CRAFT: Ronny Behnert’s Floating Torii

In 2019, German photographer Ronny Behnert travelled the length of Japan photographing traditional Torrii gates. Despite capturing some of Japan’s most photographed landscapes, the resulting series won Behnert first prize in the Sony World Photography Awards, 2020.

Using an involved process that combines neutral density filters and long-exposure times to carefully control the light, Behnert’s otherworldly portraits capture Japan’s Torii gates like never before. Pictured in sharp focus against a bleached-out backdrop of hazy greys, Behnert’s Torii appear to float – hanging in mid-air or cast out to sea, anchored in a tiny slice of land. Isolated like this, the significance of Japan’s iconic gateways are more keenly felt as sacred portals to the spiritual realm.

For more of Behnert’s atmospheric travel photography, find him on Instagram

Images: Ronny Behnert