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photoshoot at Bensousan Han and exhibition

Recently I saw that there was an open call for a local photography contest. The subject was one of Thessaloniki’s oldest buildings, called Bensousan Han (about 200 years old).  It used to be a han, think of it as a bed-and-breakfast, only you could bring your horse too. Recently the building has been given a new life as a cultural space, where many of the city’s events take place. I first visited some years ago to see a theatrical play and instantly fell in love, wishing I could someday make a photoshoot there.

So, when I read about the contest, I jumped with excitement! Photographers were invited to participate in the contest by organizing a half-hour photoshoot anywhere inside the building. Each photographer could submit one picture to the contest. All the pictures will be exhibited inside the building on December 14th, when the names of the winners will also be announced. 

I spent a couple of days trying to come up with an idea that could be easily executed in half an hour but also be relevant to the buildings character as much as possible. I asked Katerina, who is an actress I played with during my theater days, to come model for me and she excitedly said yes. So, on the day of the photoshoot we met a bit early to discuss the idea and talk about my photoshoot process, so we could make the most out of those precious thirty minutes. 

dreams expand
dreams expand

Katerina really rose to the occasion and immediately got into character and nailed her pose (she is a great actress after all), so my job was fairly easy. My original idea changed as I started to shoot and I decided to go with what made more sense in terms of mood and colour. 

I spent quite some time editing it and of course I would have loved it if I had another thirty minutes for the shoot, but on the other hand I enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity. I even had about five minutes get a couple more shots with Katerina, just for fun! 

  • portrait of Katerina
    portrait of Katerina
  • portrait of Katerina
    portrait of Katerina

I am really looking forward to the exhibition! 

UPDATE: I am so honoured that my photo won the first place! A big thank you to the jurors for picking me and to the sponsors for their nice gifts!

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Kythera Photographic Encounters

A few days before my summer holidays started, I decided to submit my photos to some art festivals, hoping that I might have a chance to show my work. After all, taking part in an exhibition was one of my goals for this year, so I had to pursue it at some point. One of those submissions was the chocolate themed contest that I already talked about. By chance I happened upon the Kythera Photographic Encounters that had made a call for artists to submit their work for the 13th Young Greek Photographers exhibition. Apparently this is an event that has been held every year since 2002, but this was the first I heard about it. I decided to submit my portfolio, although I did not have high hopes for this.

I was wrong. A few days later I received a phone call informing me that some of my images were selected for the exhibition! My excitement was beyond words! I thought I didn’t have a chance, I almost didn’t submit and I was completely wrong! That proved to me that you should never say no to an opportunity, however slim you think your chances are. If I had decided that I was not good enough to submit, this would never have happened.

Kythera Photographic Encounters 2014

Kythera Photographic Encounters 2014

The event includes many photographic exhibitions and even a convention about photography in Greece, so it is going to be really interesting to attend! It will take place from the 25th until the 28th of September and one of the seven photographers participating in the Young Greek Photographers exhibition will be given an award and the opportunity to have a solo exhibition next year. Wow! For me this is a big win, even if I am not awarded, it is such a great honour and an amazing opportunity which I am very grateful for.

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the sweet tooth – exhibition in Thessaloniki’s Chocolate Factory and Museum

Happy autumn everyone! I’m back from my summer holidays and athough most people feel depressed this time of year – you know rainy days, going back to work/school – I find myself feeling full of excitement and positivity. It helps that I had some amazing news regarding my photography during the past few weeks.

I created this to enter a competition held by the Photography Center of Thessaloniki in collaboration with the Chocolate Factory and Museum that is opening its gates shortly in Thessaloniki. The theme was of course chocolate, which proved to be very difficult for me. I wanted to create an image that would fit my style and at the same time include chocolate somehow. I only had about five days for planning, shooting and editing, so I also had to keep it simple. I have to admit my head almost exploded from trying to come up with something suitable for me. If you look at my portfolio, you will probably understand why.

After rejecting a lot of ideas due to lack of time or suitable props, I finally decided to do my take on one of Magritte’s paintings, “the magician”. I tried to recreate the painting replacing the foods with chocolate and cookies and of course milk instead of wine! Magritte is probably my favorite artist of all times, I absolutely adore his works and I was fortunate enough to admire some of them when I visited Brussels a couple of years ago. He is a constant inspiration, so I thought why not pay my tribute to him in this way?

the magician, by Rene Magritte

the magician, by Rene Magritte

Last night I found out that the picture made it and will be displayed inside Thessaloniki’s chocolate factory from September 6th until March! This is the first time one of my images is part of an exhibition so I am enormously excited and proud! Also I feel very strange that so many people will be looking at my work, not to mention that I am clearly very recognizable in this picture!
Please follow my facebook page to stay up to date with all my news, because I have even more exciting things to share with you really soon!

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features, contests and other stories

I thought I’d make a seperate post to talk about my latest news and progress. Ever since I started this blog and conceptual photography, I feel like I’ve found my place in photography and to put it rather simply, I really love what I have been doing! It has been hard, mainly due to lack of time for shooting, but I am really proud of what I was able to create so far and of what I’ve learned in the process. I only have a few pictures to show, but my notebook is full of ideas for the future!

In the past few months I had a couple of features on sites like photofocus and phlearn which gave me the confidence to carry on. What was more surprising for me, was that my latest picture, “narcissus“, was selected and featured by 500px in a collection called “50 Creative Self-Portrait Ideas To Trump All Selfies“. I had nothing to do with the feature, which means someone chose it among others, and also I was not notified about the selection. Imagine the look on my face when I clicked on the link out of curiosity, only to scroll down and discover one of my own pictures in there! I saw that the collection had been posted two days before and the views count on my 500px account had gone way up!  Today “narcissus” alone has over 10.000 views! That number is surreal to me and it makes me so proud of myself!

narcissus_500px_views2

Sometimes I worry that sharing these little successes over and over on facebook or wherever, could be considered bragging. I hate to do that, I actually always avoid talking about myself and what I have accomplished. I prefer it when people discover that on their own, without me having to constantly self-advertise. But on the other hand, if I am proud of myself, why should I hide it?

I have also decided to take part in photography contests, both in Greece and abroad, mainly because I want to see where I really stand as a photographer. I am currently awaiting results from two greek contests and I am preparing my entries for others. It is an exciting, yet frightening time! I’d like to approach some galleries too, but I honestly don’t have the slightest idea how I would do that.

If I have to change one thing, that is the amount of time I dedicate to photography. It has not been easy for me to balance the dozen things I do everyday in a way that makes me satisfied. As a result I have been uploading one picture per month, which is not good enough for me. Now summer is here, so theoretically I will have more time at my disposal. I’ll give it my best!

My website is almost ready, so when I launch it, I will tranfer my blog there. Also I will start selling prints on my website, so I have to think about all kinds of stuff about that! Stay tuned for my next upload, which will be soon!