Oia — the blue domes and the windmill

The postcard is real: three blue-domed chapels stepped down the caldera cliff, white Oia stacked behind them, the volcano islands in the haze below. The viewpoint is a narrow ledge on the main marble path through Oia, and by 9am it has a queue. At first light it belongs to you — the town is asleep, the light comes soft over the ridge, and the domes sit in cool shadow that warms minute by minute.

Work three frames: the classic domes shot from the ledge, the marble lane leading north with the windmill at its end, and the castle ruins at Oia's tip looking back at the whole town on its cliff. Sunset at the castle is the famous one and the most crowded place on the island — for a shoot, sunrise wins every time; keep sunset for being a guest, not a subject.

Respect makes the difference here: the domes belong to churches and the paths run over private roofs and stairs. Stay on the public path, never climb onto the white rooftops, and the frames are all still there.