Summer 2025. I had been wanting to try scuba diving for a couple of years. Finally, I found the time, and a friend suggested a place in Crete that gave me the perfect opportunity to visit another friend from university whom I hadn’t seen for a couple of years.
Scuba diving didn’t go well, so I ended up with two extra days to explore the western half of Crete.
Fortunately, whenever I travel, I take my photography gear with me, regardless of what the actual plan for the trip is. You never really know what you might come across, and having a camera with you means there is always an excuse to go exploring. This time, what had originally been a side activity became the main plan.
I spent a day in Rethymno, a day in Chania, and a day exploring the south of Crete. With the sun at its highest, the scenes were extremely bright and the atmosphere incredibly hot. The harsh summer light made photography a bit tricky. The best times of day for photography during summer are usually early in the morning or late in the evening, which leaves only a relatively small window of good light. I didn’t have much time, though, so I had to try and make it work with what I had.
Thankfully, the streets weren’t packed with tourists, which made things a little easier. It also meant I could take my time wandering around, looking for interesting scenes rather than simply trying to see as much as possible.
The trip wasn’t really planned as a photography trip, and the conditions certainly weren’t ideal. But sometimes having a camera with you is enough. A failed plan can turn into an unexpected opportunity to explore somewhere new, and in the end, that’s exactly what happened here.
