‘The boys disappear into the forest all day to play, pretending to be ninjas’: Emilio Morenatti’s best phone picture

The AP photographer captured two friends meeting as the sun set on a torrid evening near Girona

In the countryside just outside Girona, a group of friends share a 300-year-old farmhouse. They spend their weekends and holidays here, with their kids. What began as a way to disconnect from the big city of Barcelona evolved into something quite different for Isaac, nine, and Pau, seven, pictured here; it's where they laid the bedrock of their friendship.

Pau's dad, Emilio Morenatti, AP's chief photographer for Spain and Portugal, took the shot on his iPhone 14 while unpacking the car for a visit in August. We'd just arrived on this torrid, midsummer evening and were planning a few days of rest. I saw this scene in the courtyard, under the trees, and knew it was special: this moment where two lifelong friends met under a wonderful sunset. I'd have missed it had I gone inside for my camera."