street portraits
I believe there is an ELO song for every possible situation in life… I have realised this during a long, lonely summer a few years ago, listening almost exclusively to Electric Light Orchestra. Walking around in Athens a few days before the referendum of the 5th of July and taking photos of the beautiful Silver Gold, this ELO song was playing incessantly in my mind. Indeed… and what a showdown it would be… Living in interesting times was never easy.
Read More"The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them." George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman
Read MoreThat was "Il Mister's" dream… They called him "il Mister" because you could see him walking around in misty Venice, with Aloha, his faithful dog and a camera (sometimes, also, a gigantic tripod)… His friend, Andreas F., -another enigmatic and legendary figure of Venice- gave him that name, but nobody remembers why. Except me, of course. The truth is that nobody knew what "il Mister" was doing in Venice either. He and his friends, a group of men and women that met regularly in a mysterious place they called "Azerbaijan", were shrouded by mystery. Were they spies? Were they photographers? Were they secret guardians of the galactic balance? My mission was to find out… And I did. But you will not. Not from me, anyway... In my job, secrecy and discretion are essential for survival. All I can say is that I followed him all the way to Central Park. I went to see him play tennis. I didn't though. All he did was smoke. Well, smoking in Central Park is not all that bad, I thought…
Read MoreAndreas F. knew how to frame people… He was really good at it… Andreas F. was a legend. Venice was his playground and a digital Nikon his weapon of choice. Sometimes someone would hire him to frame someone with an analogic camera, especially if they wanted the framing to be slow and painful… He was presice and methodical, he never left loose ends. If you wanted the job to be done, you'd hire Andreas F. Women adored him, men were intimidated by him. Of course, Andreas F. was not cheap... He wouldn't get out of bed for less than half a million dollars... Andreas F. worth every penny of it. The framing was clean, smooth, silent. All that was left when he was finished was the smoke of his cigarette… Marlboro, they said… But who really knew what brand of cigarettes Andreas F. smoked? It was the 31st of May… It was my birthday… I had no money, no job, no hope for the future. Venice was hot, humid and dangerously seductive… An old connection of mine I happened to meet for a spritz the day before, had told me a rich Venetian woman was willing to give 2 million euros to anyone who would frame Andreas F. I could ask for the reasons, but I didn't have to… I said I would do it. I needed the money, I had nothing to loose and I really wanted to know what brand of cigarettes Andreas F. smoked… Even if it was the last thing I saw… It wasn't difficult to track him… I wasn't new to the job… I won't bother you with the details… The framing worked. All I had to do was to hand over the card and collect the money. But life wouldn't just be so sweet for me… As I looked away from the vaporetto that would take me to Punta Sabbioni, I saw him framing me. I didn't feel a thing. He really was smooth. He really was merciful. I throw the card in the Canal Grande. I sat down. As I started to feel the effects of the framing, the san Marco square was already a blur. It was pointless to hold on to reality. As Venice was fading away, I saw the headline in tomorrow's papers: "Who framed Andreas F.?"… My eyes were closed. All I could see was cigarette smoke. Good bye Venice…
Read More“I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room.” This is my all time favourite line from Raymond Chandler's "Farewell, My Lovely". It was stuck with me while I was looking Helen's shots. Who knows how subconscious works? So, quoting him seemed like a good idea…
Read MoreIt was a particularly hot and bright day. A big sun spot has caused a huge coronal mass ejection and everything in the city was going crazy… If you were lucky enough that your cell phone didn't explode, there were many chances that a private message you had the inspiration to send on Facebook would go public on Twitter… Crazy staff like that happened all the time but Irene was used to it… All she cared about that morning was how fast she could reach the coffee shop. She looked out the window and saw all she needed to know… The big red alert sign said: "Multiple sunglasses are needed".
Read MoreIn between jobs, in between relationships, in between tasks, in between decisions, in between flights, in between training, in between meals, in between drinks, in between thoughts… All this time-space in between… Moments discarded, neglected, uncared-for, untended, forgotten. Yet always there, like a bonding material.
Read MoreI admit it… It's not the first time… You see, Julian is an actor and, in my experience, arranged photo shoots with actors can very easily go sideways…
Read MoreDramatic, funny, creative, enigmatic… simply fantastic. Meet Silver, my Saturday subject, the girl that gave me some of my favourite street portraits so far…
Read MoreThese shots were taken during a conversation I had with Matina, an actress, about the fact that, while some people are a delight to photograph (like her, obviously), there are others that I can't take a single decent shot of them…
Read MoreWell… seeing stars is something that occurs naturally when you look up in the sky on a moonless night -you have to be outside of course. You can also see stars if you hit your head somewhere - we've all been there. For me though, seeing stars is something that occurs naturally when I look at people.
Read MoreMaybe it's funny, but I don't like espresso. Maybe I'm lucky, but most of the people I know, do.
Read MoreWandering in the Comicdom Con Athens on Friday, I thought: "Someday my comic book alter ego will come. She will knock on my door: "Hey Angie, it's time to go". I'll see her for what I really am and I will fear no more. I'll realise all this was just a dream -although, I must say, I already know… Back in the true reality, we will meet with our friends and get back to our plans which I can't reveal, oh no!".
Read More... She didn't know she was the kind of girl you meet in a film noir's hot summer day passing through a gas station or a general store, the kind of girl you ask for directions, or if she has seen the guy you're looking for… She didn't know she was the sunny kind of girl that fate had put in that particular spot as a last effort to make you abandon the search and go back… Because if you are a film noir hero, when you find what you're looking for, you wish you didn't… Her name was Sunday and that proved that there are no coincidences...
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