Group exhibition at Blank Wall gallery

The Blank Wall Gallery at Athens, Greece, is hosting a photography exhibition with "Dreamlike Landscape" photos from photographers all over the world and includes one of my images. Have a look at the catalogue of the exhibition or read a press announcement. 

Here is the press release: 

Dreamlike Landscapes. Photographs that create a dreemlike feeling. Time is there and gives a very vivid effect on the final result, These images present a distorted reality. They speak to each viewer separately and by inviting them to empty their minds from every thought, they create a variety of emotions and reactions, a different reality for each and everyone. Seemingly ordinary and everyday scenes are transformed into something different.

Participating artists:

Alex Moustris # Greece                 Gregoris Mentzas # Greece
Jamie Rowland # UK                      Jeff Alves de Lima # USA
Joanna Epstein # USA                   Kostas Barbadimos # Greece
Mariko Evans # Japan                    Mark Chen # USA
Markus Green # Germany             Michael Wicks # USA
Miguel Cabezas # Spain                Panagiotis Feloukas # Greece
Patrick Whitaker # USA                  Pete McCuchen # USA
Rohina Gandhi Hoffman # USA     Ron Colbroth # USA
Ronny Behnert # Germany            Ryan Alexandra Shanley # USA
Tom Harper # USA                         Thomas Lemke # USA

Nomination in Monochrome Awards

Honorable Mention in Fine Art for the winning entry "Pier #3" at the prestigious Monochrome Awards honouring Black & White Photography.

Monochrome Photography Awards conducts an annual competition for Professional and Amateur photographers. Their mission is to celebrate monochrome visions and discover most amazing photographers from around the world.

The 2015 Monochrome Awards received nearly 7000 submissions from 86 countries around the world.

The winning images were selected by panel of international judges, including: Ted Preuss, David Fokos, Roman Loranc, David Johndrow, Stefano Brunesci, Tomasz Lazar, Dominique Bollinger, Andre Brito, Giacomo Brunelli and Martin Stavars.

2015: Three nominations in the 10th Annual Black and White Spider Awards

Three nominations in the 10th Annual Black and White Spider Awards, a leading international award honoring excellence in black and white photograph. 

1. "Shipwreck Study #3" won a nomination in the "Fine Art" category
2. "Shipwreck Study #6" won a nomination in the "Fine Art" category and
3. the flying Ballerina won one in the "People" category. 

Bronze star award and 6 honourable mentions in ND Awards

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A 3rd place bronze star award and six (6) honourable mentions in the prestigious 2015 International ND Photography Awards.

This year's awards were selected by an international panel of highly acclaimed judges including two of my favourite photographers, Hengki Koentjoro from Indonesia and Michael Levin from Canada. 

The awarded photos are the following: 

• Two (2) honourable mentions in the category “Fine Art: Landscape” for:
  • the series “Sunset at the lagoon” and
  • the photo “Boat in foggy lake”
• Two (2) honourable mentions in the category “Fine Art: Other” for: 
  • the series “Roses in decay” and
  • the series “Calla lilies”
• Two honourable mentions in the category “Nature: Seascapes/Waterscapes” for:
  • the series “Sunset at the lagoon” and
  • the series “Serenity at Scheveningen”
• A 3rd place - bronze star Award in the category: “People - Self-portrait” for the photo “Lubi and me”

Behind the scenes: Kalohori lagoon

Behind the scenes of the shots at Kalohori lagoon (near Thessaloniki in Northern Greece). Kalohori proved to be a favourite place for my long exposure approach. 

Five honourable mentions in the 2015 IPA International Photography Awards

Five (5) honourable awards in the 2015 IPA International Photography Awards.

The International Photography Awards™ conducts an annual competition for professional and non-professional photographers on a global scale, creating one of the most ambitious and comprehensive competitions in the photography world. In 2015, IPA received over 27000 submissions from 104 countries across the globe.

The honourable mentions were awarded to the following photos (or series of photos): 

• “Roses in decay” (series) in the category: ‘Fine Art : Still Life’, link to the certificate of accomplishment; 
• “Portraits of calla lilies”, in the category ‘Fine Art : Still Life’,link to the certificate of accomplishment;
• “Portraits of calla lilies”, in the category ‘Nature : Flowers’, link to the certificate of accomplishment;
• “Park of souls”, in the category: ‘Deeper Perspective’, link to the certificate of accomplishment;
• “Boat in foggy lake”, in the category ‘Fine Art : Landscape’, link to the certificate of accomplishment. 

Three nominations in International Contest Honouring Fine Art Photography

Three (3) nominations in the 2015 International Contest Honouring Fine Art Photography (FAPA 2015).

This year's Fine Art Photography Awards received more than 3000 submissions from 77 countries around the world. Winners were selected by highly acclaimed panel of international judges.

The three series that were awarded are as follows: 

• Park of Souls (Series); see http://fineartphotoawards.com/winners-gallery/fapa-2014/amateur/fine-art/hm/132;
• Roses in decay (Series); http://fineartphotoawards.com/winners-gallery/fapa-2014/amateur/fine-art/hm/129; and
• Waterfall (Series); http://fineartphotoawards.com/winners-gallery/fapa-2014/amateur/fine-art/hm/154.

All three nominations are in the FineArt category of the contest.  

Scheveningen seascapes

Recently I spent a couple of days at the Hague in the Netherlands, so it was natural to visit Scheveningen, the seaside resort near the Hague. 

Usually I prefer the black and white version of my photos, but I think I will keep the colour version of these seascapes of the Scheveningen.  

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Five awards in the PX3 "Prix de la Photographie, Paris" International Photo Competition

Five (5) awards in 2015 PX3 "Prix de la Photographie, Paris" International Photo Competition.

Px3 is juried by top international decision-makers in the photography industry and strives to promote the appreciation of photography, to discover emerging talent, and introduce photographers from around the world to the artistic community of Paris.

The five awards are as follows:

• PX3 2015 - Second place - Silver Award - Flowers Category with the series "Roses in decay"
• PX3 2015 - Second place - Silver Award - Water Category with the series "Waterfall"
• PX3 2015 - Third place - Bronze Award - Flowers Category with the series "Calla lily portraits"
• Two honorable mentions for the flower series ("Roses in decay", and "Calla Lily portraits")

Behind the scenes of the Waterfall photos

Skogafoss, Kirkjufellsfoss, Hraunfossar, Bruarfoss, Godafoss...

I am always amazed by the impressive waterfalls at Iceland with these strange names and would love to be able to photograph them, but, well... Iceland is far away from Greece.

So, I recently "discovered" a small waterfall very close to Athens!

In the Drafi area (just 20 minutes from my home) there is this small waterfall. Although there are a lot of references and pointers on the web, it seems not a lot of people know about it.

Here is one of my interpretations (and a "behind the scenes" photo).

Hope you like it!

New series on Tulips

'The vivid tulips eat my oxygen'
Sylvia Plath, “Tulips” from Collected Poems (1960)

Beginning of a series on tulips inspired by the work of Robert Mapplethorpe.

Two honourable mentions in International Black and White Photography Contest

Two photos received awards at the 2014 Monochrome Photography Awards, the annual competition for Professional and Amateur photographers:

• Honorable Mention in Landscape for the entry “Boat in foggy lake”; and
• Honorable Mention in Fine Art for the entry “Moonlight”.

The 2014 Monochrome Awards received nearly 7000 submissions from 86 countries around the world. Winning images were selected by panel of international judges, including: Ted Preuss, David Fokos, Roman Loranc, David Johndrow, Stefano Brunesci, Tomasz Lazar, Dominique Bollinger, Andre Brito, Giacomo Brunelli and Martin Stavars. 

Behind the scenes of the Bled panorama

I spent a couple of days at the beautiful lake of Bled at Slovenia. The weather was excellent and we went for a bike ride.

I could not resist myself and made a 5-shot panorama of the lake.

iPhone shots

Always amazed of the photo quality of our mobile devices. You don't need more than your mobile for travel photos. Some snapshots below.

Ponte Vecchio at Florence, Italy

Grand Place at Brussels, Belgium

Krakow at sunset, Poland

At the Acropolis museum, Athens, Greece

Ponte alla Carraia at Florence, Italy

Grand Place at Brussels, Belgium

Zurich at night, Switzerland

Acropolis from the museum, Athens, Greece

Behind the scenes of the moonlight shot

Behind the scences of the moonlight shot at Kea island.

I took position by the lighthouse and waited a couple of hours till the moon was at the right position.

Behind the scenes of the Mediterranean Sky photos

Behind the scenes photo of the shipwreck of Mediterranean Sky. The shipwreck is at  Elefsina, near Athens, Greece

The original name of the Mediterranean Sky was City of York when it was built in 1952 in Newcastle, England. The cruise liner departed London in November 1953, and maintained its service until sold to Michael A. Karageorgis in 1971, when she became the Mediterranean Sky. Her last voyage was in August 1996, when she sailed from Brindisi to Patras.

Due to the companies’ financial situation, the Mediterranean Sky was arrested in 1997, whilst in Patras. She remained in Patras until 1999, when she was towed to Eleusis, and laid up and was virtually abandoned. Then, in late November, 2002, she began to take on water and began to list.

In order to stop her sinking, she was towed to shallow water and was grounded. In January 2003, Mediterranean Sky keeled over on her side in Elefsina bay. She remains there awaiting her fate.

coordinates : 38°01'28.79"N 23°29'23.96"E