The Plaka: A Photo Essay Part 2

I have never been in another place where the streets themselves, the physical roadway that you walk on is so interesting. I turned the corner after I took this shot in the Plaka in Athens and I found myself in this little alley. The water was running from a hose in the side of the building to the left and I took a few shots with that but the reflections were unclear. The water seemed to be slowing down so I waited for it to stop and I got this beautiful reflection of the apartment at the end of the alley. I am especially happy with the contrast in textures that resulted. The silvery smooth water, the rough uneven stones, the corrugated metal walls and the modern walls of the apartment work together to produce a very interesting image.

-Russell Berg

www.seeingberg.com

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When streets have existed for 2-3,000 years the stones themselves take on a character that is worth exploring.

The Plaka: A Photo Essay Part 1

I had dropped my bags grabbed some supper and my wide angle lens and went to explore how this area of Athens was going to photograph. I had walked down a fairly commercial street filled with American stores and I came smack up against this beauty. When a building starts to fall down the Athenians put these upper railings/deflector walls I think to prevent the pedestrians below from getting clunked on the head. It was a building of such character and my eye got pulled down the alley to the right to continue my exploration.

Korakas

On the Turkish side the refugees are given rushed instructions as they huddle in a circle.  There are 47 of them, children, men and women and they strain to hear every word that the smuggler is telling them.  They know that this information might be the difference between survival and drowning.   Their nerves are jangling, everyone is on edge and you can smell the fear.  Most of these people have never been in a boat and they are about to attempt a crossing of the strait between Turkey and Greece in a dinghy.  The wind is whipping and white caps are starting to form.  “It is ok,” the smugglers say, “It will be harder for the Turks to see you.”  The darkness is complete and they get the signal.  They stumble over one another on the rocks to get into the dinghy until they are jammed in so tightly that it is difficult even to turn and look behind.  They are shoved off from shore and the motor sputters to light.  “Aim for the light!  You will be safe.”  The dinghy is sitting perilously low in the water and soon the tops of the waves are coming into the the boat.  

This is a fictional reimagining of some of the stories I heard in Skala.

The light, however, is not safety.  On the sea lights indicate hazards but these are not mariners and all they have is that little bit of information.  Over the last three years thousands of boats have made for that light and when they got there they found that there, within 50m of the Greek shore they were in the worst danger of the trip.  Untold numbers of refugees have made for the light only to have their boats break up or be torn to pieces in the last 50m of a trip that has taken them 2 years to complete.  I wanted a photograph that expressed this danger, this last great injustice for people who are running for their lives.  There are wrecked boats all up and down the north coast of Lesvos.  These ones are on Karakos.  Refugee Rescue works to make those last 50m safe and I am honoured to work alongside.

Two Greek fishermen at work in the evening off Korakas.  The rocks that are visible are not even the most dangerous ones.  There are several treacherous rocks just below the surface of the water right in front of the light house.  These are the ones that have done so much damage.

Skala Evening

I am lucky enough to be spending some time in Greece with some time to do some photography.  I am working with Refugee Rescue as part of a boat crew that is doing SAR for migrants making the desperate boat trip across the strait from Turkey to Lesvos, Greece.   Last night I spent some time wandering one of the most photogenic villages that I have ever seen.  It is truly a beautiful spot.  I knew before I left Canada that I would want to be doing some night-time photography and in just about every circumstance that means a tripod.  International travel with a full size Manfrotto is never fun so I decided to give my Platypod a workout on this trip.  It’s an aluminum plate with some legs and a screw that accepts your tripod head, its an arrangement that is very compact and also offers a lot of flexibility and stability.   I really like low angle shots anyway so just setting the whole arrangement down on the road, quay, or low wall really worked for me.  I didn’t use an ND filter for any of these shots as I was working late enough at night that I could get 20-30 second exposures using ISO and aperture alone.

If there is a prettier place to sit in an outdoor cafe on a warm Mediterranean night I don’t know where it is.  Canon 7D Mk ii 10-22mm at f/10 22sec ISO 200

The church that forms the iconic centre of the Skala harbour.  Canon 7D Mk ii 10-22mm at f/8 22sec ISO 200

The low angle and the very wide 10mm focal length stretches some of the straight lines in the image but I think it emphasizes the dominance of the church.  There was a little boy playing at the top of the steps and he provides and interesting blur that increases the dynamic interest of the photograph.

-Russell Berg

www.seeingberg.com

Telling The Story

A sail boat makes for a dynamic and interesting subject.  One problem that we photographers have is that we often fail to find a way to make a dynamic and interesting subject into a photograph that tells a story.  Yes there is a story to be told about wide open loneliness of being alone on the ocean, it is cleansing and thought provoking. (Like the photograph to the left)  But that wasn’t the story that I was looking to tell with the photograph above.  I wanted to help establish a place and time.  I wanted to increase the complexity of the composition to give the eye a place to travel, to make the viewer wonder, who lives on that island? Did they see the sail boat slice through the water? How often do boats come past this lonely place?  By arranging the position of my boat and the framing of the photograph we get a more interesting story.  On the technical side you can see the way that my 2x extender is softening the details of the photograph, especially at the edges with the fringing around the name of the boat.  Oh well, would I rather have the photograph with the fringing, or miss the image altogether?  Its presence on my blog should answer that question.

If you would like to see all of my images from the race, click here.  Southern Straits Race

-Russell Berg

www.seeingberg.com