The church on Bled Island shimmers with golden light as the sun rises in Lake Bled.

Photographing a morning in this spot, watching night turn to day, had me feeling like a kid again – immersed in some fable, some fantasy tale of heroes and knights and good battling evil.

I spent a couple days in December in this stunning wonder of Slovenia. Even as the world’s worst morning person, I managed to make it up for sunrises like this – though after saying a prayer to the Red Bull god. Good thing I did. There’s something magical about being up this early, feeling like you’re the only person that exists on this planet, and watching a golden fable unfold.