Let there be Light! - Three Bells of Fira, Santorini

Probably the most iconic shot of Santorini or at least the most seen on Instagram. This is my take on it. Most shots of this church are a close up of the blue dome with the three bells in the background. Here I have included a bit of foreground to give a sense of the place. Aligned the reflection of the sun setting into the Aegean sea with the bells and kept the Santorini Caldera in the background.

Splash of Light! - Oia, Santorini

The quintessential Santorini shot. Long exposure shot of Oia at sundown. This picture was taken from the top of the Byzantine castle in Oia. No wonder this spot is called 'Sunset Spot' as it offers the best sunset view in the whole of Santorini. The downside, however, is that its so famous that if you want to get a good shot from here, you have to set up at least a couple of hours before sunset.

Aegean Shapes!!! - Oia, Santorini

The famous three domes of Santorini. This is one of the most iconic shot of Oia but believe me it is a tough one to get. There are only a couple of spots in the vast labyrinth that is Oia, from where you can see these domes. Although hard to find, they are always packed with tourists and getting a shot means a test of your patience.

A Moody Evening! - Fira, Santorini

Isn't that the perfect place to spend a moody evening. The hazy view just adds to the mood and creates an almost surreal atmosphere. Sometimes, we get lucky and don't have to walk too far to get a good shot. This is a shot of one of the pools at out hotel, taken from the balcony of our room!

Painted Town! - Fira, Santorini

I took this picture while trekking towards the famous three bells of Fira for our sunset shot. The sun had already started to set and was casting a warm glow on the white-washed architecture of Santorini. As we went up this path, we looked back and could see the entire town of Fira behind us glowing orange in the evening light. With this small church hanging on the edge of the cliff, it made for a nice quick shot.

Mediterranean Dusk! - Fira, Santorini

A perfect example of how a scene transforms with light. The shot that I posted a couple of days ago is the exact same composition, taken a few minutes before sunset. When I was walking back after shooting sunset at the three bells of Fira, I noticed how the same town had completely transformed in less than an hour. The interaction between city lights and the pastel shades of duck has always fascinated me and is one of my favourite subjects to photograph.

K9 wedding guests!! - Oia, Santorini

Oia is a hotspot for wedding shoots. A few hours walking in Oia, we must have seen at least 6 to 7 wedding shoots going on. This one was particularly interesting, to the dogs as well. This shoot started in front of us and as soon as the couple took their spots, this pair of dogs jumped up on the roof with the best view of the shoot and just sat their watching with interest.

White!!! - Oia, Santorini

We reach Oia early in the evening and the plan was to spend the the entire golden hour and blue hour taking pictures of various spots in Oia. We decided to location scout and walk to all the spots that we wanted to shoot later. This is a shot while scouting. Although I had to shoot straight into the sun and light quite contrasty, it created for a high-key, high-contrast shot whit this almost white-out look.

Twilight Cruiser! - Caldera, Santorini

We were done taking pictures for the day and were walking in the town of Fira looking for a place to get some dinner, when we saw this cruise ship just floating in front of the Santorini Caldera. The lit up ship with the the almost black volcano in the background and the evening twilight caught my eye and i just had to take this shot. Guess we weren't done after all.

King of the Hill! - Firostefani, Santorini

An iconic blue domed church in the small town of Firostefani. We took a short break on our trek from Fira to Firostefani and looked back to see this beautiful church perched atop the hill. Altough the lighting was not that great, but i think the composition still works.

Cross at the edge!! - Oia, Santorini

@eyeseesurs on the edge of Santorini. We were scouting in Oia to look for sunset locations when we came to this spot. There was a wedding shoot going on around this location. Check out the last image I posted for for a funny story about that. Once the party left, we decided to have a shoot of our own at this fantastic location. I mean, check out this spot, how could we not. And the sun had already started to set so we got some good light too.

Trade and Religion! - Emporio, Santorini

Emporio is the largest village of Santorini, situated in the south part of the island. It is built at the foot of Profitis Ilias Mountain. The village was named Emporio (trade) because it was the commercial center of Santorini in the past. It is close to Perissa village and the volcanic beaches of Perissa and Perivolos, making it a great hub for beachy holidays in Santorini.

Ruins of Skaros! - Imerovigli, Santorini

t the end of our trek from Fira to Imerovigli we came across Skaros Rock, also known Fortress Skaros. Skaros is a large rock formation formed due to volcanic activity around 68,000 BC. Over the years, there have been many defensive fortifications here. The initial structure, called "La Roka" or "Upper Castle", was built in 1207. It remained an important settlement until the Santorini volcano began to erupt in 1650. The volcano erupted from 1701 to 1711 and again from 1866 to 1870 and this is what was left by the 19th Century.

Blue! - Perissa Beach, Santorini

The black beaches (Perissa and Perivolos) of Santorini all set to receive visitors. When we were there, it was a little before the start of the tourist season. The locals were still putting up the umbrellas and the beaches were almost empty. So we managed to get this shot of the striking umbrellas and no people.

Port of Santorini! - Thira, Santorini

A view of the port of Santorini as seen from the balcony of our room. We we arrived in Santorini, it was quite late in the day and I never expected any photo opportunities on that day. But when we went to our room and were greeted by this view, I couldn't resist the opportunity to get a picture before the last light of the day disappeared.

Overview! - Mount Profitis Ilias, Santorini

Built on the highest point of the island, 567 metres above sea level, is the monastery of Profitis Ilias (Prophet Elijah). Offering panoramic views of the entire island of Santorini and dating back to 1711, the monastery is one of the oldest on the island. In its earlier years, the monastery was quite wealthy and influential. It even owned a ship and exerted an active intellectual, cultural and economic influence, so much so that it ran a school from 1806 to 1845.