​The truth is that I can no longer bear to wear the mask on a daily basis.

I think no one can tolerate wearing them anymore.

The way some of us wore the masks or how they look with them, has caught my attention from the first moment.

Many wore them as a hat, others as a scarf and others in their own unique way.

​The worst thing for me is that I can no longer photograph the faces of passers-by, because they are invited to them. I have to take pictures of the masked men of my city and it is not even a carnival.

My starting point is a quote by Odysseas Elytis, an eminent Greek poet, that goes as follows: “with lime twigs you may capture birds, yet you never capture their singing. It takes a different kind of twig….” The “project” I am working upon is a single one and it will be over once my life cycle is over, hoping that my every photo gets across to the viewer the intensity I felt when I raised my camera, opening for him small cracks in the solid wall of reality, allowing him to see beyond and over reality and its laws. I make use of reality so as to make photos, trying to shape something that pre-existed within me and at the same time giving back to life itself what I have borrowed for a single moment but now in an altered form as dictated by my own spirit; thus, I follow exactly the opposite course in comparison with those involved with applied or commemorative photography, who use photography as a means to show reality.

I started teaching fine-art photography in 2007 in the student cultural society of Democritus University of Thrace. I am currently teaching in the photographic societies of Komotini, Xanthi and Kavala and I have also been conducting seminars on fine-art photography and visual perception in photographic groups and societies all over Greece.

In 2014 my first photographic album entitled “Obsessions” was published. It can be provided to anyone interested by contacting obsessionsbook@gmail.com

http://www.pkomo.gr/

Γεννήθηκα και ζω σε μια μικρή πόλη της Βορείου Ελλάδος, την Κομοτηνή. Ασχολούμαι με τη φωτογραφία από το 1985 με ένα διάλειμμα 10 ετών.

Το πεδίο δράσης μου είναι ο «δρόμος», δεν αναζητώ σπουδαία γεγονότα, ούτε κάνω ταξίδια για να βρω φωτογραφικά θέματα. Φωτογραφίζω καθημερινά τα «πλούτη» της καθημερινότητας, δεν επιδιώκω παρά την στιγμή που η αφήγηση γίνεται περιττή με σκοπό να δημιουργήσω ένα νέο σύμπαν όπου όλα είναι φανερά και όμως κάτι κρύβουν, όχι με σύμβολα αλλά με υπαινιγμούς. Αφετηρία μου είναι η φράση του μεγάλου έλληνα ποιητή Οδυσσέα Ελύτη, «με τις ξόβεργες μπορείς να πιάσεις πουλιά, αλλά δεν μπορείς να πιάσεις το κελαιδιτό τους, γι αυτό χρειάζεται κάτι άλλο…». Το «πρότζεκτ» που δουλεύω είναι ένα και μοναδικό και θα ολοκληρωθεί όταν ολοκληρωθεί και ο βιολογικός κύκλος της ζωής μου, επιζητώντας η φωτογραφία μου να γίνει στον θεατή της, ο μεταφορέας της έντασης που ένιωσα όταν σήκωσα την φωτογραφική μηχανή μου, ανοίγοντας μικρές χαραμάδες στο συμπαγή τοίχο της πραγματικότητας, επιτρέποντας του να δει πέρα από αυτή και τους νόμους της. Χρησιμοποιώ την πραγματικότητα με σκοπό να δείξω φωτογραφία, υλοποιώντας κάτι που προϋπήρχε μέσα μου και επιστρέφοντας στη ζωή όσα για μια στιγμή της δανείστηκα μεταλλαγμένα κατά τις επιταγές του πνεύματος μου. Ακολουθώντας ακριβώς την αντίθετη πορεία από αυτούς που κάνουν εφαρμοσμένη ή αναμνηστική φωτογραφία που χρησιμοποιούν την φωτογραφία για να δείξουν την πραγματικότητα.

Από το 2007 έχω ξεκινήσει να διδάσκω καλλιτεχνική φωτογραφία στο πολιτιστικό σύλλογο του Δημοκρίτειου Πανεπιστημίου. Σήμερα κάνω μαθήματα στους φωτογραφικούς συλλόγους της Κομοτηνής, της Ξάνθης, της Καβάλας και σεμινάρια « καλλιτεχνικής φωτογραφίας και οπτικής αντίληψης» σε ομάδες φωτογραφίας σε όλη την Ελλάδα.
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Το 2014 εκδόθηκε το πρώτο μου φωτογραφικό λεύκωμα που έχει τον τίτλο «Εμμονές» και μπορεί ο ενδιαφερόμενος να το προμηθευτεί στέλνοντας ένα μήνυμα στο : obsessionsbook@gmail.com

What inspired you to be a photographer, especially a street photographer?
​What inspired me to be a photographer, was my need to say something about the world and about myself.
​What I have understood in my life so far, is what I want to show with photography. But not through a simple recording but by highlighting  the structure that connects the things that surround us. Street Photography helped me to highlight the structure of things and the mechanism that moves them. Other structural relationships exist e.g. in photographing a coal miner in relation to the coals surrounding him and other in photographing a worker working in the salt pans. In each case, everything changes, such as: the position of the photographer, the lens, the distance from the subject, the recording in color or in black and white, the emotions and the interpretations.

Which picture(s) of yours is/are significant and why?
​The picture which took first place in your competition. It summarizes all my views on photography, such as: the atmosphere of mystery, the enigmatic, the hidden and the obvious, how one form leads to the other, the multi-sensory function, the element of surprise, the degree of difficulty in taking the photo. The girl of the main character is covered by a sea plank depicting the heroine of a fairy tale. One thinks that the image is walking. The girl who dives into the sea with her head down, intensifies the surprise. The world is reversed and replaced. This is a comment on today's reality.

Which are your preferred places for shooting?
I prefer the countryside and the sea because they have less visual noise than the city. I like the simple scenery with open horizon and helical tracks. In these scenes, my subjects are the protagonists and they emerge more effectively.

What is (street) photography for you? What inspires you the most in other famous (street) photographers?
Here, I want to stand very carefully. Street Photography is different from Documentary Photography. The photographer in Street Photography has no obligation to highlight an event. Although he photographs an event, what emerges is the conversation with him despite the event itself. This is an opportunity for the photographer to project his point of view on the world. Thus Street Photography is a subjective statement rather than highlighting the snapshot. I was inspired by photographers like Nikos Economopoulos and Koundelka. I would describe them as witty photographers. Through their photos you can see how they think. Recording them is simple but not simplistic. Their forms are projected on a simple background and correlated in an interactive and bold way.

Which is your workflow (post-processing if any, selection criteria, cropping, other)?
I do not edit my subjects beyond the adjustment of lighting and contrast. Cropping I do very rarely. I do not add items that did not exist at the time of download. Rarely do I remove something annoying. My main criteria are that the photo is attractive, smart, works on many levels, has strong content and is difficult to execute.

Beyond passion and talent, the gear also is part of the process. What do you use and why?
Clearly the tools are part of the process. Street photography requires speed and readiness. The tool should not betray you. Time is precious. I use mirorless machines that have adjustment rings on the body of the machine. This way you do not have to enter the menu or even look at the light meter. You can focus on the download.

You shoot mostly in B&W or color? Why this choice?
The color highlights the cultural elements, shows the time, the moods, the customs, the racial differences. In a complex background the forms are better separated. Black and white indicates succession, composition, movement. In a complex background, however, the main form is lost. Depending on what I seek, I come to a decision.

How do you see your photography in the future. Any regrets, anything you missed?
More and more photos will flood the world. We will exist through our photos. I do not criticize it. Photography relaxes man. But another relaxation and another art. It will be much more difficult tomorrow to understand what photography art is and what simple mechanical recording is. I believe that photography as an art is based on the formulation of high reflections and if there are people tomorrow with analytical-exploratory thinking, there will be good photography. Personally, I have no regrets about my photographic career. I always work experimentally. I am not saying that I came up with something unchanged. I am constantly increasing the degree of difficulty. I have no regrets about my efforts. The world of photography knows that I'm fighting it. Yes, like you now and thank you very much for that.

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