Roque Nublo is a rock formation on the island of Gran Canaria, one of Spain's Canary Islands or Islas Canarias en Español. They are an autonomous region of Spain but they are geographically situated in Africa, about 150 km or 93 miles from the coast. Despite the name, the islands were not named after canaries which is a logical assumption. The name actually comes from the Latin word for dog, “canaria.” One possible story is that when some of the first Europeans arrived, they found large dogs on the island of Gran Canaria. The other possible story is that they might be named after seals that used to inhabit the islands, which the Romans called “sea dogs.” It's an interesting historical tidbit, regardless of which story you believe - Woof!
Instead of staying next to the beach, I opted to stay a 5 minute drive from el Roque Nublo so I could arrive quickly and capture my images. It is 67 m (220 ft) tall, and its top is 1,813 m (5,948 ft) above sea level and since the beach is an hour away by car, we only went once. That was a great decision because it was a train wreck of cheesy tourists and horrible restaurants.
This image was probably the one that I spent the most time planning. Ever. I used an App and figured out when the moon would set, when the sun would rise AND I went to do recon the day prior to find a good spot to manage the depth of field of the final product. Most people know that despite the best planning you can always expect something unplanned to occur.
This time it was a good surprise, as I found that two hikers decided to walk to the top of the plateau and observe sunrise and the full moon. You can see them on the left. maxdobens.com