Thodoris Markou 10/1/12 Thodoris Markou 10/1/12

athens international film festival 2012 - snapshots, part II

…a series of images from the second half of the athens international film festival 2012.

preface

...second part of the athens international film festival (opening nights) 2012 - little photostories of each festival day, what I saw and what I chose to photograph. this second part is more streamlined and "official", since I set out to make more images than I was making in the first days. moreover, there were more parties to photograph, and a little non-festival incident which took place on saturday night - a surprise molotov attack on a police station.

the festival's saturday night party was taking place a couple of roads away from the acropolis police station, so when I heard the ruckus I just followed the noises and the burning smell, which led me straight to the police station. there was great commotion, what with policemen trying to keep people away, people trying to walk down the road (it is one of the busiest roads on a saturday night, after all), and the sound of the fire engines' sirens coming up. I managed to snap away a few images, presented in the end of the saturday photostory.

you should also check out snapshots, part I, which covers the first half of the festival.

tuesday 25/09/2012

wednesday 26/09/2012

thursday 27/09/2012

friday 28/09/2012

saturday 29/09/2012 - greek awards ceremony

sunday 30/09/2012 - closing night

Thodoris Markou 9/25/12 Thodoris Markou 9/25/12

athens international film festival 2012 - snapshots, part I

...a series of images from the first six days of the athens international film festival 2012.

preface

I have been photographing the athens international film festival (opening nights) for the past four years, but I never posted any images. this year I decided to post some of them. this is not a complete coverage of the festival, since the festival takes place in three cinemas and I cannot be in all of them simultaneously. moreover, there are parties, special screenings and really different lighting among the three venues... therefore, some days are more "fruitful" than others. I do not necessarily follow the "official" action around, thus I consider these photos as snapshots, moments of the festival and the people who associate with it.

the following photographs are little daily stories, a series of images from the first six days of the festival. six more days remain until the end, so this is snapshots part I, and there will be a snapshots part II next monday.

wednesday 19/09/2012 - opening night

thursday 20/09/2012

friday 21/09/2012

saturday 22/09/2012

sunday 23/09/2012

monday 24/09/2012

Thodoris Markou 9/4/12 Thodoris Markou 9/4/12

under the sea

...got a lomo aqua pix waterproof / underwater camera for a handful of dollars. it was neither waterproof, nor lightproof.

"I'd like to be under the sea, in an octopus' garden in the shade.we would be warm below the storm, in our little hideaway beneath the waves." bought a lomo waterproof / underwater camera for a handful of dollars. it was neither waterproof, nor lightproof. the film survived, albeit with lots of fog and salt. interesting results when used above water - the saltwater might have influenced things a bit. [lomo aqua pix underwater camera | rollei retro 400s | september 2012]

Thodoris Markou 8/22/12 Thodoris Markou 8/22/12

a short summer story

...three days at tzia.

three days at tzia.one and a half rolls of quirky and really cheap b&w film. a short, gritty and totally capricious summer story. [minolta xd-7 | polypan f 50 | august 2012]

Thodoris Markou 7/30/12 Thodoris Markou 7/30/12

a story about origins

origins, places, life stories.

origins, places, life stories. some day, hopefully, I will understand. until then, roll by roll, frame by frame, day by day.[minolta dynax 7 | 28mm | fuji superia 400 | june/july 2012]

part I

part II

part III

part IV

part V

Thodoris Markou 7/27/12 Thodoris Markou 7/27/12

a disjointed story

...photography is a form of psychotherapy.

note to viewer

photography is a form of psychotherapy. loading a roll of film in a camera, walking around, snapping away when you feel like it, not doing anything when you don't feel like it, finishing the roll after days or weeks, the mystery of the soon-to-be-developed images, the anticipation, the excitement.

the realisation that you shot so many different themes in just 36 frames. a disjointed feeling, how do all these fit together? how does your life fit together? so many different themes, sometimes.

how do you present them? do you wait months, years, for the themes to build up in order to unveil a finished product? or do you just present the images as they come, roll by roll, incoherent, incomplete?

photography is my psychotherapy. it keeps my mind ticking. I'll continue roll by roll, presenting loose, unconnected themes. some day I'll try to connect them, to make a cohesive story out of a million puzzle pieces. some day, hopefully, I will understand. some day I hope you'll understand, too.

all of the following images were shot on a single roll of fuji superia 400, with the olympus xa, during june 2012.

three parts, maybe two-and-a-half themes. oh, and there's one missing.

part I

part II

part III

Thodoris Markou 6/26/12 Thodoris Markou 6/26/12

thirty-five minutes of morning light

...35 early morning minutes, 8 frames of sweet sunlight.

the good thing about marousi is that it's cool during the summer night, and really quiet. it's an ideal place if you sleep lightly and cherish the night breeze. thus, it is only natural that murphy's law would apply - a perfect situation will always be disrupted by something surreal. up until a month ago, it was a rooster from the garden 20 meters away from my bedroom window. just as I noticed that the rooster had expired and gone to meet his maker, kicked the bucket, shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible, a new night-time torture began - the stork had blessed the house next to the garden with a newborn baby... so, yesterday morning I was woken up at 06:30 by the baby's crying. actually, the baby had been crying all night long, but that last bit got me fully awake, the sun was up, it was getting hotter, I just couldn't sleep again. so... I decided to capitalize on the morning light. I loaded up the fuji gw690iii with a roll of kodak portra 400 - I have been scouting the area around my house for a long time, so off I went, checking how familiar places were illuminated by the morning sun. the light meter was indicating a combination of 1/125 & f22, pretty good depth of field for the monster 90mm lens of the fuji.

7:23

the first frame was a no-brainer; I raced to my favourite scene and - lo and behold! - the daihatsu had not moved an inch. the sun was still too low, though, and I had to use a different angle because I kept getting my shadow in the photograph. one day I will make a book out of that daihatsu, really.

7:28

I kept cruising around, watching the shadows and the sun, when I saw another car scene that had dwelt on my mind recently - this abandoned fiat in the middle of a big empty piece of land was screaming for a portrait.

7:31

right back to another favourite place, an impromptu parking area, what greeks call "αλάνα" (and if you can find a proper english translation, I'll buy you a drink). I hoped to find a big truck here, the one I had photographed some days ago, but it was nowhere to be seen, so I had to settle for the only car available.

7:33

I immediately knew what the next scene would be - another place I've photographed in the past (although I still haven't developed that film), a nearby basketball court. the sun was still too low but the clock was ticking, so I snapped a frame and made a mental note to come back another day at 08:30 or something.

7:42

I was out of familiar places, no more pre-imagined scenes, and I had to push deeper into areas I had not scouted before - found this building, cursed the early time, this is another photograph that could be better at 08:30, snapped away, moved on.

7:46

uninspired by the places around me, running against the clock (the great deceiver...), more cars and people around, still three frames to go until the end of the roll, I decided to keep it simple - after all, everybody loves stop signs... don't you?

7:51

back to more open spaces, not much shadow play, but the sunlight was still sweet and kept giving a marzipan feeling to the buildings... had to snap away at something, looked around, a big white rectangle begged for a photograph.

7:58

the streets are getting crowded - it's the morning zone, and I still have one more frame before I can wrap this up. driving back to the daihatsu, I notice it has visitors. I'm thinking that there must be a place somewhere nearby where I can get a more interesting image than this, but my time is up, the opel twins wink their eyes at me, what the hell, they deserve a photo.

...later the same day, a trip to filmora for development, back home for scanning - always keep your head in the shade, the sunlight kills you and your photos during normal day hours - and here it is: thirty-five morning minutes, eight frames of sweet sunlight. I'm starting to like the neighbours' baby.