Wildfires in Thesaloniki
Images from the wildfires in the forest of Seich Sou (Kedrinos Lofos) in Thessaloniki - July 13, 2021.
Wildfires in the forest of Seich Sou, Thessaloniki - July 13, 2021.
The forest of Seich Sou (Kedrinos Lofos) is home to more than 277 plant species an a variety of mammals such as hares, foxes, squirrels, weasels, hedgehogs and around 80 types of birds including owls, nightingales, cuckoos and the magnificent short-toed snake eagle chief. Amphibians and reptiles like salamanders, frogs, turtles, grass snakes, and lizards are also common in the forest.
It’s a lush ecosystem that’s not only vital for the city’s atmosphere acting as a green lung, but also well-being, as it offers a pleasant escape from the hustle and bustle of the city for many of its residents.
Covering around 2.800 hectares the forest of Seich Sou is just outside Thessaloniki, making yesterday’s wildfire incredibly dangerous. The incident brought bitter memories to those that experienced the wildfires of Seich Sou in the year 1997 which burned almost half of the forest.
Fortunately this year the fire was quickly contained leading to the loss of only 9 hectares of forest. But with global temperatures on the rise, summers are getting hotter and hotter with every passing year. It remains to be seen when the next wildfire will strike and what might be its consequences.
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Photographic Diary - The Phoenix
Greece offers amazing vistas for landscape photography. But to capture them in their full glory you' ve got to be able to get up early. And when you do, you get rewarded with not just beauty but wisdom as well.
I have been thinking lately about why some of us like to wake up early in the morning. "Seize the day" and similar quotes offer some explanation but I think it's something deeper than that.
I mean, why would someone get out of a warm, cozy bed at 06.00 a.m., dress up, get out into the freezing morning cold and drive or walk all the way up a mountain?
Is it masochism? Obsession? Is it the feeling of seizing the day like so many quotes have stated? Maybe yes, maybe no, maybe some, maybe none.
What I've realised though is that every time I manage to get up so early I get rewarded with scenes of sublimeness and occasionally with a short ray of wisdom.
A few days ago I got to witness one of the most stunning sunrises of this year. Despite the jaw-dropping vista in front of me I found something else, quiet unexpected appearing up in the horizon.
It is there, between the moody clouds of
the early morning hours that some form of magic seems to happen. Just when you start to truly feel the cold, to question the reason why you got up so early and look back behind you, thinking to go back to bed, it happens.
A vibrant circle of fiery red appears above the mountains on the horizon, setting fire to everything it reaches.
Your eyes go berserk with all the beauty they are witnessing. Light, shape, movement, they all merge to create scenes of fantasy.
Your mind tries to fathom what your eyes are seeing but it can't. Not fully at least. And it is there you realise that some of the most beautiful things we can witness are like this because they can't be fully understood. And that's how they should probably stay.
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A Night with the Gods
What's magic? For me it's something like the night we spent at the alpine lakes of Flega. Mountaintops, stars, moonlight, fire and alpine lakes coming together to form a spectacle that is unlike anything else.
All of nature’s elements coming together to create a magical experience
It’s been only a month and yet it feels so distant.
It’s been only a month and yet it feels so strange, so far off from the reality we are now into.
I am talking about the recent adventure that I and some friends made at Valia Kalda and more specifically, the mesmerizing night we got to spend at the plateau of the Flega alpine lakes.
That magical night we spent under the stars, listening to the sound of the howling wind and staring at the fire’s primal dance.
It was a long hike. Around 16 km, since we decided to reach the lakes through the long trail that starts from the Valia Calda Mountain Shelter just outside of Vovousa. We got up around 07.00 am and had a quick breakfast before starting our journey. From its beginning, it was clear that this was going to be an epic hike. The valley of Valia Calda is famous around Epirus for its stunning views, waterfalls and colors, especially in Autumn, but I won’t speak much about it, since the national park deserve an article of its own.
After passing through the river of Aoos multiple times, swimming in the natural stone carvings created by its waters, witnessing gigantic primordial trees and hiking until we could no longer feel our legs we reached the plateau.
Surrounded by the nearby mountain tops and standing beneath the Flega peak (from where their name derives), the two lakes offer a view that you seldom have the pleasure of viewing. We usually see lakes on lower altitudes, and in my case, most I have seen were on valleys or at the base of mountains.
But these two sit at the top of a plateau, offering an outstanding view - in front of the lower lake where there is no surrounding land - of tens of other peaks that go as far as the eye can see. It’s a landscape that seems like it was born out of a fairy tale, two mystical lakes hidden underneath the mountain, a place where fairies would come and bathe under a night with a full Moon.
It was already late so we had to set up camp fast. We put up our tents and lighted a fire. The sky was turning into a beautiful deep-blue pallet of colors. Twilight was upon us and it’s my favorite hour to shoot - especially when there is a fire in the scene. The radiant, blazing orange of the fire seemed like a hearth of comfort, a sanctuary of some sort, against the cold but beautiful silence of the surrounding landscape.
We baked some coffee and sat down to enjoy this moment of connection with nature.
As the last rays of the sun started disappearing, the cold air embraced us, but gently, making the body feel an invigorating rush due to the low temperature. We could feel fragrances of pine, coffee, and the smell of burning wood feeling our nostrils. Oh, the smell of burning wood, I just love it. It brings a feeling of coziness in my mind, one that I had longed to feel again.
And the fire. This radiant spectrum of reds and oranges, roaring fiercely with its burning embers. Caressing the body with its warm touch. It’s been a companion of humans for almost 2 million years and its effect on our gaze stands as concrete proof for the role it has played in our evolution and survival. We stood there, watching it tirelessly, devouring its ever-changing colors and tones, as it devoured the wood that we fed it.
Going a bit further away to take some pictures, I turned back and looked at the scene.
It almost looked like a pagan ritual. Three figures standing around a pyre, moving, shouting, playing music, in the middle of nowhere. When witnessing scenes like this my mind goes back, thinking about the first of our species who harnessed the power of fire.
I think of how important it must had been for them to be able to gather around a source of warmth in the relentless cold they had to face. And how beautiful the landscape around them must have looked. Pure and wild, without any of man’s technological interventions, pollution and destruction. Like the scene we had the privilege of enjoying that night - if you exclude our tents of course.
I look up at the night sky. The stars are shining brightly. Another scene we have come to treasure deeply due to its rareness. The night sky that our cities offer is usually home to tens of stars in the best-case scenario. In the wild you see hundreds, thousands or millions. In places with no light pollution and nights with no Moon it can feel like there is more light than darkness up there, and that’s something that words or images can hardly describe. Only your eyes can make you feel the true sensation of witnessing a proper starry night sky out in the wild.
I believe that looking at a night sky full of stars is of paramount importance. It allows our minds to wander off freely, without constraints and borders. It’s a place where reality and fantasy blend into an opaque mix of light and darkness. A place of total detachment from the hustles of everyday life that allows us to get lost on our thoughts, embracing them fully with their light and darkness.
One of the few scenes we are able to observe and actually feel the grandness of the unknown. A liberating source of visual magnificence, reminding us how vast this world we live in is, how little we know about it, how small we are, but at the same time how lucky we are to be alive right now, right here, enjoying this moment.
And for me this is a source of creativity, liberation, and introspection that rejuvenates me like nothing else.
After a few hours the moon started appearing behind a nearby mountain top, dimming the star’s light and filling the sky with its silver radiance.
The water’s surface on the upper lake started glimmering with beautiful shades of green, cyan, blue and grey. If there is a place where dryads lived this would probably be it, and I could almost see them emerging from the lake bathing themselves with water and moonlight.
My roaring imagination was halted by the shivers of my body. The cold had started to become unbearable and it was time for me to go to my tent.
I went back to our fire and stood there for a few minutes warming my hands. A feeling of appreciation filled my mind for the scene we got to experience this day. The stars, the moonlight, the trees, the mountaintops, the sound of birds chirping, the strain on the body’s muscles after a vigorous workout, it’s all things we need but have come to enjoy so seldomly, especially this year with the lock-downs imposed due to COVID-19.
I put out the fire as I started to prepare to go to sleep. Before going in I decided to check it again, making sure it’s properly extinguished. I threw in some water and it made a loud, hissing noise. I looked down at the last burning embers. They looked like sprinkling stars shining out in front of the background of black coal. I looked up the actual night sky and saw the resemblance.
I guess there is beauty everywhere, I thought, you just need to have the eyes to look for it.
A photographic journey to the villages of Grevena, Greece
A short photo-documentary of my journey to one of the least populated villages in Grevena, Greece. Authentic people, stunning landscapes and wild horses are some of the things we encountered on this beautiful journey.
A photographic journey to the villages of Grevena
I have been looking for some time now for the article I wanted to start the blog with. I knew it had to be something that had to do with travel photography. I thought of writing about one of my past and most exotic travels, my trip to Morocco or maybe the amazing experience I had in Scotland, since the photographs from these countries are some of my favorites.
But a recent trip to a place not far from home changed all this.
A journey begins
For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you will have seen the recent trip I had at the villages near Grevena, Greece.
Located at the Western part of Greece, Grevena is a small city of approximately 14.000 residents. While the city itself does not offer any spectacular sights, the nature around it is truly breathtaking, offering some amazing opportunities for anyone who is interested in travel and nature photography.
My friend’s parents come from a village up the mountains near Grevena called Lavda so when he told me he wanted to visit his grandparents I immediately agreed to come with him. We had been at the place a few years ago and I remembered that the landscapes around the village were staggering.
And that was the main reason I wanted to go there. To capture the breathtaking landscapes that the mountain ranges of Pindos had to offer. I wasn’t disappointed.
The mountain peaks were playing hide and seek with the clouds.
The mountain ranges lay in front of us showing us their beauty.
We saw landscapes covered with fog.
Stone bridges and rivers with emerald waters.
A night sky full of stars.
Beautiful wild horses, living free on the mountains of Pindos.
After all these beautiful scenes we saw I thought that my photographic appetite had been sated. Our stay in the village though, made my lens get interested in another subject. One that I didn’t have to go far to capture, nor climb mountains or hike for hours. That subject was my friend’s grandparents and the life they led.
A new photographic subject - travel portrait photography
He has told me a lot about them and the following 3 days I spent time observing them, looking at how they live their lives. Their habits, traditions, opinions.
They are simple people, that live from the earth, growing their own fruits and vegetables. They have their own goats and sheep, taking care of them and using their milk, cheese, and meat to live. They have no need for fancy cars and clothes. A couch by the fire and a warm plate of food are enough to make them happy.
Being nighty years old they have lived in an era that we can’t even imagine and faced difficulties that we probably never will. Their hands are hardened, full of scars from the hardships they had to endure to make a living in this inhospitable place.
The people
Grandma Chrisoula is 82 years old and yet she is one of the most sharp-witted individuals I have ever met.
Being able to make jokes, give suggestions, advice, and comment on modern social issues she truly amazed me with her clarity. Be it the clean air or the pure, drug-free food they eat, there is definitely something that has helped the people of these villages retain their cognitive status.
Always kind, warm and inviting she made our stay there unforgettable. She wears a glove on her right hand because she had a stroke 15 years ago and she can't move it anymore. That makes her story even more inspiring since she is still able to do all the chores that are needed to run the house. Clean, cook, feed the animals, help Grandpa with his daily chores and after all that she still had the mood to make jokes and conversations with us. This incredible woman is living proof that age is just a number, not an excuse.
Grandpa Euthimis is responsible for the house's heavy-duty jobs such as cutting wood for the fireplace and carrying heavy bags of supplies for the winter. He may look rough but he is kind and warm, always inviting us to join him at the table and share stories from his service in the army.
My friend's family used to own almost 300 hundred goats and sheep and grandpa Euthimis was responsible for taking care of them, guiding them up the mountains to find fresh grass to feed. Being 90 years old now, he can't do that anymore but that doesn't stop him from still being active and having the ability to do most of the chores that are needed to run their home. I was actually amazed, by how much strength and energy he had, having seen other elders of his age.
Hardened and strong this man was and still is the muscles of the house.
Grandma Zacharoula is the sister of grandpa Euthimis.
As it was typical in these years you had to get married to leave your family home and start your own.
Grandma Zacharoula didn't find a husband so as tradition required it, she lived her life with her brother and his wife. Her calm presence was always welcome and this photograph of her portrait is one of my favorites so far.
Their life
One of the house’s rooms filled with family pictures and traditional greek hand-woven textiles.
Old metal heater, also used as a stove.
The metal heater is the heart of the house, located at the living room and constantly burning wood to keep the house warm. It is also used to boil water for tea or cook food and can be seen in many traditional houses in the villages of Greece. The family gathers around it to watch TV, discuss or greet guests.
An apothecary built by the family to store supplies for the winter.
The house’s apothecary used to store food, tools, and supplies.
Onions left to dry in the apothecary.
Grandpa Euthimis takes his small herd of 5 goats around the village so the animals can feed on fresh grass.
Grandma Chrisoula, watering her plants.
Wood, stored for burning through the cold winter that is about to come.
Grandma Chrisoula with her grandson and my friend, Euthimis.
We spent three amazing days at the village of Lavda in Grevena, Greece. Three days that made me further realise how much I love travel photography and its necessity in sharing the beauty around us. The beauty of nature through landscape and wildlife photography and the unique stories of the people you meet along your journeys.
I hope that through my photographs you experienced how life is in these Greek villages which are lost in time and whose people lead lives very different from our own.
This is the first of many articles to come, about the places and the people I see and meet in my adventures, as I use photography to capture the world’s beauty, one shot at a time.
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