Heath McKinley, First light on Fuji (PLACES 2024)

Waking at 4am and hiking up to the Chureito Pagoda in Yamanashi Prefecture with other sightseers I chose to avoid the standard postcard shot. Capturing the first light to crest the iconic Mt Fuji in the "home of the rising sun" felt befitting. With a monochromatic theme in mind, I chose to emphasize the contrast between light & dark, day & night, land & sky. First light on Fuji is a dramatic landscape portrait of an iconic location.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.