Gate to the stars. A study of the connection between the Torii and the natural elements which surround it. The Torii is an iconic japanese structure belonging to Shinto shrines, it’s a gate that represents the passage from the secular world to a sacred one. In this photograph I’ve composed a scene in which the Torii can symbolize the boundary between night and day, a moment in time that allows to see our world together with the stars above it.
A misty sunrise on the valley overlooked by the ancient town of Civita di Bagnoregio, the “Dying Town”. The meaning of the moniker “Dying Town” is due to the peculiar geomorphology of this area: the entire valley is essentially a badlands, included the hill on which Civita rises. Year after year, small portions of the hills are eroded by the rains and the winds and this will lead eventually to the collapse of the town. This panorama is made of 14 vertical frames, for a total size of about 124 MPixels.
This photograph has been awarded at the following international photography competition:A panorama of an iconic place in Venice: Canal Grande and the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute from the Accademia Bridge (Ponte dell’Accademia). The pale light of sunrise allowed me to give a painterly look to the frame, with a surreal sense of stillness. The absence of hard shadows, due to the soft light, and the mirror-like surface of the water amphasize the amazing details of the palaces which look onto the Canal Grande, as well as the shape of the dome of Santa Maria della Salute, on the background. This is a panorama made of 4 portrait-oriented long exposures taken with Lee ND and ND Grad filters.
Note that this photographed has been awarded with a Bronze Medal at the 2017 edition of EPSON International Pano Award, and with a Nominee at the 2018 edition of FAPA Fine Art Photography AwardsThe dazzling beauty of the sun rising among the Hashigui Iwa filled my eyes and my heart, impressing in my mind a feeling of peace and joy; I’ll never forget that magical moment of a cold morning of autumn.
This image represents just a fraction of the beauty of that moment, nevertheless I’ve put all of myself in trying to catch a glimpse of that magic. It’s the result of the manual blending of five exposures (to capture the entire high dynamic range), using the luminosity masking technique to depict the scene as real as possible; I hope you like it.
The reason why I named this photo “Rising up to the light” is because I imagined to look at a group of marine titans who rise up towards the sun to catch its light and vital energy.
You can find the complete article about the Hashigui Iwa in Kushimoto at the following link: Hashigui Iwa: A unique seascape in Japan
