Maru Loves Lollipops.

Etymology

2012-01-27T15:17:00.002+02:00

Lately, I've come to like the word dirt cheap. Dirt cheap is very common and very pleasing nowadays. It means 5 broccoli for one euro or a Burberry trench with a 90% price reduction. And it makes people's faces look lighter for a second. But dirt cheap was it's downsides too. Like eating broccoli every day of the week. But that's a side effect in crisis time.

The roommates Part 1

2012-01-23T00:30:00.002+02:00

Stranger than strange... I guess the scanner has it's problems too but I couldn't guess that a simple plastic film could harm the negative that much. I'm eager for the rest though

Nonsense post

2012-01-22T03:30:00.002+02:00

p.s. I just started the roommates project. Not with sucess. But it's a good start

It's a song about dreams, love.

2012-01-19T15:00:00.001+02:00

Yesterday, finding myself talking about dreams, I remembered this beloved song. They would always drink cheap wine, huh...Make that gluhwein for me. Enjoy.

Our adventure in Amsterdam

2012-01-15T03:37:00.001+02:00

This is what I call "back to reality"

2012-01-14T14:22:00.001+02:00

But that's ok. It ain't that bad

Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies. - Diane Arbus

2012-01-09T13:56:00.002+02:00

And that's a quote I love. Thanks Christos K for making me discover this site

Goodbye London. Hello Amsterdam

2012-01-07T04:01:00.002+02:00

I'm leaving London tomorrow. That trip felt too small. Maybe because I spend enough time with my laptop at night and woke up at 11.00 and 12.00 a.m. Nah. I did the essential. I went to tate modern, saatchi, random photo exhibitions, the shops (mostly with my mom pulling me), walked, eat AMAZING food (I'd like to import that to Greece) and drinks and did a liiitle bit of photography. Not even a roll of film... I should be ashamed of myself.
Tomorrow I'm going on a one day trip to Amsterdam. We're gonna laugh, because I've never been there and, considering that I want to wander around and that I don't have a map, the situation's gonna be tricky. I can't wait ;)

The unexpected

2012-01-06T03:19:00.003+02:00

The highlight of the day, and the reason that proved me right in visiting the National portrait gallery, London is this. David Lachapelle's "Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow"

I don't like the photographer. I don't usually like this type of photography. Yet, this one's amazing. Because it's hilarious and at the same time visually very interesting. Enjoy. (I'd say, try to find it in a better size). P.s. this is not a usual trip for me so I can't really give you tips of any kind for London. I could just give you advice on finding the best fresh juices in the town!

Ballet boots, shoe seduction etc

2012-01-05T02:14:00.002+02:00

I think I'm having a déjà-vu here. Same town, same hotel, same subject. Three years later. What is it that makes ballet boots so attractive to my mind?
Ballet boots (wikipedia description) are simply said, a pair of ballet shoes stuck to the pointe position with some heels stuck under the toe. As you can probably understand they're impossible to walk in. Impossible? nah.
As I discovered today, there's a community of girls that love their ballet boots and learn how to walk on them. Here's a girl with a blog worth mentionning.
This impossibility plus the perfect shape of the shoe and the fascination that most little girls have for ballet turned a bit dark have made me drool over those boots for some years now. I probably won't buy them 'cause I probably wouldn't use them, but I'd put them in a design museum. Cause they're wotrh it.

Ps (again, I'll have to stop this)

2012-01-02T23:46:00.003+02:00

They used to say that in the 00's we had no new sense of style. I guess layering is new, because my mom can't understand it at all.

(ok, that's extreme layering. But you get the picture)

Have a nice rest of the holidays everyone!!!

The suitcase stories

2012-01-02T20:46:00.003+02:00

There is a question that I tend to ask myself often. What is the right quantity? When is something too little or too much? It's a question whose aspects I see in all parts of life. Architecture. Clothing. Food even. And so we come to the real subject today, that is the suicase. I tend to be on the minimal side. Do you really need more than one pair of shoes and one coat for 4 days? I don't think so. I've got my hot (sometimes too hot) booties and a grey coat and that's enough. I'm layering clothes. And I only wear dresses. And that's that. So, this time my suitcase looks like a big bag. For four days in London. Because I'm bored of carrying a big suitcase with lots of unnecessary things inside. Minimalism is good for your back.

Ps

2011-12-31T18:45:00.001+02:00

Today I met Olga from Akira Mushi and understood why I like their clothing so much. I'll have an interview on the blog soon.

Goodbye 2011. It's been nice

2011-12-31T18:01:00.003+02:00

We've had a lot to eat, to drink and to fight for. The first two are diminishing but fighting won't.
I wish a nice year to everyone. See you in 2012

Peggy Lee - Black Coffee

2011-12-18T21:43:00.002+02:00

I've never told you that I don't drink coffee, right? I don't. I stopped it early, when I felt it was going to become an addiction. I don't feel like I'm missing something without it. But I got really attached to this song. Must be the mentionned nicotine

And please don't tell me it reminds you of christmas. This year nothing feels like Christmas

Métiers de la rue

2011-12-16T14:33:00.005+02:00

Sometimes, inspiration comes from the unexpected. If not always.
I got the inspiration for my new project from another project that I put to my photography class (yes, I am a teacher now.not a very good one, but I'm trying) about colours. And I decided to start a project about people who work on the streets. It's started quite smoothly, don't you think? The only problem is: I've shot this with defunct polaroid 600 and there's no other film in this format that looks like it. The Impossible Project's PX680 is wonderful but the colours look nothing like good ol' 600. So, either I stop it in three photos or I begin the nightmare of looking for polaroid 600. Anyway, here are my two first photos:

The balloon seller

The bracelet maker

The movie

2011-12-11T13:11:00.002+02:00

Last weekend, I participated in a 48 hour project that prepared a short movie. I did some plateau photography (with a polaroid. Yes, I know, I'm pittoresque) but mostly watched everybody else doing their job. And of course, tantalized the actors to photograph them better (although they were mesmerized by the polaroid. I won)

Here's my favorite:

I haven't seen the whole, cut and mounted short film yet, but I've lived a day full of interesting experiences.

Remember the post about all of my friends who quit drinking?

2011-12-07T18:39:00.002+02:00

I see there are other people around the world who think like me (like Zora Strangefields for instance). Except my own friends haven't turned sane after all. It was just a little break from health-damaging extremeness. But we're still under 25...

It's raining chairs

2011-12-07T00:42:00.001+02:00

au!

When fighting for your future looks merrier than Christmas

2011-12-02T13:13:00.003+02:00

Yesterday night, the demonstration about the toll in the electric bill was magic. The public lights were all shut for two hours and people were coming in the dark with candles. And they were many.

I'm bored of people moaning nowadays

2011-11-21T03:42:00.003+02:00

As I thought before, even without Internet I still had books. And goods ones, to keep me company. But recently, every glossy publication I try to read seems to moan and groan about the lost limos, nouvelle cuisine meals and hilton stayovers because of the crisis. And everybody from the upper class (or the wannabe upper class) feel their share of guilt for the money they were throwing away. I'm sorry, I feel no share of guilt at all. And I've never used a limo to be able to miss it. I might have eaten nouvelle cuisine, but that wasn't my everyday food, so I won't miss it either. But I think these people, trying to "repent" for the sins of a life of luxury are like Marie Antoinette right now. You can't cry and weep and try to seem strong because you can't eat brioche when everybody else can't eat bread. And everyone remembers what happened to Marie Antoinette...

Sand in my shoes...

2011-11-08T21:01:00.003+02:00

Yesterday

The World Is Going Crazy Part II

2011-11-03T17:26:00.002+02:00

...It's going down. They're going down in a way that's bad for our brain cells. We've heard it all today. Come on, gimme more.

BOMB

Riga Feraiou is a wonderland the sequel

2011-10-29T23:55:00.002+03:00

I got my first reprimanding while shooting on the street today. This might be good

A day to remember

2011-10-29T01:46:00.001+03:00

National celebration. in a different way.

Summer, again

2011-10-14T17:59:00.002+03:00

Scent of Summer

2011-10-10T20:41:00.002+03:00

Two months afterwards and on a very cold day, my lomo-esque summer pictures don't look so bad.

Change

2011-10-08T21:24:00.002+03:00

women tend to think that changing small things in their everyday life can change their whole system. I haven't changed my hair since May, but my house looks like heaven right now.

Are we growing up?

2011-10-04T02:36:00.003+03:00

A number of friends of mine have quit drinking this week. I'm not talking about pathologic cases here. Just people who used to crush a cup of wine (or many of them) when they went out. Is it the money? or are we growing up? I sense a change in people nowadays. We had this long talk today about how a 23 year old person can't be on the same wavelength with a 19 year old. And I thought: hello, we were 19 year olds a couple of years ago. What went wrong? If there was anything wrong in the beginning. Maybe it's just like Inertia. When the bus of life is moving forward on a fast pace, you're stuck on the seat, resisting the speed. We're growing up too fast nowadays. Because there is no other choice. I'll be 22 next March. And I might be quite a different person then. Until then, I'll be resisting unwanted changes my way.

(a song that has nothing to do with the subject, but I like it very much)

And I wonder...

2011-09-23T13:18:00.002+03:00

if we'll have internet in a bankrupt land. It isn't such a trivial matter though. We'll still have books.

In a very troubled time, I've been running around, having deep conversations, curating a team exhibition, making silver gelatin prints, sleeping less. I feel that the time is running faster nowadays.

I'm going on a trip next week. Let's see if time will slow down there. 'Cause I need it

Hello September

2011-09-03T15:12:00.000+03:00

Goodbye Summer. See you at the squares.

End. Beggining.

2011-08-29T14:24:00.004+03:00

Last night

2011-08-17T18:13:00.003+03:00

Last night, last thoughts. My holidays part three (or four, depends on how you count it) are ending tomorrow and I'm coming closer to reality. Closer to inspiration too, I hope. I've had fun in a lot of unusual ways. If you've told me three months ago that I wouldn't get extremely bored in Gastouni, I'd have slapped you. But this time, I decided to have fun and I did. But time goes on and on. If you ask me now, I'm fine with the holiday part. I've slept enough, drank enough, danced more than enough. I wanna go back to my reality. But things won't be the same with those I left before the holidays. And this scares me. But it also thrills me. I don't know. Having no care in the world is a damn nice feeling. But, this time of the year, I'm getting addicted to social media. Hell's bells. In the end, I prefer living a full time life from having all the time to laugh with posh kids...

PS. I promise my posts are going to be less self-centered and analyzing from now on. But, as I said before, it's the Gastouni disease :p

Two years gone

2011-08-16T12:51:00.003+03:00

I noticed today that my blog turned 2 years old. Two years and four days, to be exact. It was created with the same cafe's internet, in the same place. It's amazing how and why this blog started and how it turned up. It grew up I guess. Like myself (we can take that back if you want :p). And speaking about myself, I need a serious detox. So goodbye memorandum post and hello fresh juices...

Recycling

2011-08-13T20:06:00.003+03:00

Today I learned a new term, reading some international gossip magazine (imagine how bored I am). Recycling. Meaning, using clothing items twice publicly. Example, "Queen Elisabeth recycled this hat made by x that she wore in y occasion in 2008". It's the summer, season of boredom and recycling. I haven't touched a camera for any serious reason since I came here. I call it the Gastouni disease but it keeps getting worse every year. Last year, I made a Polaroid series. This year, nada. So, I look at the films I've shot previously and find photos I've never shared before very interesting. And I wonder, are they really interesting or is it just because it's summer and the general cultural activity is down?

This is an example

I'm looking for a new summer soundtrack...

2011-08-12T02:56:00.003+03:00

are you willing to help?I've been right on spot finding the last one, but now I need a new one. I'm in a little city (the best term to describe it) where everyone tends to do extreme things. I guess my dear godfather doesn't say "unbelievable" and "amazing" five times more around here just for fun. And there are two ways to bear it: you either stay out of trouble and criticize everyone else, or you merge in and get in trouble too. You choose. So I want ideas...

The World Is going Crazy

2011-08-09T21:25:00.002+03:00

...and so am I. I tried to write my first post on a smartphone (and failed tremendously). My parents are learning Turkish through a tv show. The world might be ready for an international revolt, or so say the signs. And even though I'm not hell well, I don't want the holidays to end. I might be shooting photos with a single use camera and spend my time doing nothing but right now it seems great. PS, we just got a phonecall from Alaska. The world's really gone mad

In a sentimental mood

2011-08-06T04:23:00.002+03:00

...I love you

Don't talk to me today...

2011-08-04T16:42:00.002+03:00

and by the way, I read yesterday that Henri Catrier Bresson was also thinking about the relation of chaos and order. Swell.

Chaos in Order

2011-08-02T03:52:00.002+03:00

I kind of love this one. Without apparent reason. It reminds me that chaos and order are very subjective things

Dead time

2011-07-26T02:19:00.002+03:00

I love hating impossible films right now.all my photos have a blue shade over them. And the worst part is: I love the way photos taken with these films look. Before they get screwed up.

A nice day to you too

Ley de gravedad

2011-07-14T18:48:00.004+03:00

Voooy!! Pensando en el pasado
Viendo de lleno el miedo y enfrentándolo
Voooy!! A veleta perdía
Llevá por lo que más brilla y con ventilación
Voooy!! Sin brújula ni prisa
En mi soledad me encuentro en tecnicolor
Vooy!! Sin huir de este tiempo
Aire pa los laberintos de mi corazón
Las palabras que no son
Son paja en el camino
Los amigos que no son
Son sonámbulos de pasillo
¡¡¡Dime dónde estás, dime dónde vas, dime lo que ves!!!
Ley de gravedad...
No necesito tener alas pa volar
Ley de gravedad...
El viento gira y la veleta sigue igual.
Pero no pa siempre
Dicen los que ven
No pa siempre este mundo del revés
Pero no pa siempre
Dicen lo que ven
Pero no pa siempre!!! Pero no pa siempre!!!

Have a nice summer...mine might just look like those lyrics from "Ley de Gravedad", Ojos de Brujo

A soft blue line

2011-07-08T04:32:00.003+03:00

It's a fact. The holy days of the Holidays (yes I know how absurd this sounds) have arrived. Being a complete geek, I prefer writing my last post before Holidays part 1 instead of doing useful things like packing my suitcase. Anyway, I'd like to tell you lots of things, including why girls should NEVER wear wedges bigger that their legs (it's deeply unattractive) but then I remember what's happened in the last days of my life and prefer shutting up. So here's a collection of the big Protest in Syntagma on the 29th of June and a gift.

Happy holidays and see you soon.

There are people that inspire me...

2011-07-06T04:36:00.000+03:00

...and I think I'll never forget.

Athens.Yesterday

2011-06-30T16:01:00.004+03:00

(photo by dikaioma)
The statue was a lucky one. It had every mean to protect itself. Many people didn't

Schoolyear strikes Back

2011-06-25T13:23:00.002+03:00

Have you forgotten all about it?even I had at some point. But I decided to revive and finish it, next year probably, to be able to go on with my photographic projects. I've got a new one that you'll learn about soon. Now enjoy:

See you soon!

Smells like something I can't resist to

2011-06-24T03:18:00.004+03:00

I bought a new no name foam bathing soap yesterday. The cheaper, the larger, the better. But it's smell dazed me. I know the smell. It's the essence of a well known men's perfume that I don't want to mention right now. For me it's so much more. It smells like high school. New year's eve. Holidays. Boring days. The place where I used to live. Guitar tunes. Bed linen that's faded. tears. Skin. Fruit and Meat. Lawyers. Dogs. Videogames. Horror movies. Loneliness. Radiohead. Guitar Pro. Ice cream. Photos and Videos. Parks. Trains. The beach. Stretching. Old Indian Remedies. Cigarettes. Stairs. Stupid jokes. Cocky jokes. so many more things I can't remember right now.

I got out of my flashback, took a deep smell of my skin and then decided to have a reality check. Doesn't matter though. I might buy this soap again.

Kids

2011-06-19T22:05:00.002+03:00

Truth is, I love shooting kids. That's what I've come to realize by shooting street. Kids and old people. I think their facial expressions are more genuine. Here's what I shot last weekend.

Fred and Fed

2011-06-18T15:47:00.002+03:00

I learned recently about a funding project, Fred and Fed . Frederic Buchet, has sold me a polaroid camera once that still gives me very nice photos. Unluckily, his beloved fed (a russian rangefinder camera) has been left in the light and has,now a hole in the curtain. He decided to give it for a repair and to promote his photographic career shooting with it. I find all of this very brave. Do take a look at his ulule and his flickr.

Reading a red book

2011-06-18T00:45:00.002+03:00

Hadn't shot polaroid a long time. Me likey

Old Athens

2011-06-13T21:25:00.000+03:00

We were lost on a desert sea coast

2011-06-11T23:11:00.001+03:00

flashback.

Stupid post

2011-06-08T18:18:00.003+03:00

I already wrote it in the title so now you just skip to the next one if you want to. But sometimes I wish I lived in the 60's. Or the 70's. I have the wrong taste in everything, body type, ideas for today. I mean, hello, I like corsets and relaxed maxi dresses, records, electronic devices that were made 40-50 years ago. Be that cameras, fridges or cars. I want to drive a Lada Niva. And shoot black and white film in my Polaroids. And walk slowly. And not change my washing machine every 5 years because they make them so shitty nowadays. Is there something wrong with me?

In Retro-spect

2011-06-06T01:40:00.002+03:00

I don't know if you can realize the size of my astonishment when I saw a record close to a macbook

Athens.Now.

2011-06-05T19:49:00.001+03:00

Vernissage

2011-06-02T13:52:00.000+03:00

From the first day of the exhibition

Children of the Revolution

2011-05-29T19:32:00.002+03:00

Well you're not used to me talking about those things here, are you? But the thing is: in Greece and in other European countries something's going on. The people, enraged with the governments and bankers playing with their lives are out on the squares. Be there.

Clothing tips to Istanbul

2011-05-28T16:38:00.002+03:00

The last post of the Istanbul series will be about fashion. And for the kind of clothing that I like, the best neighborhood of Istanbul is Cihangir. I'll tell you about the shops in the order I found them, on a hot day.

Asli Jackson's store is on Bostanbaşı Caddesi. She has a fine collection of handmade pieces of clothing and accessories.

this is one of her designs. The photo comes from her website

In this shop I found a freshly painted table and some lace shirts that were absolutely stunning but not my size. I wish they did mail order.

Mozk Costume and Design is a bit further away, on Ağa Hamamı Sokak. A big shop full of vintage clothing and accessories. Since I was on the lace-craze phase (and still am, actually) I bought a black lace robe de chambre from the 70's, that I wear over black dresses. It would be a shame to hide it in a bedroom. The shop has a site
but since I've had difficulties with it, I'd recommend their facebook page

And the last shop, that wasn't in Cihangir. We found it in a rather uncommon place for original accessories: the Grand Bazaar. It's a shop called cocoon on Halicilar Caddesi no38.
We fell in love with the felt jewellery. I bought a ladybug ring and a pair of earrings taht you might see soon.

Well.Last post. I'll miss Istanbul and writing about it but, oh well. That's life

What you have to taste in Istanbul

2011-05-19T12:31:00.004+03:00

Although the trip to Istanbul was crazy cheap (and we were crazy happy about that) we can't say we cheaped out on our food. We ate pies, Turkish pizza (pide), doner, meatballs, sweets, vegetarian food, everything. And we drank a few things too.
When in Istanbul you ABSOLUTELY have to taste the tea.The traditional tea is black. They bring it in a glass cup that has an hourglass shape (minus the top) and you drink it with one sugar cube(at least that's how it worked for me). But then, there are many different flavors of tea. We discovered them in the spice bazaar. Apple Tea, lemon tea, jasmine tea with the little flowers that open up in the water, mixed tea with orange, apple and other fruit and many more.
I bought a great portion of apple tea and now I can drink it back home. I also bought jasmine tea but I haven't had a chance to taste it yet.
For me, the second thing you must absolutely do is taste whatever the street sellers offer. Corn, chestnuts, koulouri (that's the Greek name, it's actually some sort of soft bread), kebap, fresh juice (they have orange juice, but also mysterious juices like pomegranate juice) and Turkish ice cream, that's made in a different way than conventional ice cream.
Last but not least,the spices. Turkish cuisine has a lot of spices that you might want to bring home and experiment on your food. The best place to buy spice is (well guess) the spice bazaar where you'll find spice you've never heard of. You'll have a lot of fun and don't forget to bargain!

Elegant

2011-05-13T20:11:00.001+03:00

Kalia and a cat, "holy" animal of Istanbut (seriously, we saw them everywhere!)

It's exhibition day!

2011-05-13T19:56:00.001+03:00

Yet another break from the Istanbul series but this time it can't be helped: I'm having a team exhibition in Patras :D I'd tell you about this sooner,but blogger wouldn't cooperate. Anyway the Photography Festival starts today and will be there until the 22 of May and hosts pictures from the University's photography teams of Patras, Athens, Thessaloniki and Creta. I'll exhibit my back series and a family portrait. Be there!

Just a small break from the Istanbul series

2011-05-09T20:51:00.001+03:00

because I find this article that mentions all the things I don't like about lomography

I'm on my way now...

2011-05-08T16:13:00.002+03:00

Going back from the biggest of Prince's Islands, Büyükada.

Photographer's tips to Istanbul

2011-05-07T17:05:00.004+03:00

Going on on the series about Istanbul, I simply have to tell you about the places photographers should absolutely go. Ι don't mean places to photograph, everybody has it's own tastes on the subject (although mine is probably Fener). I mean places to find equipment.
The first place I discovered in Istanbul is Hayan Pasaji (I might be spelling it wrong, but I don't think you'd have a problem finding it) near the tram station Sirkeci, in the old town, Sultanahmet. It's a six floor building with shops c0ntaining photography equipment. The film camera shops were a minority amongst them. There was a really expensive leica shop on the second floor, another one with reasonably priced cameras but nothing that interested me and one on the third floor that was the best for me. It had Nikonos, TLR's and any kind of old camera you can imagine. I got a jupiter 8 50mm f.2 and a lomo smena for a friend. The owner was very kind, spoke some English (most of the people there don't speak a word) and offered me tea. I'd recommend him strongly.
The second place is a second hand shop I discovered on Galip Dede street (Dede means grandpa and galip is a name, according to our receptionist). It's on your left hand, when you're descending the road, a passage which has some old books and cameras on the frond. I found an old lady beside them, who conducted me to the shop inside. It had mostly Russian cameras from the 70's in very reasonable prices. I didn't get a thing but I would if I had more money and was in need of a good camera.

I saw cameras on the grand bazaar too and Cihangir but they were massively overpriced, so if you're not a bargain expert, don't even ask for the price.

I'll be back with more.

Decisive moment

2011-05-06T21:16:00.001+03:00

Ah, Istanbul!

2011-05-05T14:52:00.003+03:00

The next series of posts will be related to the city I've been to in the last 8 days, Istanbul. My first visit to Turkey, my first visit to the borders and outside Europe(don't count Greece). An amazing experience I'd like to share with you.
So for starters, I'd recommend you looking at the work of Ara Güler.
He's a photographer that caught the spirit of Istanbul in a very attractive way. He says photography isn't an art, but he does it in a very artistic way, don't you think?
And this just isn't the end...

I'm so tired, of playing

2011-04-25T02:32:00.005+03:00

playing with this bow and arrow...Nonsense post. I like the picture though. It's from the family archives, but I don't know who the boy is. My Granpa had a Kodak Brownie and my mom swears it took the best photos. I guess it's about the photographer's gaze, after all

Thinking about Luxembourg

2011-04-23T02:03:00.001+03:00

Accessories

2011-04-22T17:56:00.006+03:00

I meant to make this post for some time now (and this started as a fashion blog, remember?) but now's the ideal time. My hometown is the kingdom of boredom in the afternoon. Plus, I've had some photography accidents (my 50mm 1.8 canon ef lens is twisted and I don't understand how, and I broke a piece of the cover of new Polaroid 195. Beauutiful.) Now I play around with a zoom on my digital camera.
(my room's wall)

Anyway, after getting sidetracked, here's the thing. I haven't bought a single piece of clothing since Christmas. Unbelievable? I don't think so. For me it's unbelievable seeing women with plenty of shopping bags on their hands. I think that being able to get well dressed wearing a finite amount of clothes is a sign of intelligence. And here is where the real subject goes in.

Accessories. The way to update every look. I feel guilty for the amount of earrings I have, but I don't play favorites with them, I wear all of them, almost every day.
But to be honest, I kinda have a favorite.
The lego earring. I don't remember the name of the person who makes them right now (he's a nice chap with an unbelievable lego bow tie)but I love them. You might have seen them on the blog before. I could wear those anytime, anywhere, with anything.

Now I have another favorite amongst favorites. I usually don't wear anything on my hands but THIS made me change my mind.

It's a ring made by Olga Mergou with plasticided paper. It's quite big and everybody asks me if I made it myself. It's truly beautiful and one of a kind. I've bought more jewellery by Olga Mergou like the zipper earrings and I don't think I'll stop there.

Anyway that was a small post about my favorite jewel. If I had an advice to give you, it would be, buy less. Edit your choices. Love what you get.

Tempted...

2011-04-17T21:05:00.003+03:00

by the world of street photography. It seems more honest to me.

Today I learned about the death of one of the country's dearest singers, Nikos Papazoglou. I can't say I knew his songs all that well, but he sung one that I have been yearning to sing many, many times

Architects smoke

2011-04-10T01:55:00.001+03:00

Athens Fashion Week was a week ago

2011-04-04T00:22:00.005+03:00

...and I'm not sure I wanna talk so much about it. I went to one show, DELIGHT, that was quite nice (although I'm not that much of a velvet fan and ultra- wearable things). This was my favorite look, because of the different textures.

But otherwise, fashion week wasn't that much of an excitement. Frankly, I've been following AFW for the last 5-6 years and I can say that the best week ever was in november 2008. After this, it's slowly going down...
Which ain't strange, considering the economical and social situation of the country but the kid in me just wanted more...

Things happen right

2011-03-28T03:27:00.004+03:00

The film. The girl. The pose. Though the scan is just terrible I think you still see what I'm talking about.

I'll be back...

She's strange

2011-03-04T17:33:00.002+02:00

Moving on

2011-03-02T05:13:00.004+02:00

As I've told you once again (I think), in the past I've always stopped projects in the middle and moved on to something new and fascinating. The cause of this? Maybe I get bored easily. Maybe I've never had an audience to tell me what they think about what I do and that kept me quite unpassioned. Sharing "the schoolyear project" on the internet, people get aware of it. Even people that participate by being shot and people that I see everyday.That's kind of interesting. One of my subjects told me yesterday that it would be a nice idea to have all the photos printed and joint in some kind of yearbook. We will see. I still have tons of wonderful projects in mind but this time I'll do this 'till the end.

About the film: It's Ilford Delta 400iso and it's GRAINY. Usually I get sharper images, even with expired film (that I almost exclusively use). I can only guess that the film was pretty old.Or the developer. Anyway, it's a different result than the photos shot on the tmax 100 but I kinda like it. I'm definitely proud of those.

A little chit- chat

2011-02-23T22:38:00.007+02:00

Wanting to post hear my (oh-so-many) complaints about carnival I realized that last year I did the same thing. Wow, I've had this blog for almost one year and a half now.
Anyway. I guess I'll be a much more negative person than last year but things aren't the same in the country anymore, huh. So let's talk about Patra's carnival. Patra's carnival has groups of people wearing the same disguise and partying all together. The themes have types:
a. inspired from dumb, mainstream tv series
b. the inspiration doesn't matter, but the skirt has to be shorter than any other
c. combine a and b

Carnival in Patras is all about showing off and getting incredibly drunk and incredibly broke. And even though I have less oppositions about the second part, the whole three days make me sick. The flow of people coming in and going out of the city and the loud music and stuff. Feels like the city is getting violated.
And, I'd really wonder why the mayor would want this shit happening to the town IF I didn't know what the mayor had in mind. I mean, cooooome on, people are dying out there, people's electricity and water gets cut off, they become homeless, and all you spend money on is creating big boobed 3 meter high figurines that people get to see for three days. That's bullshit.

To be clear, I don't reject the whole meaning of carnival, just the thing it's become in this city where I live. I might dress up even this year, who knows. I'll just avoid the places "in fashion"

Orange

2011-02-20T18:40:00.002+02:00

People that won't notice you

2011-02-05T21:22:00.003+02:00

Street photography is a thing I've always been afraid of. To intrude in the privacy of other people. Even though I've done it in multiple ways (in good ways only). So even when I shoot in the streets, I try to be as discrete as possible. With my big strange cameras though this becomes an issue. So I shoot people when they don't look at me.

New year's eve

2011-01-31T19:57:00.003+02:00

I normally wouldn't post this picture, but it challenges my eye. It is a posed portrait of a woman and her three daughters. The three of them look like her in a different way and they make a troubling sight, but a nice one indeed.

Luxembourg, the sequel

2011-01-29T20:05:00.004+02:00

I developed one of the two rolls of film I shot in Luxembourg (plus some photos in my retina that won't appear in public if I don't find a light meter). The results were average : many whoopie travel pictures but amongst them some good ones. I completely love this one, without being able to define why.

Divine Slide Film

2011-01-21T22:25:00.003+02:00

I've received the scanned slide film today. Although the scanning was deceiving (I know the people in the photography shop meant no harm, this film just needs a crazy professional scanner), I managed, after some light Ps, to make them look like the originals. Have I told you how much I love slide film??

Above are some pictures from the schoolyear project and a bonus one.

PS: the third one looks nothing like this in the original. I'll get it re-scanned soon but I couldn't resist posting it. Even though it has a false bokeh

Yet again...

2011-01-17T22:31:00.002+02:00

How many are there in my school year? maybe 90 people. I've already shot 12.
Big projects, the ones that last more than a day, I've never done. So I'm excited about this one...

A man.

2011-01-14T18:35:00.000+02:00

As you can see, the schoolyear project is going on and on... I'm receiving the slide film today and soon I'll have new faces to show

The other me

2011-01-13T20:06:00.000+02:00

2010-12-28T21:07:00.002+02:00

There is a country, other than the one I currently live in, that I hold dear. It's the country where I grew up. Luxembourg.
There's a strange feeling that I have when I return there. Every time I see something changed, I feel disappointment. Regardless if the changes are for the best (which I don't think, anyway) I'd like it to remain the same as when I left. Seing the once bare fields filled with ultra-modern malls brings a frown to my face. And what about you? How do you feel when the place where you grew up changes?
I came here, having in mind to photograph this place, the things I feel here. But right now, I feel the emergency to do it. Because if I wait another 10 or even 2 years it will be less the place I used to know.
Be ready.

Example II

2010-12-27T21:27:00.003+02:00

Wrapped in my shawl (the weather is chilly here) I've finally had the time to take a look at the rest of my most recent roll. I've found another example of the "photograph your schoolyear" project. Here it is :

What you've seen 'till now is in black and white, but I'm still waiting for an expired slide film with some more pictures. I guess my photography lover friends wouldn't appreciate this, but I felt that some means fit the personality of the subject more than others, so I used them respectively.
Let's see what this is gonna give...

Results

2010-12-20T11:28:00.002+02:00

Do you remember the project I had started "photograph your school year" ? I've had the first results.

More of those coming soon...

I'm dazzled...

2010-12-10T15:06:00.004+02:00

χαρης, originally uploaded by kallia fisaraki.

No, really. I'm dazzled because in this picture I see a friend of mine and I almost can't recognize him. Though the hippy summer look plays its part in this, I'd bet my head it's the photographer's "fault". Because I've seen recent pictures of her, and I see people, my close friends, the ones I see all day every day, and I can't even recognize them. She has the talent to show aspects of people in her photographs that they can't see. Can I do that? I have no fucking idea... If my bizarre monologue convinced you a bit, take a look at her flickr
You might not understand what I'm talking about, but she's got lovely portraits

Leaving town...

2010-11-25T21:44:00.002+02:00

Lots of things have been written by lots of people concerning travel packing. Some pack only what they're able to carry, others travel with tons of luggage, waiting for some kind (or paid) person to carry them. And items of clothing... there comes the big dilemma: what to pack, what to wear.
I've lived in two countries and traveled a lot back and forth (and to other countries) so I could give one advice or two, based on my personal belief on traveling.

I never carry more than I can handle. I have no intention of paying anyone to carry my own stuff so I usually take a trolley suitcase and my handbag. And ocasionaly, my laptop.
I tend to find key pieces. A black dress, booties with a comfortable heel (my all time favorites), lots of different stockings and socks and pashminas.
Black is a colour matching with anything. So I tend to have more black clothes that anything else. Generally, and while travelling.
You can always put a dazzling dress between your everyday clothes. You never know when you'll need one. Just don't take one that takes half the space of your suitcase.
When you travel, you'd better wear things you're comfortable with. No heels larger than life, no micromini skirts, no cleavage. And if by any chance you're traveling by plane, avoid to drink alcohol. It usualy gives a terrible headache when you're landing

I tried to talk generally but, truth is, I'm inspired by my own suitcase and I'm going to a cold town in the north of Greece for few days and I usually don't wear pants. I hope I've been helpful and, ps, I can't wait for the trip!!!!

Red no.4

2010-11-24T00:32:00.001+02:00

Two girls that haven't slept that much

2010-11-13T03:27:00.003+02:00

This image could be a part of my recent "take a picture of your schoolyear" project. But it'd rather not be. Take it as an individual : friends and fellow architect students, tired from their current project, Renaissance-ized by the tones of the polaroid film (Artistic TZ).

I kinda love this one

Dinner at Andrews

2010-11-09T22:25:00.002+02:00

Last weekend I found myself in my hometown, having dinner in Andrew's house. His house is probably the best one, most silent yet classy in the whole city.

Ps. The hunter boots on my little friend- niece are to die foooooor!!!

The all time shoe

2010-10-25T20:41:00.002+03:00

These are my latest booties. I've had trouble buying them, though. You see, they're a bit too rough and short- heeled compared to the rest of my shoes (I'm not talking about the flat ones). But I was wrong hesitating. They've become my autumn-winter passe-partout. Because the heel is comfortable enough to walk all day on them and they give a dark, goth yet classy touch to every look.

Here they are with their big brothers, the 12 cm heeled oxfords I dearly love.

PS. I haven't abandoned my project, but I'm using slide film so it might take some time...

I say a warm welcome to inspiration

2010-10-18T21:43:00.003+03:00

It's autumn and I'm willing to make another change to the nature of this blog. What has started as a personal style diary has, during this year and someting evolved into a place where you can find photojournalism, fashion weeks, travel information, my life (uh), polaroids, whatever. I intend to move this place a step forward. I've gotten myself a new project : to photograph all the people in my schoolyear, one by one. It's going to be about fashion, style, identity. And what's the best; they don't know it yet. But, with any means, from digital to polaroid (even phone if I'm desperate) and from my friends to the ones I know the least, I intend to do this. Wish me luck!

it's all about the details

2010-10-17T16:14:00.002+03:00

This is part of the first film I developped myself (with lots of guidance from the Photography crew, I admit). A Tmax expired in 2006, which is probably the reason of the sepia tones present in some of the pictures. Even though I forgot to remove the water from the film in the end and died over photoshop to remove the drops, what can I say...me likey!

In situations like this...

2010-10-02T23:29:00.004+03:00

Well, once upon a time, I had some friends fighting in my house. And I had an event to attend. And I decided to leave them in my house and go. So they asked: "Do you have a reason to go out or are you leaving us alone?".I looked at my outfit and said: "Would I dress up like this if I were to just leave you alone?". And they said"Oh wouldn't you?"

...well...they're right.

Weekend

2010-09-27T21:47:00.003+03:00

I had a grrrRRrrreat weekend. BF's birthday party, my favorite japanese food and an opportunity to try on my new knee high socks. The pictures will talk for me

me + chopsticks + the earrings my mom gave me. They're from a boutique in Gkazi called "sunapeiro"

Seafood ramen from Wagamama

Bfs with balloons

Ice for our cocktails

The road home

I hope you had a nice weekend too!

After the rain

2010-09-22T21:15:00.003+03:00

This cuban cigar was the only survivor on the day with the worst weather forecast. We could still smoke it under the heavy rain.

Ps. I know I haven't posted anything about fashion in a while, but I don't think it' s gonna last that long. It is the season of wellies after all...

Revolt festival 2010

2010-09-16T02:37:00.004+03:00

Hell of a way to start the academic year (and I mean it in a positive way). Well, last weekend, I had an exhibition and was the oficial photographer of Revolt festival 2010. It was a great experience. The exhibition was called "One man show"and included photos like this:

And this is my favorite scene from the concerts:

Maraveyas ilegal has an amazing orchestra. See you soon enough!

The holidays are over....

2010-08-28T22:13:00.001+03:00

and I've changed houses, still no web and I can only look at photos like this and yearn for the next vacation

shot by lomo spinner 360 on kodak TX