in front of me. The caldera entering the photo bottom right and the islands above.

I have put the horizon pretty much in the middle of the image. This was a conscious thing, and is a big no no in photogrpahy – never put the horizon in the middle as it cuts an image in two.

This is one of the basic rules of photography.

Which it is good to break once in a while.

Why did I do this?

Simple – I wanted as much of the gradation of the orange in the sky as possible – that is one of the primary elements of this image.

And does anyone care about the rules of photography other than other photographers?

Of course not. No one cares. And I am not taking photos for other photogrpahers. And when I take photos I am thinking about the composition and not the rules of photography.

So there – thats the photography world told!

Where was the photo taken?

Where the number 7 is on the yellow tab.

Basically this yellow tab is the location of the lovely Kasimatis Suites, the hotel we were staying in.

What time of day was the photo taken?

18:23. Yep an actual sunset. And this image was part of a sequence of images capturing the entire sunset for at least an hour.

What photography gear did I use to get the shot
- Beer. I was at the hotel so had a beer on the go – most excellent.
- Canon 6D
- Canon 70 – 200mm F4 L Lens (focal length used 70mm)
- Manfrotto 190 Go tripod with geared head
- Peak Design Everyday Backpack
- Loupe Viewer
- No hat required (I need a cap)
- Oakley sunglasses
- Flip flops
What camera settings did I use?
- Aperture F8
- Shutter speeds 1 second, 1/4 second and 4 seconds.
- ISO 400
- Back-button focus
- Focal length 70mm
- AV Mode
- 10 second self-timer
- RAW format
I will say this again. F8 is my go to aperture. F8 is the sweet spot on my Canon 70-200mm lens, and gives me the sharpest images. And also for a shot like this depth of field is less of a worry so this was just fine.

And look at the exposure times. 1 second, 1/4 second, 4 seconds. I stuck with an ISO of 400 to keep the noise in the image down, giving me longer shutter speeds. But as I was taking photos on a study tripod on solid ground not a problem. No blur in the image (apart from the boat coming round the headland that is).

One interesting fact about the image.

I took 80 photos in total during this sunset, starting at 4:54pm and working through to 6:29pm. This was how long the sunset lasted, and also how long I had with that great light looking out from the hotel and surrounding locations in Imerovigli to the west and into the lovely lovely setting sun.

And, obviously, this was my favourite photo from that sequence.

Is there a behind the scenes video of this shoot?

No.

How did I process the image?

This is the RAW image – check out that sensor spot to the right – that has to go (which of course it did). And look how dull flat and lifelss the RAW image is. But all the base data is there that I need to create the photo at the top of this post.

And this is the image having been processed in Lightroom (I know the dust sensor spot is still there).

You can see most of the processing that I carried out to this image in the screenshot.And you can also see that the reproduction of the colours is realistic – I have just emphasised what was there, rather than doing any funky Photoshop trickery. That is not what I am about.

Talking of Photoshop this image was finished off in Photoshop removing that hideous sensor spot and any other distractions and errors.

What could I have done to improve the image?

I didn’t like the wider composition. Could I have done a tighter crop? Well lets see.

Not sure if that is better or not. Actually it is fine either way – sometimes a change in composition can make a difference, sometimes not so much.

And what are my thoughts on this image?

Well doing that tighter crop got me thinking, which is never a good thing.

Either way I love the sunset colours and the depth the other islands give this image.

A great way for me to finish my sequence of photos of Santorini.

Enough of me – what do you think of this image?

One last time (for now) – what do you think of this sunset view of Oia from Imerovigli?

And do you prefer the cropped imaged?

Please let me know – I love hearing what you all think of my photographs.

And I hope that you have enjoyed this post and my other posts all about my photos of Santorini.

Now that my work here is nearly done please check out my other travel photography website Paxos Travel Guide, which should be completed by the end of December 2018.

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
26/10/2018
Fantastic Santorini photography – low cloud at sunrise
Sunrise with clouds below the caldera photographed from Kasimatis Suites. Sunrise and sunset can be different every day, like this surreal sunrise with a blanket of cloud just below the hotel in Imerovigli on the Greek Island of Santorini

This is one of my favourite images of Santorini.

When I say fantastic photography I need to explain – this is not me bigging myself up – I just needed to get the keyword Santorini photography into one blog post – no point trying to hide this is there?

In all seriousness I really do love this photo of a weather phenomenon which you can’t get anywhere – you need certain conditions to get clouds right below your hotel like I saw this morning!

This is still one of my favourite photos of Santorini.

Why do I like this photo so much?

I have never seen such a scene before. This was what greeted us on the first morning.

A blanket of cloud immediately below us. Now I had moved around quite a lot taking lots of photos of all this good stuff before returning to the hotel to get this great photo with that dense layer of grey morning clouds with the sunrise immediately above.

I love the contrast of the colours and the uniqueness of this scene.

And the fact that it was taken at the actual hotel that we stayed at is special to me. Special as my wife spent a lot of time choosing this exact hotel for my photographic trip to Santorini.

And what a great choice of hotel she came up with!

How did I decide on this composition?

This was the view from the back of the hotel, the Kasimatis Suites.

I went down to the steps at the bottom of the hotel, below which there is nothing but rocks and the sea.

And on this day clouds.

The scene did not work as well for me – the composition from there was not as interesting.

I settled on the view you can see in the main image on this post – this was telling the story of a morning at a hotel on the Greek Island of Santorini. A sunrise morning with low clouds, which is not unique but hardly a daily occurrence either.

I love the contrast between the hardness of the white buildings and the softness of the grey clouds, all topped off by that lovely sunrise warmth which has not yet reached down to the clouds below.

Where was the photo taken?

At the Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli on the Greek Island of Santorini. I have to say this as some people will read this one blog posts on its own so I have to explain in enough detail these things on every post!

Look at the extract from Lightroom. It is so detailed you can see the swimming pool, and exactly where I took this photo!

What time of day was the photo taken?

4:53. Yep that early.

What photography gear did I use to get the shot?
- Canon 6D
- Canon 24-105mm F4 L Lens
- Manfrotto 190 Go tripod with geared head
- Peak Design Everyday Backpack
- Loupe Viewer
- Red hat
- Oakley sunglasses
- Red shoes – fresh on!
- This was pre-morning coffee!
What camera settings did I use?
- Aperture F8
- Shutter speeds 1/250th second, 1/1000th second and 1/60th second.
- ISO 100
- Back-button focus
- Focal length 24mm
- AV Mode
- 10 second self-timer
- RAW format
One interesting fact about the image.

It is taken just down from our room at the Kasimatis Suites. The steps down were to some of the other rooms in the hotel.

And I had not even had a coffee – it was a case of wake up and get out there.

OK there is one more fact – I was woken by my wife who was awake before me and opened the curtains to be greeted with this amazing scene!

Is there a behind the scenes video of this shoot?

No. There was much too much going on for that! Which I will be completely honest with you is a regret.

I would have loved to have some videos of this bank of morning cloud, but I don’t have any. Another reason to go back to Santorini then.

Having said that there is this video taken from a slightly different viewpoint which gives you an idea of what the scene looked like, and sounded like!

How did I process the image?

This one took a while to produce in Lightroom. First job was to merge the three bracketed images together in Lightroom to form a new Dng file.

Next job was to get the verticals and horizontals correct. After that I always do white balance.

This gives me a technically accurate starting point for the more creative processing.

Most of the processing was done in the Basic and HSL panels in Lightroom. There was quite a bit of cleaning up to do, removing blemishes, dust spots and random bits of lights and stuff in the building that were detracting from the scene.

What could I have done to improve the image?

Hmmm. Not sure to be honest.

I need to get rid of that bit of wall bottom right I have only just noticed this writing this section.

And that is the point of me asking this question – it forces me to look at the images I have created and see what is in there that I dont like, and think about ways that I could have created a better image.

This is something I recommend everyone does who wants to Improve their pototgraphy – critique your photos yourself and even better get someone else to do this for you.

Not you parents, husband, wife, children or best friend. They will just say that they think your photos are great even if they are rubbish!

No ask someone who knows what they are talking about who will be honest with you.

My first critique as with a Hasselblad Master who was my BIPP mentor no less!

Look at a your photos – study them. I recommend once you have processed a set of images leave them for a decent length of time and then come back to them and give yourself time to look at them and study them properly – you will be amazed what you will find that has always been there that you never noticed before like that bit of wall bottom right!

And what are my thoughts on this image?

I have never seen weather like this. I have never looked down on clouds from my hotel with a big bright band of orange sunrise light above the clouds.

This scene was surreal, and a morning that I will not forget in a long time.

I am happy that this image brings back those memories of that morning – this is why I love photography so much.

And also why I want to go back to wonderful Santorini. Then again there are so many other places on this wonderful planet of ours.

Enough of me – what do you think of this image?

Have you ever seen such a lovely sunrise photo on Santorini?

Am I right describing this as fantastic Santorini photography??

Let me know what you think, even if it is to tell me that I have been speaking a load of rubbish!

Talking of my next venture, now that I am getting near to the end of the creation of this website I would like to tell you about my next website which I will be working on next week called Paxos Travel Guide. Yes I am staying in Greece and producing another travel website, this one with slightly different content to photos of Santorini.

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
25/10/2018
Santorini architecture at Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli
Lovely late afternoon light spilling into the reception at the Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli on the wonderful Greek Island of Santorini. The reception at the hotel is in one of the former white cellars

When you think of Santorini architecture what springs to mind. I bet it is all the famous white buildings of Santorini isn’t it? Well to be fair that’s what I thought before going to Santorini.

There is more to Santorini architecture than those lovely white buildings – how about the reception at the wonderful Kasmimatis Suites in Imerovigli sat on the edge of the Santorini caldera? And what gives the Kasimatis Suites their unusual charm is that these buildings used to be a canava – a Greek wine cellar.

It is not just about the views outside – there are great things to see inside too.

And I have learnt a new word – canava. Which the spellcheck wants to correct to canapé!

Why do I like this photo so much?

Sorry about that. Let’s get back to the photo. I am an architectural photographer. That is my speciality. I photograph buildings for a living in the UK.

Luckily I love photographing buildings. Put me in a place like Santorini though, with that famous Santorini architecture and I am doubly happy.

Great location, great architecture. And great and unusual interiors. And all that lovely sunshine, food, beer and wine!

Why do I like this photo so much? I was going to the hotel reception, and walked into this scene. How utterly fantastic. I needed a quick word before heading off out to explore more of this wonderful Greek Island (after a quick beer). Yes I had my camera with me, well I didn’t go anywhere without it when I was in Santorini to be honest.

And what makes this scene of course is the light. Lovely directional light spilling into the room.

And the fact that this vaulted room used to be a canava, which is a Greek wine cellar. The family who own Kasimatis Suites used the space where the hotel is as their wine cellars back in the day.

That is why the hotel is so different, with strange features littered around the hotel. And also why the reception is this wonderful vaulted internal space.

How did I decide on this composition?

I walked into reception, got to the reception desk, turned round and got my camera out. I took three photos of the scene which are virtually identical but this was the shot – everything is right with this particular composition.

Let’s talk about the elements in this composition. I wish I could say that I had placed them so perfectly but I hadn’t. This is literally what I saw.

Firstly through the door you can see the railing on the edge of the balcony. Just in front of that is the lovely hotel swimming pool featured in another photo.

And then there is one white chair, sat slap bang in the middle of the door!

And then the light spilling into the vaulted ceilinged reception area with that lovely directional light casting a shadow from the table.

The directional light also picks up the texture in the tiles.

And there are the wall lights offering some additional points of interest in the scene. And let’s not forget the grille above the door and the fantastic shadows on the domed roof.

See I know about this architectural stuff!

Where was the photo taken?

At the reception at the Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli on the Greek Island of Santorini

What time of day was the photo taken?

4:40pm. I had been out and about all day and was proably going to reception to order breakfast in the room again – such a great thing that they do this. I timed my visit to reception perfectly, with that strong directional light shining straight through the doorway.

I would love to say that this was deliberate but it was purely conincidental!

It was defintely pre-drinks by the pool before sunset though.

What photography gear did I use to get the shot
- Canon 6D
- Canon 24 – 105mm F4 L Lens (focal length used 17mm)
- Hand held
- Peak Design Everyday Backpack
- No red hat – it was absolutely baking hot
- Oakley sunglasses (on my head)
- Red shoes (feet destroyed by this time). OK i might have been wearing flip flops by now!
- And my wrist strap. I forgot all about that.
What camera settings did I use?
- Aperture F9
- Shutter speeds 1/640th second, 1/2500th second and 1/160th second.
- ISO 400
- Back-button focus
- Focal length 28mm
- AV Mode
- RAW format
One interesting fact about the image.

Apart from the fact that I walked in to reception and saw this scene and took a photo of it?

OK – here we go. This is what it looks like late afternoon from the reception at the Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli.

I alluded to this before. Kasimatis Suites used to be wine cellars, known locallly as canavas. Obviously since tourism has taken off in Santorini this valuable real estate has been converted to a stuning hotel with great views of the caldera.

So the interesting fact is that this is a picture of a former Greek wine cellar.

Is there a behind the scenes video of this shoot?

No. As I just walked up to reception, turned round and took the photo no! I would have got rather strange looks doing that. But then again I could have got one of the staff to video me – I think I missed a trick there.

How did I process the image?

Here is the unedited RAW image. I know, I am always amazed by how awful a RAW file can look. This is the base data for an image. I shoot in RAW as I get the maximum data from an image capture which I can work with in Lightroom.

The contrast from the RAW file to the finished image is quite remarkable I have to say. This is the first (correct exposure) image – look how flat, dull and uninteresting it is!

Lovely late afternoon light spilling into the reception at the Hotel Kasimatis in Imerovigli on the wonderful Greek Island of Santorini. Lovely sunshine illuminating the reception giving depth to the room

The first job in Lightroom is to merge the three images that I took using auto-bracketing on my Canon 6D. The three files are exposed as follows
- Image 1 – correct exposure
- Image 2 – 2 stops under exposed
- Image 3 – 2 stops over exposed
I merge these three images together in Lightroom. Lightroom creates a brand new file which contains the data from the three original images. This is the file that I worked on to produce the image in this post.

And here is what I did in Lightroom

I did some additional local editing, dodging and burning and the finshed off the image in Photoshop.

This was like editing an architectural image for a client, which to be fair almost never feels like work to me.

What could I have done to improve the image?

I could have moved the table to the left a little bit so the table is not ovehanging into the shadow.

Someone sat on the chair? Maybe?

I don’t really know – it was a scene I walked in and took a photo of quickly as I don’t want to over analyse it any more than I already have!

And what are my thoughts on this image?

I like it. I like architectural photography. And I especially love interior photography. I love capturing light interacting with interior spaces.

Enough of me – what do you think of this image?

Let me know what you think of this photo of a converted Greek wine cellar. I love it.

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
15/10/2018
Where are the best views from swimming pools on Santorini?
Picture of the lovely swimming pool at the Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli on the Greek Island of Santorini. The pool has spectacular views across the Caldera towards Thirasia where the sun will set in about an hour from when this photo was taken

Views from swimming pools on Santorini. I know – that is quite a demanding ask now isn’t it?

We work hard all year to enjoy our breaks, so there is nothing wrong with asking the question “Where are the best views from swimming pools on Santorini?”

Well this view from the pool at the Kasiamtis Suites is my favorite so far – what a view of the pool, the balcony and in the background a little bit of the caldera!

Why do I like this photo so much?

I did take a photograph from the balcony but something was missing. So I took a step back from the view from the pool to get a photo of the view of the pool if that makes sense) and that lovely burst of Santorini sunshine.

And I managed to get a bit of the view from the pool and the deckchairs – hopefully you get the idea from this photo.

And a band of orange as the sun begins to set on another wonderful day in Santorini.

How did I decide on this composition?

Simple. I wanted the pool, the area to the front of the pool, a bit of the background and of course that big bright burst of golden sunshine. And the reflection off the pool was something I had pre-planned.

That is the beauty of staying in such a photogenic hotel – just by being there you get used to the movement of the sun, the shadows, the little things that when added together can make a photo.

Well you do if you are like me. I am always looking for things to photograph. On a shoot like this many of the compositions come to me when I am walking around doing innocuous things like walking to breakfast (on the day we did not have breakfast in our rooms that is).

Being aware of your surroundings and constantly looking out for photos might annoy the family but for me is an occupational hazard I’m afraid!

Where was the photo taken?

This photo was taken at the swimming pool of the Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli on the Greek Island of Santorini.

We were stopping at the Kasimais Suites, and had to walk past the pool and this view just to get to reception. Awful I know!

What time of day was the photo taken?

Late afternoon in April, just after 4.30pm. The sun has begun to drop, having traversed from the left to the right – yes this is the prefect photographic orientation.

I took this photo having returned from a long day consisting of sunrise on the caldera, a lovely breakfast in our room and a good investigation of the capital of Santorini, Fira. I did an early afternoon wander and got back in time to get this shot by the pool.

After this I have to confess to having a couple of beers and photographing the sunset from our room. Yes I was that tired!

As I have said before sunset can be a bit of an anti-social time of day, clashing with evening drinks.

What photography gear did I use to get the shot
- Canon 6D
- Canon 24-105mm F4 L Lens
- Handheld – no tripod required
- And probably a pair of sunglasses
- My loupe viewer
What camera settings did I use?
- Aperture – F22
- Shutter speeds – 1/800th second, 1/3200th second and 1/200th second
- ISO – 400
- Focal length – 24mm
- AV Mode
- Back button focus
- Auto bracketing
- Handhed
- Live view
A quick word on the camera settings. F22. Why use that aperture? Simple.

F22 on my Canon 24 -105mm lens gives me that lovely starburst effect. F22 is the minimum aperture, ie the aperture which lets the least light in, as the opening through the aperture blades is at its smallest.

Try shooting into the sun (with care so you don’t damage your eyes) and try all the apertures and see what you get with your gear.

Which leads me onto the next point. When I am shooting straight into the sun, I use the Live View function on my Canon 6D. Much safer. And even then I will have my sunglasses on.

Unless I am using my loupe viewer.

One interesting fact about the image.

Erm. I didn’t go in the pool? All I can remember is that the sun was blindingly bright and I was desperate to sit down and have a drink but did not want to miss a second of that spectacular day.

I was tired, thirsty and loving it!

One bit of irrelevant advice – if you want to make a living doing photography it is best that you absolutely love it as it is hard work.

Is there a behind the scenes video of this shoot?

No. I think people who take videos around swimming pools with people in the vicinity sunbathing are approaching creepy.

Swimming pool/ people = no video!

How did I process the image?

Very well thank you. To be honest once I have processed the first couple of images from a days shoot a lot of the processing is the same, or fairly similar.

I want the images to look like a coherent set of images after all, so the color treatments and other stuff need to compliment other images.

The difference is with the local adjustments, which are individual to each and every image I produce.

I am talking here about
- Dodging and burning
- HSL adjustments
- Radial filter
What could I have done to improve the image?

A higher viewpoint would have made the composition stronger. If I could have got my camera higher I would have been able to include more of the caldera view in the background.

Unfortunately I did not have my stepladders with me, nor my 5m painters pole, and I could not move back any further (from recollection).

Yes lets just say that I was constrained by the buildings around me. I will just have to go back to Kasimatis Suites and do a better job next time!

And what are my thoughts on this image?

I really like this image, I have captured a lovely flat swimming pool illuminated by the sun. I have managed to include a snippet of the view of the caldera, but more importantly the deckchairs on the edge of the balcony.

And I love the colors in the sky, that lovely bright blue transitioning into the orange of the setting sun.

The bright vibrant colours are an essential part of my travel photography work.

And there are no people in the image which is both good and bad.

All in all an image that I am happy to share on my website and write about.

Enough of me – what do you think of this image?

You have read what I have to say about this photo of the view of a swimming pool at Kasimatis Suites in Imerovigli – what do you think of the image, and do you have any questions for me?

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
09/10/2018