Latest News
SEPTEMBER 2010
I just came back from a long trip to Northern and Central California.
In the following weeks I plan to update the site and post a few photo-essays
and travel guides. Since I’m on the Road quite a lot lately, material keeps
piling up and I’m doing my best to keep up.
DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011
The “People” exhibition opened strong in a gallery in downtown Athens, Greece.
This was a long planned project with fellow photographer and good friend Simon Sticker.
We decided to focus on material from Africa and Asia between 2008 and 2010.
Simon took Africa and I focused on Asia. The exhibition featured 30 b&w and
color portraits covering areas affected by famine, poverty, civil war and political
instability.
Along with the exhibition there was a lecture on documentary
photography as well as a workshop on storytelling.
The exhibition was sponsored by deΒόp magazine, bar I.P.P.O. and Pefani Photolab.
APRIL 2011
The “People” exhibition is hosted by “Neorion Technis” Gallery in my hometown, Agrinio in western Greece. The Municipality of Agrinio, deΒόp magazine, the Center of the Arts and “Neorion Technis” must all be mentioned for their enthusiastic sponsoring. During the two weeks of the exhibition local high schools visited the gallery and they had a chance to sit through screenings of short documentary films created by me and Simon that were relevant to the exhibits.
The People exhibition will be hosted in Copenhagen, Denmark and Cologne, Germany early 2012.
MAY 2011
I spend May commuting back and forth from the cityscapes of Athens to the open landscapes of Mesologi in Western Greece, as part of an ongoing effort since 2008 to capture the spirit of one of my favorite places on earth. Part of the material will be used in my “landscapes” exhibition in 2012.
JUNE – JULY 2011
INSIDE OUT PROJECT : ATHENS
ABOUT THE PROJECT :
The beginning
When I was contacted, in early June, by the MELD founders about doing a project in Athens I admit I was hesitant for a number of reasons.
To name a few, most of my photo shoots are done overseas and I hadn’t worked in Europe for quite a few years, let alone the vast wasteland we call Athens. Somehow I detest taking photos in the place I call home, and when I’m here my camera gear stays in the bag till it’s time to get to the airport.
Add to that intense preparations for an upcoming documentary photo trip to Eastern Africa, it meant I would have less than a month to complete the project (shooting and editing) and at the same time be mentally and physically ready for some hardcore traveling in war-torn areas, starting late July.
It’s funny how things work though. All it took to get on board was meeting Corinne and Yvonne in person. A glass of sparkling water and a few smokes later we shook hands and I was on my way back home to dust off my gear and think of the logistics.
The gear
I decided to do all the photography using my Canon 7D and a 16-35mm II 1:2.8 L lens.
It’s a lens made for documentary shooting and it provided a challenge trying to do close-up portrait photography with it. I decided against the standard 50mm 1:1.4 lens or a 35mm one, keeping in mind that I could experiment with wider frames and break a few of Corinne’s rules in the process.
For the interviews I shot the video using two cameras and two different formats :
60fps in HD for the Canon 7D and 25 fps for the Canon 550D.
I also used an external directional microphone from Rode to capture the sound and the 550D’s internal stereo mic.
Finally, I carried around an array of tripods and my favorite toy, a glidecam HD2000 for the steady-cam shots.
As for the lighting, I tried to use natural light on most occasions – usually late evenings during the golden hour.
On most close-ups I enhanced the available light with a reflector and occasionally a remotely triggered Canon 580EX external flash. For two of the children portrayed in the series I shot in a photo studio, using external flashes and soft-boxes.
Methodology
Little did I know when I was agreeing to this project that it would be one of the most intense experiences I had in Athens in quite a while.
My initial goal was to have as much of a geographical coverage as possible. And I don’t mean Athens – think globally. Naturally, I soon realized that my ambitions need to be taken down a notch. Apparently there are fewer Aussies and Kiwis raising families in Athens than one might expect. That meant Oceania was out of the game from the very start.
My contacts for the various immigrant communities in Athens came from the Immigrant School in Exarhia. There, I merely asked and I instantly got a list of phone numbers and addresses of all the NGOs operating in Athens.
From there it was simply a matter of making my phone provider just a little bit richer. Of course it’d be a lie if I claimed everything went smoothly. Making phone calls, dealing with the occasional rejection, booking appointments, roaming the city in order to meet the families, getting to know them, listening to their stories… it was intense to say the least; but at the same time very rewarding.
Two weeks and a few thousand clicks later the shooting was done. Nine countries, four continents and sixteen families were represented.
Post Production
Post production was done using Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe Lighroom 3.0 and Adobe Bridge.
It took me about three days to organize and select the photos, and about a week to edit them.
Thanks
Yvonne Sedouf and Corinne Weber, founders of MELD, a big thanks for entrusting me with this project and for all the conversations in a backyard somewhere in Pagrati. I’ll be seeing you a lot in the months to come!
None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for Doreta Linakis, owner of deBop magazine, and good friend who sponsors my exhibitions in Greece. She’s the one who introduced me to Corinne and Yvonne in the first place.
Dia Kalaitzoglou, a fellow photographer and travel writer arranged the meetings with the Asian communities and helped with the cinematography. He’s on his way to China at the moment. Bon voyage brother!
Helen Sotiriadis, a Greek-American professional photographer and good friend, helped me with some of the post processing, providing valuable guidance when I felt lost.
My better half and the person whose advice I crave the most when it comes to photography, Alexia McConnell, was right next to me every step of the way. She’s responsible for most the lighting, the behind-the-scenes footage and she is the first one to see the final selections. Alex I can’t thank you enough…
Finally, a big thank you to all the wonderful people who I met during this past month.
Entebbe, Uganda - July 29, 2011
JULY – AUGUST 2011
Just as the shooting for the “Inside Out” project finished it was time for me and Alexia to get on a plane for a small vacation in Istanbul, Turkey before finally reaching our first destination : Entebbe, Uganda. As soon as we landed I was in “working” mode once again.
During the month that followed I focused mainly on video, directing and producing short documentaries for various NGOs in Uganda and Rwanda. The best thing about shooting video on a DSLR is the glidecam HD2000 – well, for me at least!
By the end of the year I hope to have finished with the editing of most of the material from Eastern Africa and upload them under the “videography” section of this website.
I did work for the Greek Orthodox Church missions and the Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda, as well as writing and directing a short film titled “Father Mbalire’s Children” about a single priest’s struggles while caring for orphaned children in the slums of Kampala.
While in Rwanda, I worked for the “Ubushobozi” project in Ruhengeri, a small NGO who focuses on getting young women from the street and teaching them waving, sewing and social skills.
My last project in Rwanda had to do with the life of American Peace Corps volunteers placed in remote sites around the country where they teach in local schools or provide medical services. Probably the most rewarding experience in Rwanda was meeting with Simon and Maja who were heading North on a seven month trip from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt in the making of the “Humans” project. We celebrated Simon’s birthday in Kigali, Rwanda on August 25th and then headed back to Uganda for some more work in and around Kampala.
