Mirador del Río

Manrique built this into the top of the Risco de Famara in 1973 and then hid it: from the road you see a low stone wall and nothing else. Inside are white curved rooms, a domed ceiling and two enormous windows cut through the rock, looking four hundred and seventy-five metres straight down on El Río — the strait — with La Graciosa and the salt pans beyond.

The architecture is half the picture. The white plaster curves reflect light back into the room, so a subject standing at the window is lit from the front by the sea and from behind by the wall; the frame of the window does the composition. Outside on the terrace you get the same view without the frame, plus the wind.

Mornings are the clean ones — the light comes across the strait and the water reads turquoise over the sandbanks. Later in the day a haze often builds over the channel, and when a calima blows in from Africa the island opposite disappears entirely. Sunset from the terrace is warm but the view is into shadow.

Entry is ticketed and the hours are its own; check them, and check what a professional session needs, because the interior is a small space shared with visitors. It is about thirty-five minutes north of Arrecife by car. Note also that Timanfaya's lava route can only be seen from the park coach — you cannot stage a shoot on it — which is why sessions on this island get built around the Manrique sites, El Golfo and the vineyards instead.