It is often needed to take a ride on the wild side and blow some steam of. Forget rules, deadlines, etch and just get “serious” Experiment, try crazy shit, make huge fails but don’t give a damn, get embarrased.

It’s all part of the plan and it’s a great creative selfboost if you ask me.

So grab your cameras and do something crazy. Today!

Angle.
One of the most importand yet underrated element of photography.Most people worry about the technical ascpects of photography and their equipment, while they forget that they can make memorable photographs just by using a dramatic angle, no matter what camera they hold at the moment ( call it a High End DSLR or your iPhone ).

I really enjoy the effect that this photograph has on people from my hometown. This is a well known statue but most people don’t realize or recognize it due to the dramatic angle. I have to show them some “normal” shots to realize what is going on

The cloudy sky adds another wow layer  to the overall dramatic feeling of this photograph but remember that this would not the case if the angle was not right.

So bend those knees, get to the ground, try to get 50 shots and I promice you that 49 will be crap but one will stand out of the crowd. Once you have this one shot thet you can worry about explaining what the hell you where doing down there

The title says it all I believe verbally and visually. We all have been in a point of our lives emotionally “outside of the stream”  until someone layed a hand and pulled us inside again. Let stay within the stream and pull with us as many as we can.

Well I must admit it: I am a sucker when it comes to abstract art. Event from my early days in graphic design. I remember I was drooling when I used to see digital abstract art from the fine masters suck as Chapter3.net and Magictorch from UK.

So it;s only natural to experiment when I am photoshooting for fun or for a client as well. The good thing is that experimentation pays off. The bad thing is that you have somehow to give a logical and solid explenation to the client, regarding you, lying on the floor and moving the camera like crazy while you should be photographing his night club.

Fun stuff…

When we are starting to explore of photography we often bump into rules: Do that ,don’t do this, user the rule of thirds, keep your subject within the frame etch.

I am a rebel. Never liked photography rules and most of the time I usually break them. I am not suggestion that this is the correct thing to do. I am just saying what I prefer to do.

In this case I decided to cut the main subject which is the lead singer of this band in half and focus on his feet only. Why? Well for starters it creates a sense of mystery. When you see the whole well…., you see the whole! Not much to imagine about.

Another thing is that I believe this frame allows the eye to better travel within the photograph and capture details that it would not if the main subject was fully visible.

Finally, photography should be fun. And what could me more fun that breaking some photography rules along the way ?

Few days ago ( yesterday that is ? ) I poasted a photo saying that stormy weather is full of photo opportunities. What do you know ! I was in one today ( storm that is ) and after about 15 mins I am standing infront of this amazing scenery where clouds are rushing above my head and dance with a double rainbow.

Thank god I had my camera with me and I captured around 15 shots of this great scenery with my Nikon 18-55. This is one of them whoch had some cross proccess treatment. Unfortunatelly I forgot the ISO on my Nikon D80 at 800 so there is some noticable noise but on the other hand this actually gives the photo a “retro” quality so lets just call it a happy accident

I really likes the outcome so I wanted to share it with you people right away. Let me know what you think

And now that I did off to grab some beers and enjoy a cool summer night!

I believe no other title would better fit the mood this photo puts me in when I look at it.

This shot was taken while I was returning to my hometown from a small trip. I noticed that the cloud formations where very low just above Thassos island so I found a nice place to park, set up my tripod and grab a few shots.

What I got? An otherwise dull scenery tranformed into a mystical place due to the heavy dramatic sky.

Storms are not for sorting your photos on your pc but to be prepared and grab your gear when the time is right to capure some amazing imagery.

This is not what happend here though. I just got lucky. But you should not leave this to luck. When the storm stikes be prepares and storm out right before or after it passes. Trust me you will not regred it

While I was on a business appointment I noticed that the weather was changing rapidly for the worse and I was hoping for some nice cloud phenomena since I had my camera and the Tokina 11-16 with me.

30 mins later heavy cloud formations were floating in the sky and just minutes before the storm broke  I grabbed my camera and pointed the thing towards the sky. The result you can see for yourself.

The distortion from the Tokina 11-16 really made this photo what it is: the clouds look like they are forming a massive tornado and look really “heavy” and evil.

I told ya: I LOVE this lens

Vespas are more that a transportation mean. It’s a whole movement. And I had the pleasure to get a glimpse of this movement  on a sunny Sunday, which was the day that Vespas form all over Greece gathered to Kavala city. I was invited to photograph this event and boy what an event.

I was amazed by the variety of customizations on those vespas. Pins, cups from alcocol drinks, hand painted plates, custom helmets, you name it and I am sure I can find one example of it on a Vespa.

It was a fun afternoon and it got even better once we arrived to the final destination which was a beach a few km outside of the city. During a the glorious sunset I managed to get this shot which is one of my favorites. As you can tell it’s with the Tokina 11-16.. again . I am addicted to this lens I have to admin that.

A simple field of olive trees can be transformed into a mystical tree ritual. God bless the Tokina 11-16 for this amazing distrortion! Remember: distortion can be your best friend once you start using it.