Why are the domes blue in santorini – Photos of Santorini Greece by Rick McEvoy

A close up of one of the lovely churches on the Greek Island of Santorini. This is Ekklisia Profitis Ilias photographed after sunrise giving the white walls a lovely golden sunrise glow with the sun reflecting off the golden cross. The moon is visible off to the right. One of the featues of Santorini is those famous blue domed church roofs. And I love the contrast of the blue with the white of the walls. In this sunrise picture of a Santorini blue domed church roof though the white is warmed by the sun to give a different colour and feel. This is the Ekklisia Profitis Ilias church. Just stunning and in an amazing location. Why do I like this photo so much? Well why not? I am rewarded for my efforts of getting up at sunrise. I get treated to scenes like this that no-one else was present for. How did I decide on this composition? This was the scene that greeted me when I arrived at the Ekklisia Profitis Ilias church up on top of the caldera overlooking the wonderful Greek Island of Santorini. I wanted to capture the front elevation of the church, with the three bells, the blue dome and that golden cross. The shadows were not helping me though (sunrise is off to the right) so I walked around the church, leaving my camera where it was sat on my tripod. Well it was very quiet and there was no-one around. I walked around the church and this is the scene I stopped at and studied. Look at that moon! It was really there as you can see. I haven't added it. Or moved it. This is the scene photogrpahed on my iPhone. I often use my iPhone to see what a scene might look like on that big screen. And on this occasion I used this image to guide my composition What caught my eye here were the blue dome, the cross and the moon. These were going to be the focal points within my image. All that white concrete was not adding anything, and there was the awkward shadow of the tree. By the way the scene was much warmer than this - the walls were not that white. Sure I have brought out those colours in my processing but not as much as you might have thought looking at this iPhone photo. Once I had decided on the components of the image the next decision was to change lens to my Canon 70-200mm lens. Having retrieved my camera from the other side of the church that is! Framing the composition and the image capture were straightforward after that. I find the difficult bit can be choosing the composition, which is why I am happy taking my time doing this. Getting the composition right is critical to the success or otherwise of a photograph. Why are the domes blue in Santorini? Buildings on Santorini and many other Greek Islands were built from the local rock. Well they would be wouldn't they? The rocks on Santorini are a dark colour, as you can see from all my lovely photos. And with my construction background I know that white paint is cheaper than coloured paint. Oh yes, and by law since 1974 buildings have had to be painted white. Or was it 1967, when buildings had to be painted blue and white? Hmmmm. Black absorbs heat. White reflects heat. It is that simple. That is why the buildings are white. And as for the blue roofs? Well apparently lots of domes were already blue. And apaprently there was a thing called loulaki, used for cleaning, that could turn white paint blue. And when it was mandated that buildings had to be painted white the blue was seen as a unifying colour, as the Greek flag is blue and white. I will have to find the proper answer to this one, which I will post another time. Back to the photo. Where was the photo taken? Where the orange tag is. What time of day was the photo taken? 5:51am. Post sunrise. After sunrise my work is not done. Oh no, I keep going to see what I might find. I take the view that I might never be lucky enough to be in this location at this time of day ever again, so I need to make the most of it. That and the fact that this is what I love to do, and I do not want to miss any opportunities whilst on this wonderful island called Santorini. What photography gear did I use to get the shot 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 Red hat Oakley sunglasses Red shoes A complete lack of snacks What camera settings did I use? Aperture F4 Shutter speeds 1/100th second, 1/4000th second and 1/1250th second. ISO 400 Back-button focus Focal length 70mm AV Mode 10 second self-timer RAW format I used the maximum aperture of F4. I focused on the cross. That was the focal point, with the sun reflecting off it. I intentionally tried to blur everything else, but that is not so noticeable in this photo. But I am happy with the image capture from a technical point of view. One interesting fact about the image. It is a photo taken with my Canon 70-200mm lens. A rare thing I know but I carry it with me everywhere and if it is only used to get one shot in a day then I am happy. Is there a behind the scenes video of this shoot? Yes - you can view the video here. This video might be low qaulity but you get to see the location which is pretty amazing. And you get a sense of the height of the location, how exposed it is and how windy it is up there! How did I process the image? This was another HDR merge in Lightroom of the three captured images. This is how I edited the resultant Dng file. I had to remove sensor dust spots and other blemishes in Photoshop. What could I have done to improve the image? I would have liked a shot of just the dome, the cross and moon with them all closer together, but the alignment of these elements and the topography of the ground made this impossible. One problem with travel photography is that I can’t fit my painters pole in my luggage. Nor a large pair of stepladders. Maybe I could buy a painters pole online and collect it when I am there - it’s got to be worth thinking about. OR get a drone - another plan for the future. And another thought that has just come to me - could I have taken this from further away and zoomed in to compresss the scene more? Possibly. This is why I have added a section where I critique my own work. I have not done this so much in the past, but I have found that this is helping me not only with image selection after a shoot but also with the composition choices I make whilst out on location. I am happy with the image to be hesont. I got to the location, had a good look around, decided on a composition that worked and captured it well. And what are my thoughts on this image? All in all happy. I wanted the blue dome, the cross and the moon in the shot. And that is what I have got. I also wanted a tight composition, which is why I used my 70-200mm lens, albeit it at 70mm. Enough of me - what do you think of this image? Much more importantly than what I think of this photograph of a Santorini blue domed church roof is what do you all think of this photo, taken not long after sunrise with the moon visible? Please get in touch and 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 Rick McEvoy ABIPP - Photographer, writer, blogger