I was born and raised in Crete, an island in southern Greece. Crete is a very special place, with strong vernacular, beautiful nature, and versatile cultural background. In the past, everything in Crete was related to agriculture, fishing, and farming. However, in the last decades, everything is about tourism. As a kid, I used to spend my winters in the urban area, waiting for the summer to come again. The place I grew up and spent all my summers is called Agia Pelagia and it used to be a small fish-village which evolved to one of the most popular and crowded resorts of Crete. Agia Pelagia is a mix of crystal blue waters, unique nature, and kitsch architecture. Many people are bothered by the kitschy intervention in the natural environment and the crowd; I am just finding it fascinating. I believe that perfection is overrated. Flaws are beautiful, and my motherland has many of them.

One of the most important decisions I made in my life so far, was to study contemporary photography. I had already studied Economic Sciences, Finance, and Information Systems. In 2012, I got a scholarship and I was ready to start my 3rd master degree in Industrial Design. At some point, I had fed up from the daily routine of my office work and the fact that I was always doing things just to improve my professional skill-set. I needed desperately something for my own delight. So, one day I just visited a very atmospheric basement in the heart of my home-town, Thessaloniki This basement is Stereosis Photography School, and now I feel it as my second home. I still remember the smell from the old wood on the floor, the moisture, and the chemicals in the dark room. In Stereosis, I had the privilege to have some very inspirational, and passionate teachers. Of course, I remember all of them! Emmanouil Papadopoulos, Andreas Tsonidis, Lia Nalbantidou, and the master Stratos Kalafatis. However, the person who influenced me and I consider as my “mentor” is Kosmas Pavlidis. Kosmas is still the person I ask and I trust his opinion. Right or wrong, it doesn’t matter... We share the same passion for photography, same concerns, same personal struggles. My studies in Stereosis lasted 4 years. The main takeaway is that photography is actually a journey that never ends... It needs patience, persistence, effort, and openness for critique.

The digital era and social media have made photography an even more democratic medium of expression. Everybody has access to be educated on photography, study and learn the work of other photographers, showcase his/her work, be part of a photographic community. But not only... people expose with photographs how “interesting and amazing” life they have, how rich or poor they are, protest or complain from their couch, and much more.

Definitely, nowadays, photography is the new communication language, which opens possibilities that didn’t exist before, or it was hard to imagine. However, I am a bit concerned about this phenomenon. I feel that it impacts our appreciation and understanding of photography and the real meaning behind the picture. In the era of unprecedented photo overload, people tend more to see, than observe... My own practice has not changed at all with new technologies and instant sharing. I am a “slow” photographer. Research, editing, narrative, sequencing are equally important to me as the photographic process.

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Marinos Tsagkarakis (personal website)