A marketer at heart, a storyteller, ambitious cinematographer and photographer. I was born and raised in Athens, Greece. I currently live in London working in AdTech and capture London in stills or videos in my spare time. More
All tagged photography
How many times have you went back on your phone or hard drive and looked at old pictures? Can you remember the last time you flicked through an old photo album? What did it feel like? There’s something about the physical world that makes art and photographs unique. I recently partnered with a leading, global, print specialist to start selling some of my won work.
Making money while you sleep is a dream for any human being. Especially when the money you make comes from your hobby rather than your day job. After two years of hard work shedding sweat, blood and tears to make content that can be successfully sold online, while I’m literally in bed sleeping, I finally made it (ish)!
I never thought of saying this, but when older generations say “In my time things were much simpler and the process was more enjoyable” they’re right. We live in a world where technology, in the name of automation and simplicity, has taken over every aspect of our lives. From smart devices, to smart homes, to self-driving cars, and private spacecraft, technology has invaded our lives. In the name of technological advancement, we lost one very important element. The thirst for learning a new craft and the sense of accomplishment when you finally get something right. That feeling is what I get when I film analogue.
Make, learn, repeat. As Matti Haapoja once said, these three words are the only “gear” you need to become better at anything you set your eyes on. Not just photography and video, but everything you do in life. I embarked on a creative journey just over a couple of years ago and started practising photography and videography. Most of the things I shoot are not great, but every time I look at something from my work I dislike, I’m determined to make it better next time. The only thing that can’t change for the better is the way I look… At least naturally…
We’re all going through tough times. Both personally and collectively. The dear situation we find ourselves in has had a tremendous impact on our lives, and we don’t want to accept this new reality. However, the sooner we accept it, the sooner we’ll be able to keep on dreaming and chasing our goals. Because we need to have goals to keep on going. Otherwise, we’re on the fast lane to depression. And I’m reluctant to surrender.
Have you ever sat at a corner of a filled room looking at people, their expressions and reactions and wondered what their story is? It’s called “people watching” and it used to be my favourite pass time earlier in life when smartphones and portable consoles were not as popular. I’m looking to do the same through pictures and document a year in Londoners’ life.
Can you measure creativity? How do you determine whether you’ve become more creative? I’m not one that keeps his new year resolutions, failing pretty miserably every time I try it. So how do I make sure I achieve such an aspiration and broad objective or being more creating? I believe the key lays in setting long term goals and work your way down. Let me explain…
I collaborated with Anny K shoes in Athens, Greece for their winter collection. But it all started as a hobby. Afterall, it's only been a few months since I started my journey as a photographer. I'm now proud to have already landed my very first commercial work! Here's how it happened.
I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Someone asked about buying my photos. I wasn’t just grateful, I was also embarrassed for refusing because I didn’t have a POS set up. Until today. Starting today, you can buy some of my work from here.
Friends are for life. As the years go by, they never change, and they never should. Their job is to remind you that once, even for a brief couple of years, you used to be reckless, not worrying about life. No matter what happens, they’ll be there for you, for the good and the bad.
I recently went through a rebranding exercise in an effort to adjust to the new changes in my storytelling workflow through stills and animation. Check it out at www.nikosdrakatos.com.
This is it. The final challenge of my 30-day photography journey. It's been a very interesting 30 days with lots of learnings, but I'll write all about that in a different post.
Today, I want to focus on my last photo.
Slowly wrapping up this photo-challenge with another portrait photography challenge. I might have skipped a couple of techniques and mandatory accessories (like an external flashlight), but I’m very happy with the outcome!
What kind of photograph can I create that would be improved by the addition of steam, smoke, or fog? What if I don’t have access to natural fog, smoke bombs, a campfire, or a fog machine? This is day 28 of my 30-day photo challenge!
It seems a bit redundant going out shooting urban life when most of my previous challenges incorporated an urban theme. On a second thought, this was an aesthetic I subconsciously chose to convey through my pictures. Have I started picking up a certain style?
This was another very broad concept I had to yet again crack. The only direction I had was to use any form of artificial light. It didn't matter if it was day or night, overcast or cloudy, strobe lights or coloured.
Some of the challenges, don't come with clear instructions. Actually, some of them, are very vague, leaving you to wonder what could this challenge possibly be, or how it will turn up to look like.
Originally, this was meant to be a “wildlife photography” challenge. But the fact that I don’t live in a rural area, nor going to the London Zoo on a weekday is something I can do, I opted in for something in between.
I always admired photos that introduced symmetry. I tried it my self a number of times before. But there was always something that put me off when I looked back at my pictures.
Using fire as your source light is challenging enough. The harsh tones, shadows and lingering movement of the light, make it very hard to correctly expose and light up your subject. Imagine having to capture actual fire as your main subject.
