The backstories of these five breathtaking vacation images

The backstories of these five breathtaking vacation images reveal hidden gems and unforgettable experiences. Each photo captures a unique moment, showcasing stunning landscapes, vibrant cultures, and adventures that inspire wanderlust, inviting you to explore and create your own travel memories.

The backstories of these five breathtaking vacation images

The backstories of these five breathtaking vacation images, taken by Takashi, Daryl Chapman, Tom Cannon, John McDermott, and Aung Pyae Soe, have backstories that showcase gorgeous vistas and unforgettable moments. Every picture conveys a different tale while encapsulating the spirit of remarkable and varied locations.

Takashi

Mount Fuji, Japan (2017) 

Takashi Nakazawa, a.k.a. Takashi, has been photographing a single mountain for eight years. He has won awards for his photographs of Mount Fuji, including one at the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards.

Recalling his first meeting with Mount Fuji, photographer Nakazawa says, “I encountered a superb view of a pure white swan crossing a lake, while the mountain emerged behind a bank of fog.” “I’ve been completely fixated on this mountain ever since that moment.”

Nakazawa set up a roadside post at a height of around 1,200 meters above sea level in the Yunooku-Inokashira region, east of the mountain, in order to take this picture.

He spent two hours waiting for what Japanese photographers refer to as the “Pearl Fuji” moment—when the moon crests over the mountain—with his Nikon D800 and 125mm telephoto lens.

Using an f/11 aperture and 1/50 second shutter speed, Nakazawa states, “I quickly moved to another spot several hundred meters away just as I was ready to shoot.” Here, the moon had risen beyond the clouds, and Mount Fuji was bathed in a deep red glow from the setting sun. It was an incredible occasion.

Daryl Chapman

Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong (1998) 

From 1992 until the night it closed in 1998, Daryl Chapman, one of Hong Kong’s most active automotive photographers, was at Kai Tak Airport almost every weekend and public holiday.

On the day he took this photo, he had never before selected this shooting location, which is atop a footbridge above the Kai Tak Tunnel entrance in To Kwa Wan.

Two skyscrapers framed planes as they swooped into the tarmac from his vantage point, highlighting the airport’s close closeness to the city’s congested streets. All in all, Chapman’s day was typical, although a little slow; just three or four planes descended before he used his Canon SLR to photograph this Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-300.

“I had a lot of photography options because the airport was so close to the city,” he adds, remembering the excitement of seeing an aircraft make a hard turn over Kowloon City and land on runway 13. “I cherish the fact that this picture has become a classic representation of Hong Kong.”

Tom Cannon

Coral Bay, Australia (2018)

Underwater photographer Tom Cannon, 27, is based in Coral Bay, approximately two hours’ flight north of Perth. As the owner of Ocean Collective Media, a tour and content firm, he gets to regularly capture images of whale sharks, manta rays, and humpback whales in the Ningaloo Reef.

Unlike most days, he had an unusual start to the March 2018 day he took this picture. “We discovered this young whale shark, only about 5 meters long, after only 20 minutes or so on the boat,” Cannon adds. “It kept hanging around because it was really curious about the bubbles from the boat.”

Using his Nikon D810 and Aquatech underwater housing, Cannon took this picture partially above and partially below the water. He used his wide-angle fish-eye lens to capture the entire picture and opened his aperture to bring in additional light.

“The shark just stopped still in the water, so it was almost vertical, and let me take its photo about 15 minutes into shooting,” remembers Cannon. Even after I took the picture, the whale shark continued to follow me around, making it one of the friendliest ones I’ve ever seen!

John McDermott

Angkor, Cambodia (2014) 

John McDermott, a US native originally from Arkansas, started traveling to Cambodia in the early 2000s in order to work on ELEGY: Reflections on Angkor, a photography book that functions as a pre-tourist image of Angkor.

Since then, he has established a fine art and photography gallery in Siem Reap and has kept up his temple photography throughout the area. This picture of Bayon, a temple in the Angkor Thom complex with 54 stone towers and four gigantic face carvings facing in the cardinal directions, is one of his favorite photos. McDermott utilized an antique Nikon FM2 film camera loaded with 35mm Kodak black-and-white infrared film to accentuate the temple’s enigmatic quality.

“The clouds that morning were especially good; they give a picture depth and drama,” remarks McDermott. The film had several inherent issues, and getting the appropriate appearance and feel took a lot of effort in the darkroom. The outcome bizarrely represents the might of the former Angkorian empire.

Aung Pyae Soe

Bagan, Myanmar (2011)

An award-winning travel photographer from Yangon named Aung Pyae Soe is drawn to Bagan, an ancient city that was recently inducted into the Unesco World Heritage List. “I never get bored because there are more than 3,000 pagodas there, and every season has its own beauty,” Soe explains.

In order to get this picture, Rays of Bagan, Soe ascended Mee Nyein Khone Temple, one of the nearby pagodas, early in the winter morning and then bided their time until the sun rose, about two hours. He increased his depth of field by adjusting his Canon EOS 5D Mark II to a tight aperture of f/32, waiting for the ideal opportunity.

Soe remembers, “Abruptly, mist covered the area and the sun cast this golden glow.” “I think my old lens made this possible. I got lucky to get this flare from the sun.”