Riomaggiore Twilight – Cinque Terre, Italy
The coastal cliffside town of Riomaggiore lights up at twilight, as the waters of the Ligurian Sea lap gently at its foundations.
After spending 3 nights in the beautiful Vernazza, I took the train to the eastern-most town (and largest) of the 5, Riomaggiore. The trains between the 5 towns were comfortable, frequent and reliable, and ran well into the night, which is useful if you want to photograph sunset, grab dinner, then head back to your accommodation elsewhere. It does get abit costly if you take them quite a lot though, as the price of a ticket is for one trip only, and not a time block (ie a 2 hour ticket).
Sometimes people ask me ‘which did you enjoy the most?’, or ‘which was the best town to photograph?’. It’s a tough question, because they’re all stunning in their own right. My suggestion would be to spend some time (at least half a day) in each of them, and figure that out for yourself! Riomaggiore is certainly up there as one of the most photogenic though, and had more variety of dining options than some of the other towns.
Pasta and fritto misto in Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore really is a postcard perfect place.This particular photo was taken from the rocky water break at the base of the lookout, where I precariously placed my tripod as low as I could to the water to get the composition I wanted (just gotta watch out for those rogue waves!). It’s a blend of 3 shots taken over an hour – one for the beautiful sky, one for the lights (slow shutter speed), and a final one for the water in the foreground at a faster shutter speed to give it some movement and interest.
TECHNICAL INFO
Nikon D750 | Nikon 16-35mm @ 19mm
Water (foreground): f/11 | 2s
Lights/reflections: f/10 | 30s
Sky: f/11 | 1/40s
Location – Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre, Italy