Manarola Dusk – Cinque Terre, Italy

The iconic cliffside town of Manarola, where pastel-hued houses watch over an often tumultuous Ligurian sea.

Manarola, in the Cinque Terre region of Italy, was a personal bucket list destination for nearly a decade. I first saw it emblazoned over a two page spread of a National Geographic magazine issue. The pastel houses, rough seas lapping at its base, the mountains behind it, the seafood and the pasta! I literally dreamt of photographing this place, and this year, I was blessed that it became a reality.

I know this particular view has been captured thousands and thousands of times before. But that’s not the point of why I took this picture. Yes, it’s easy to get fatigued by images of the same place over and over again on Facebook and Instagram. But I’m a firm believer that you should just go and take photos of whatever you want. See it for yourself, smell the cool ocean breeze, sure, take a photo to remember better in 30 years time. And this is why I made the effort to fly halfway around the world to this continent, travelled all the way here, and set up my tripod on the same slabs of concrete like thousands of other photographers before me. Because I wanted to see, experience, and photograph it myself. And there was no disappointment whatsoever!

Meanwhile, this beautiful sunset was going on in the opposite direction, behind me…

TECHNICAL INFO

Nikon D750 | Nikon 16-35mm @ 30mm
f/11, 1/4s, 64 ISO
Location – Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy