“I never stop thinking about color even during my dinner on Santorini Island.
I loved the cherry tomatoes. Not only do they taste great, but oh boy,
they where really red.” - GD -

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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Santorini, Greece - “The liquid road.”

It is winter in Europe now and I thought to give everybody a little break from Asia and share with you some photos from one of my favorite places... called Santorini in Greece all images on this post are taken a few years ago during the winter month of February.
"The story behind the images."

Santorini in Greece, one of the most thought after holiday destinations for the rich and famous, also a destination for Honeymooners and a popular spot for the Gay community during the summer month, but Santorini has a lot more to offer; from incredible Landscapes, amazing colors, great wines and the super red cherry tomatoes.

During a trip to Germany in February I decided to take a little detour and swing by this island on my way home to Manila.
It was in the middle of winter and the weather in the Mediterranean can get cold and extremely windy, my short flight from Athens to the island was even delayed for a few hours due to weather conditions.

Wow I thought, I wonder how this one is going to turn out…I had decided to go to Santorini for it's amazing colors… you know how much I love colors, but going there in the middle of winter...well almost everyone said I was ga, ga.

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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Santorini, Greece - "Right behind me."

But then I always go to places in the off season anyway, when only a few tourists hanging around and in the case of Santorini there were almost none.
Santorini is famous for its blue skies and beautiful sunny weather during the summer month, but what I wanted was not just boring blue skies but dramatic clouds on the horizon and I was really hoping for my kind of weather.

Once I arrived on the island I started to walk…kilometers everyday, it was windy and chilly but the sun came out during the day and in the afternoon I was blessed with some amazing clouds and fantastic light.

OK, I have to admit it was cold, very windy and finding an open Restaurant not far from my small empty Hotel in the evenings became a real challenge.
Of course I had to eat sometimes, but after running around all day I was not in the mood to cover the whole Island again and finding a restaurant.
After a few hours on my first day I did managed and found a very cozy place, close by my Hotel, where I had my Greek Salads every night with a special order of those locally grown real red cheery tomatoes and some Santorini wine, which BTW is excellent.

It was on my 3rd day when I spotted an interesting cloud formation; the fading sun already gave me this beautiful light. Oh…I need to get to the right spot now…over to the cliffs, but that was far away…way to far to walk.

After waiting on the roadside for a few anxious minutes I managed to flag down a cab, wow that was lucky… not many cabs around that time of the year, told the driver to take me to this cliff I checked out the previous day and off we went.

Uhhh… just made it, no time to spare to put up a Tripod, I run over to the cliff…greeted by yet another one of natures amazing light spectacles. I named this image later “The liquid road.” see above.

The asphalt road carved out of the cliffs below leading down to the Santorini Harbor was shining like oil…an awesome sight.
The whole spectacle lasted no longer then a few minutes before the road turned back to its normal color and the magic light on the cliffs slowly disappeared.

So, here I was shooting like crazy, taking a breather now and then, I turned around…holy cow… now I know why everything looks so fantastic, a cloud formation subduing the sun was creating these amazing colors on the cliff face and made the road look like liquid.

I managed to squeeze in a few extra shots from what happen right behind me, without moving an inch just turning around on my heels.
So there you have it, above are two cool images from one position, yet another lucky day for me.

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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Santorini, Greece - during the winter months.

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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Santorini, Greece - another great afternoon

Observing the weather and checking your locations upon arrival makes all the difference, I even took a taxi the first day just driving around the island checking locations where I would like to be in the late afternoon.

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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Santorini, Greece - walking the narrow streets

I came to Santorini for its color…I certainly didn’t get disappointed; I was alone, well “almost” exploring this ancient rim of a Volcano for almost two weeks.

“True colors will never change.” - GD -

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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Santorini, Greece - stairway to heaven...

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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Colors - Santorini, Greece,

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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
The archway - Santorini, Greece

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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Color & simplicity - Santorini, Greece

Please note: No Photoshop or manipulation on any of the images, these are indeed the true colors of Santorini.

More images from Santorini @ my PhotoShelter Gallery

GD

More information and excerpts from Wikipedia below:

Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and leading to the creation of the current geological caldera.

The island is the remnant of a volcanic cone whose top was blown off. The inner coast around the caldera is a sheer precipice of more than 300 m drop at its highest, and exhibits the various layers of solidified lava on top of each other, and the main towns perched on the crest.
The ground then slopes outwards and downwards towards the outer perimeter, and the outer beaches are smooth and shallow. Beach sand color depends on which geologic layer is exposed; there are beaches with sand or pebbles made of solidified lava of various colors: the Red Beach, the Black Beach, the White Beach, etc. The water at the darker colored beaches is significantly warmer because the lava acts as a heat absorber.
More @ Wikipedia

“Painted Skies & Oceans”
the Colors of Micronesia.



© Gunther Deichmann - Dramatic Sunset & Rainbow over the Pacific.

A dramatic sunset in the Pacific, the Image above taken between Chuuk (Truk Lagoon) and Pohnpei in Micronesia.

The Federated States of Micronesia is an independent, sovereign nation made up of Pohnpei and three other states; Chuuk, Kosrae, and Yap. Together, the FSM comprises approximately 607 small islands in the Western Pacific spread over almost 1,700 miles (2,700 km) from east to west just above the equator some 2,500 miles (4,000 km) southwest of Hawaii and about 1,800 miles (2,900 km) north of eastern Australia, above Papua New Guinea.

© Gunther Deichmann - Sunset over the famous Truk Lagoon,
a Divers paradise for WWII ship wrecks

Chuuk or better known amongst the Scuba Diving community as Truk Lagoon is a must for Divers who like to explore the amazing WWII wrecks in this Lagoon. A whole Japanese fleet was sunk here during the WWII. Great Visibility and little current makes this a perfect destination for Wreck Divers.

© Gunther Deichmann - A lone Coconut tree at the edge of
Truk Lagoon, Chuuk Micronesia



© Gunther Deichmann - dramatic clouds over the
Palau Rock islands, Micronesia

Palau is also know as one of the best Dive destinations in the world, diving highlights include Blue Corner and the Blue Hole, plus so many others. In 2009 Palau became also the first Shark Sanctuary in the World, one of Natures best kept secret with its amazing bio diversity below and above the waves. Check out Sam’s Tours for all your scuba diving activities in 2010.

© Gunther Deichmann - a small island just in front
of the Palau Pacific Resort




© Gunther Deichmann - typical Pacific sunset, Palau




© Gunther Deichmann - Islands at sunset, Palau Micronesia




© Gunther Deichmann - Coconut trees at the edge of
Truk Lagoon, Chuuk Micronesia



© Gunther Deichmann - aerial view at sunset, Rock Islands Palau



© Gunther Deichmann - view from inside a
cave in the Palau Rock Islands, Palau



© Gunther Deichmann - sunset at the Palau Pacific Resort also known as PPR

Check out the GD PhotoWorkshop site for all the Calendar dates in 2010
including a trip trip to Palau Micronesia in June 2010
Adventure Travel with your Digital Camera!