Making of a Photograph: Part 3 – Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima, Japan)

Part 3 features this iconic floating shrine (UNESCO world heritage) at Miyajima (a.k.a. Itsukushima), Japan photographed back in June 2019. I probably was there before when I was a child, as I grew up in Japan, but it was my first visit for more than 30 years. 😅

Upon disembarking a ferry at Miyajima (in Japanese, “shima” or “jima” means island), I saw quite a number of deer freely roaming around. The deer there liked to eat paper maps visitors were holding, and one of them even grabbed my jacket with its mouth and didn’t let go for a while. 😂

As for the photo, I actually shot two photos on this evening, this one at 19:20 pm (2 minutes after sunset), extending 1/5 second of base shutter speed into 206 seconds by using a 10 stop ND filter, and another one closer to the end of dusk using a 6 stop ND filter, and liked this one better for its surreal feel and the glass-like water.

One interesting fact. When I did a print giveaway on Twitter last year, I asked two lucky draw winners to pick one photo from my Top 50 Photo Gallery page (now replaced by Home Gallery page). Then, both winners picked this Itsukushima Shrine photo. 😅 To me, this photo is among my most favourite, but not the top choice, as I prefer cityscapes. 😅

Anyway, considering that I only had this day to shoot at Miyajima, I was quite happy with the result. Travel photography depends on luck (e.g. weather, cloud formations, stillness of water, etc.), and on that day, I was lucky enough to capture something that is considered one of my best images on the first attempt. 😀

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About the Author: LASTLIGHTS.NET is a passion project of Joey J, a Singapore-based Japanese photographer primarily shooting cityscape photography with long exposure at blue hour. Visit his Home Gallery (30 most favourite photos taken) or download his free eBook, Getting Started with Long Exposure Photography.