After “recovering” from bad job opportunities and
thankfully when I was finally hired at a “steadier” job I got back to my old
photo habits. The days before I could afford my first vacation I shot a few
shots around my village, mainly for remembering the camera and its limitations.
I climbed a bad road with my father’s car to a monastery in the middle of the
summer and took some very good shots up there, but the car really went down on
me after I returned and my father had it repaired. It had a cracked engine
shielding, but I was not the one to blame as this was due to not having any
fluids in the radiator for a long time and was not looked into after I returned
and mentioned the problem (with the engine temperature climbing high).
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| The upper monastery of Voulkanos in Messinia, near Mavromati |
Later that month I went to a very good friend’s
wedding (that family obligations, time, space and job issues have separated us
now) and I took my first “WOW” shot which still means a lot to me and it’s full
of feeling and good atmosphere. We had a beautiful time and I was happy with my
achievement, although I was not aware what the photo would look like.
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| Dimitris and Chrisoula at their wedding in Kalamata |
And the time came for my first vacation I could afford! My wife and I went
to Lesvos island at my grandparents’ house and they were kind
enough to show us the entire island for 15 days. Some of the places we went
were Mandamados, Agiasos, Petra, Mithimna (formely known as
Molyvos) and I was
always carrying my camera with me.
Mytilini
harbor was beautifully lit in the afternoon but it needed a few Saturation
increase in order to feel the atmosphere and “see” the reflections. The morning
was a good time to shoot, but it was really difficult to find new spots to
shoot (at least for me at that time). Sightseeing was difficult as we had a lot
of roads to walk and the distance was not by any means short.
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| Mytilini harbor in the afternoon with Aghios Therapontas church in the background |
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| Mitilini, the head (kara) of Aghios Theodoros |
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| Setting sun in the afternoon just before taking the ship back home. |
Agiasos was
one of the most graphic villages I have ever been to. Unfortunately due to the
excessive heat I did not want to shoot many photos and I just selected a few
places to shoot.
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| Agiasos village in mid-2002, full of color and light. |
Mantamados really was all about the Archangel
Michael icon and we didn’t go anywhere else.The icon is made of blood and mud by the
blood of the martyred monks and is shaped into the icon-sculpture of the
Archangel as it is today.
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| Mantamados, the Archangel Michael icon made of mud and the blood of the slayered monks |
We arrived at Petra in high noon and went to the church on the
rock. In the opposite direction there is Mithimna (formely known as
Molyvos), but we
decided to spend the afternoon there as the road was difficult and we were
hungry and tired.
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| Petra in Lesvos island, shot from outside the church |
We reached Mithimna (formely known as
Molyvos) late in the
afternoon and with the available light at that time of day I could only take a
couple of shoots and return to the car. We reached Mytilini late at night with dizziness, hunger and
fatigue, but I was happily surprised when I finally had my shots developed.
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| Landscape shot from Mithimna castle (formely known as Molyvos) |
It is not easy for me (espesially now), but I want to return to Lesvos Island and shoot digitally all that's left from the old era. People, colors and architecture have all changed by now, but I am sure there are some places where time rolls like in the old days.
