« El Banco Mas Bonito del Mundo » was the name that caught my attention on Google Maps when I was looking for locations to photograph in Galicia, Spain. I was looking for places with sea stacks and a coastline that is well-oriented for sunrise or sunset. If your Spanish is as good as mine, it means the most beautiful bench in the world. My curiosity was piqued, so I had to find out what was so special about this bench that it could be referenced in such a way on maps.
So I looked for photos that would give me an idea of what this place looked like and whether it was worth making the drive from Ribadeo, where I was based.
The bench itself is nothing special, but obviously, the name refers more to the view from it. From the bench, you overlook the Ría de Ortigueira. There's an unobstructed view to the west, with Cape Ortegal and its lighthouse in the distance, and a few rock formations at the foot of the cliff where the bench is located, but it was the images of the surrounding area that made me decide to visit this place. I checked the accessibility of the site, and it turns out that there is a parking lot. All I need to do next is check the tides and sunrise times for the period when I'll be in the area, for the rest I can only cross my fingers and hope that the weather is on my side.
On the 24th of April, I set my alarm clock at 4 am and drove the 90km in the dark to get there for sunrise. It took me about 1 hour 20 minutes to get there, as the roads aren't exactly straight lines in this part of northern Spain. I arrived half an hour before sunrise, but the first light of dawn was already showing above the horizon. I parked the car, got ready as quickly as possible and set off along the trail. After only a few hundred meters, I'm forced to stop: the view is just incredible! I look for a few compositions and decide on this one, as I have to be quick: the sun is beginning to light the sky an the clouds with colours.
I tried out several compositions and settled on this vertical one because it allows me to include more sky and eliminate part of the empty ocean on the left of the image. Still, the downside is that it includes part of the foreground, which is pretty messy. It's still quite dark, so it shouldn't be too prominent in the final image - a little dodging and burning should be enough to soften it.
This photo is far from perfect, but perfection doesn't often happen in landscape photography. It's often a question of compromise. I did try to move to the right or left, but it was the only opening in the vegetation that allowed me not to include too much foreground. On the right, there were 2 camping cars in the parking lot that I'd rather not include in the photo and would have had to erase in Photoshop. On the other hand, I wanted to keep the fishermen's huts at the foot of the cliff and the path of light between the cliff and the large sea stack to guide the eye towards the sky with its line of clouds and the brightest part of the photo. I also cropped it in a 5x7 format.
I took a lot of photos that morning, but none from the famous bench. In fact, I found three benches in this area that, in my opinion, offer more photo opportunities.
My only regret is that I didn't choose a rental closer to this place so I could go back and explore more. I did go back the next day, but I would have liked to spend at least a week there. I needed time to familiarize myself with a place, and I only had a few days left to spend in Galicia before heading back to Asturias. That's for another trip.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor