Kyoto | 10,000 Gates | Late evening photo session at the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Its 10,000 torii gates cast criss-crossing shadows into the ni

painting with light - Fernwayer Travel Stories & Experiences

Japan

Late evening photo session at the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Its 10,000 torii gates cast criss-crossing shadows into the night. 

⛩ ⛩ ⛩ ⛩ ⛩ 

This Shinto shrine has a very mystical quality, especially when it’s pitch dark, with no people around. Perfect for long 20-second exposures to capture the light and the shadows. Or “light painting” with a flashlight. 

That’s me brandishing a lightsaber and painting with it  Now imagine this as a Star Wars location for a fight scene. 

In between sets of Torii Gates, there are family shrines which are even more special, complete with miniature Torii, candlesticks and kitsune. 

🦊

Snow is falling, it’s ethereal, and the shrine’s spirits are no doubt watching.

10,000 Gates

United States

Morocco

This is the view of The Red City, Marrakech’s medina from the panoramic terrace of Maison de la Photographie.

The museum of photographs is fascinating in how it came about – two famous photographers, Patrick Menac’h and Hamid Mergani, brought together their common passion for vintage Moroccan photography, and pooled their photos for the public to admire. Here I realize how black-and-white photos can dramatize the light-and-shadow effects in the medina.

From the terrace, you can have a glass of mint tea, and wonder about the thousands of satellite dishes that dominate the view. 

It’s peaceful here. On a clear day, you can see the snow-clad High Atlas Mountains. But you can’t see the chaos of Djemaa el-Fna, or hear shouts of ‘Balek!’ whenever donkey-carts come through laden with heavy goods. You can’t see the ‘hand of Fatima’ good-luck symbols painted on the carts after they have ambled past you. Or count the number of chickens being transported on the back of a groaning Vespa.

Pausing in the Frenzy

Staying at the Inn at Death Valley, we thought we would be able to get up just before sunrise and make a dash over to Zabriskie Point. In hind sight, we should have woken up a good 60 minutes earlier, since the viewpoint was packed with people as we got there. 


The stunning views of the badlands slowly fill up with yellow, orange, purple and brown colors - and every hue in between - as the sun comes up, totally makes up for the early rise. Once the sun has finished painting the badlands, it reaches out to color in the Panamint Range across the valley with gorgeous pinks and purples. If you want to avoid the crowds, do the 2.5 mile Badlands Loop hike. Right after the walk, you can drive the short 3 mile Twenty Mule Team Canyon loop drive before returning to Stovepipe Wells for breakfast. 

We had been told that the Death Valley National Park is all about extremes - and the Zabriskie Point is a visual representation of that.

Japan

Kyoto

10,000 Gates

Morocco

Marrakesh-Safi

Pausing in the Frenzy

United States

California

Painting with Light