CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-19 20:40:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

Added photos to The Selfy Sunday Project.

2013-05-17 22:49:29 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Ranting...

G+ has to make me rant ALL the time...

I thought I had overcome the problem of uploading a photo in an album and not being able to share it directly (but having to have a copy of it in "photos from posts") by taking the said photo in Picasa Web Albums and putting it back to the original folder. This way you can keep all the comments and +1's.
The problem is that when you open the photo FROM INSIDE THE ALBUM you can see as thumbnails the rest of the photos of the album (and see them properly with the arrows)
BUT when you open the photo directly from the post, it takes you to a lightbox (if you see the URL you'll notice it's not the samer lightbox with the one that the photo appears in the album), where though it says in which album it is, it also says it's no.1of 1 (though the actual album has many more photos) and you cannot see... more »

2013-05-17 22:18:32 (9 comments, 3 reshares, 45 +1s)

Klima sunset

This is the village of Klima in Milos island, Greece, famous for it's "syrmata" (σύρματα), this kind of colorful "garages" specially made for the boats. The word derives from the verb "syro" (σύρω) meaning drag, as the fishermen used to drag their boats inside to protect them from the stormy weather. There are other places in Milos with "syrmata" too but this is rather the one with the most of them. Some are converted to modern appartments and are rented to the tourists. Well, staying in one of these doesn't sound too bad...

#longexposurethursday +Francesco Gola +Luca Gerardi 
#colorsonfriday  +Karsten Meyer +Britta Rogge 
#sunsetsaturday +Dennis Hoffbuhr
#plusphotoextract   +Jarek Klimek 

2013-05-16 18:33:33 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 63 +1s)

Hey I've got one of these too!!

This is the famous Shell-Haus in Berlin, shot during the great G+ Berlin Photowalk exactly (bar a few days) one year ago.
When we got back from Berlin and everybody started posting their photos, I got the feeling that each and every one had a great photo of the Shell-Haus, well… except me!

I (almost) got what I deserved because I got distracted on the way there and started shooting something else (effectively loosing my time as the results were too mediocre) and by the time I got to the Shell-Haus it was already a bit late. As a result I didn’t like the light, so instead of shooting the Haus I started fooling around shooting anything and everyone else…

Luckily I carry two cameras, so somewhere in the middle of my fooling around and as the others were still shooting the Haus, I thought “What the hell, let’s put onecamera on... more »

2013-05-14 20:54:29 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 28 +1s)

Mandrakia sunrise

This is one the first photos that I shot on my recent trip to Milos island, Greece, a wonderful place for sure!

In the foreground you see the small fishing village of Mandrakia, while on the background you can see the north-east end of Milos to the right and the island of Kimolos on the left.

My first contribution after quite a long time to my friend's +Julia Anna Gospodarou #seatuesday .   
Many more photos to follow...

+Jarek Klimek #plusphotoextract  

2013-05-13 19:26:43 (13 comments, 1 reshares, 28 +1s)

Aegean sunset

This is another one from my recent trip to Milos island, Greece. Actually this was shot after the ship departed from Serifos, heading to Sifnos.
I suppose that most of us Greeks must have scenes like this planted into our DNA (as we've seen them way too often), yet speaking for myself I never seem to get enough of these...

#leadinglinesmonday by +Pam Boling +Michael B. Stuart +David Murphy +Andreas Levi +Elle Rogers and my compatriot +Simos Xenakis 

2013-05-12 19:26:21 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

mother's day

Manuela got this from the kids in the morning (along with a nice bunch of flowers). She seemed surprised saying she must have done something right to deserve these. She's probably right too...

#sweetssunday by +Michael Earley +Annie Irving 

2013-05-11 20:47:23 (10 comments, 5 reshares, 51 +1s)

Firopotamos, Milos island, Greece

This was my first impression of the little fishing village of Firopotamos in Milos, early in the morning of my first day there and as you can guess I was pretty impressed!

I visited the place many more times as I wanted to capture the most out of it, so you're gonna see quite a lot more.

Gave me a bit of a hard time with processing as the light was completely on my face, but I think I've managed to make it look quite the same way I remember it.

#sunrisesaturday by +Josh Davis 

2013-04-30 20:47:43 (26 comments, 1 reshares, 29 +1s)

I certainly don't consider myself an artist of any kind but even by my lowish standards this is a completely crappy photo (shot with the crappy Panny), totally overexposed, distorted colors, head-on flash etc.

Yet who cares when this was our first swim of the year?? (Yeaahhh!!) For the past few days temperatures are around 30 C, and though I haven't swam for many years that early in the season, the sea was really pleasant and we've had a great time!! Looking forward to do it ASAP...

#seatuesday by +Julia Anna Gospodarou (welcome back!)

2013-04-26 16:18:47 (16 comments, 4 reshares, 66 +1s)

Můstek metro station

Shot this in the Můstek metro station in Prague, after my friend Ryan told me about it. It has some nice golden decoration (barely seen behind the moving train) Though I haven't captured the decoration in this one, I kinda like it for some reason...

#publictransportfriday by +Christine Denck
#FramedSubject by +Carsten Schlipf +Dirk Müller +Matthias Haeussler
+Claus Allweil 

2013-04-23 15:50:19 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Grrrrrr@%$&!!

Can someone tell me why most of my posts a little while after I post them go waaaay down the stream, as if I have posted them several ours before??
I just posted a new one at 6:28 and now it appears to  be between one posted at 3:18 and one posted at 3:32, which as I said is waaaay low down...
Does it also appear to you this way or is it just my browser playing tricks on me?? Too annoying!!

2013-04-23 15:28:42 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 51 +1s)

The red pawn

Shot from the top of the Astronomical Clock tower in Prague, during our Prague Flickr-meet last week.

I had to wait quite a long so that only this touring-guide and no-one else was in the frame (and more so till he gets the right posture and position...) Sorry guys waiting for me below...

+John Leech disclaimer: No colors were harmed during the process of this image (but I liked it from the start as it looked like a selective color one ;-)

2013-04-21 15:46:18 (12 comments, 3 reshares, 51 +1s)

Prague selfie

Two weeks ago we visited Prague in Czech Republic to meet our Flickr-friends from all around Europe. After a long trip from Greece, we arrived at our hotel after 24:00, went to sleep around 2:00am and I was awake again at 5:00 am to meet my friends for a dawn shooting around the famous Charles bridge!

After having done a series of selfies in front of some interesting and beautiful places and as my friend +John Leech teasingly said “since there was not anything too interesting around to shoot…” I decided to make yet another selfie. Standing sleepless in 0 degrees C was not the easiest for someone who a few hours ago was used to 20’s C, but after some trial/error I did manage to make a few decent ones… 

PS. On the Exif data the time of shooting seems to be 7:09 but it was actually 6:09 as I never bothered to turn my cameras to Czech time...

2013-04-21 13:08:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

Added photos to The Selfy Sunday Project.

2013-04-18 14:30:04 (4 comments, 3 reshares, 46 +1s)

Cliché-shooting in Prague...

Last week was I was in Prague where I met with my Flickr-friends from all around Europe. The weather was really bad considering the season, too cold and overcast, so I thought blue hour and night photography would be more interesting than daylight one and I was not disappointed.

This is almost the last photo I took, all by chance at the same place where I took my first ones two days before. Definitely a cliché-shot, but it seems I was always in favor of clichés…

These are the western banks of the river Vltava, looking (from left) towards the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Charles bridge museum, the Charles bridge itself and the clock over Novotneho lavka.

You can see one of the photos I took from the same place on my first day here: https://plus.google.com/107466846654114212261/posts/EcqTCXdafwD

 Sha... more »

2013-04-12 20:38:36 (12 comments, 2 reshares, 63 +1s)

Vltava banks, Prague

I just returned after spending some wonderful days in Prague, Czech Republic, along with my dear Flickr-friends from all around Europe.
The weather wasn't cooperating at all (way too cold, overcast skies etc) but that did not prevent us from having a great time (and taking some nice photos in the process)
This is one of the very first I processed and in fact one of the very first I shot, on a dawn shooting along with +peter moons and +John Leech, looking over the river Vltava to the old town and the famous Charles bridge.
More to come...

#filmnoirfriday by +Paul Wright and +Kel Hayner
#flowingwaterfriday by +Rolf Hicker and +Kate Church 

2013-04-02 14:19:30 (17 comments, 8 reshares, 68 +1s)

Multi - colored

This is the village of Manarola in Italy, one of the Cinque Terre (five "earths")
Having already been there 3 times, I still have a strong urge to revisit, as I have it too high on my list of  "I'd like to be there" places.

Shot back in 2008 with my little old granny Nikon D50 and shared here for #seatuesday and my friend  +Julia Anna Gospodarou 

2013-04-01 21:09:15 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 60 +1s)

Scottish mirror

I shot this back in 2011 in Scotland, near the town of Oban. Was driving past these nice meadows and I couldn't help noticing the perfect reflection of the sky in the small lakes. I definitely had to capture this and I'm glad that (after giving me some headaches in pp) it finally came out quite nice...

#mirrormonday by +Gemma Costa and +Elizabeth Edwards 

2013-03-29 22:35:52 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 50 +1s)

Cross - eyed

I certainly haven't shot many fire hydrant photos, maybe 2 or 3 in my entire life...

Yet, this one with its bright red color against the wonderful blue and turquoise waters of the Bonifacio Strait in Corsica, and its funny looking "eyes" and "smile" seemed like it was put there just to be photographed! So who was I to say no??
#firehydrantfriday +Fire Hydrant Friday curated by +Beth Blackwell and +Gailen Mapes

2013-03-28 20:30:19 (9 comments, 2 reshares, 60 +1s)

Porto Venere, Italy

I'm currently processing some photos from a trip we had to Italy and Corsica back in 2008 and I have found many forgotten ones that I seem to like.

Among them is this one, taken at the small beautiful Italian town of Porto Venere, with its very narrow houses painted in different colors.

Shared for #windowwednesday by +Jules Falk Hunter +Simon Davis-Oakley +Jason Kowing +Cheryl Cooper +J.J. Bentley
+catherine furet
and also for #plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 

2013-03-24 09:21:59 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 22 +1s)

Added photos to The Selfy Sunday Project.

2013-03-22 18:44:22 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 59 +1s)

Bonifacio, Corsica

This is the beautiful town of Bonifacio at the southern tip of the island of Corsica. The old (or upper) town is located on a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and as the limestone cliffs have been eroded by the sea, the houses are almost hanging in the air... A most impressive sight for sure!

Shared for #frenchfriday by +Noze P. Photography and +Peak Ness
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 

2013-03-21 17:28:32 (14 comments, 3 reshares, 61 +1s)

Brandenburger Tor

The building on the left is the Brandenburg Gate, the most famous landmark in Berlin and most probably in the whole of Germany.
 I shot this last spring, during the fabulous G+ Berlin meet, a little further from the US Embassy, together with +Ugo Cei and +Sally Good and +Ian Good.  I had never properly processed it until now (along with 90% of my Berlin shots...) I think I should start doing some more of these.

#travelthursday by +Laura Mitchum
#longexposurethursday by +Luca Gerardi and +Francesco Gola
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek
#gplusphotowalkberlin

2013-03-18 17:44:31 (12 comments, 2 reshares, 64 +1s)

Inveraray, Scotland

I decided to spend some time processing my Scotland photos which I have neglected for long...
This was shot in Inveraray, one fine August morning in 2011.

Shared for #mirrormonday by +Elizabeth Edwards and +Gemma Costa
Also for #plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 

2013-03-10 21:02:32 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

150

Though this is in my album "Switzerland 2012", I actually shot it in 2011, on our (relatively) short stop at Switzerland on our way to Scotland. Knowing we were going to have about a whole day in Zurich, I contacted my Swiss friend +Christa Valente so that we could meet, and not only she accepted, not only insisted on sleeping at her place, not only she arranged to rent a car for us (which drove us to some great places around) but she also insisted (to death...) to pay for it (and Swiss prices are not cheap you know...)
Christa we've told you that before, but we still remember and feel we owe you a big thanks for everything and for the "150"

#transportandcommunicationsunday by +Juan Muntaner 
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 

2013-03-05 17:37:24 (44 comments, 39 reshares, 167 +1s)

Aspropyrgos re-revisited

Last Sunday I revisited (for the millionth time) my fave decaying jetty at Aspropyrgos coast near Athens, Greece, trying to shoot something specifically for the LE Challenge, held on my friendly Flickr-group.

I ended up with something quite similar to one I had made last year, but it seems I never get tired of this place... Over the last year, when I "discovered" the place, I must have shot (almost) every possible angle and focal length but it’s the weather conditions that make each time really unique.
 
Ohh, and a funny story for the end:
While I was there shooting, a couple showed up with camera, tripod, ND filters etc. and the girl started photographing the jetty. After a while we started chatting (plenty of time to do that during LE’s…) and I asked them if they had been there before. When they told me that it was theirfirst ... more »

2013-03-04 18:48:55 (15 comments, 17 reshares, 120 +1s)

The White Veil

This is the wonderful medieval bridge at Paleokarya, in central Greece as I shot it last year, about ten years after my previous visit.

Shared for #EuropeanPhotography and #EPBridges curated by +European Photo +Janusz Brakoniecki +Jean-Louis LAURENCE +Susanne Ramharter +Michael Muraz  +Ela Kupiec  and last but not least my friend +Ugo Cei

#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 

2013-03-01 22:32:43 (7 comments, 6 reshares, 92 +1s)

Run baby, Run

I'm definitely not a dog lover, at least the way most people mean it. I certainly don't hate them too, I have even played with a puppy or two but they don't really mean that much to me.
So you can surely guess that this dog here is not mine, but I have to admit that I couldn't help shooting him a couple of times as he was running up and down like crazy on this empty Scotish beach.

Shared here for #fidofriday by +Wes Lum +mel peifer +Lisa Lisa and +Suhaib Ayaz 

2013-02-27 22:32:24 (4 comments, 8 reshares, 40 +1s)

Βοιδοκοιλιά, Πελοπόνησσος

Μια από τις αγαπημένες μου παραλίες...

2013-02-26 21:05:30 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 57 +1s)

I am sailing

I shot this back in 2011 in Isle of Skye, Scotland. Though the weather was quite moody (and nice for us photographers), the sea was really smooth and suitable for sailing. So I guess everyone was satisfied...

Shared here for #seatuesday by my friend +Julia Anna Gospodarou 

2013-02-25 21:57:53 (11 comments, 2 reshares, 56 +1s)

Rider on the Storm

I shot this back in November for the presentation of this Bianchi Oltre XR bike in the Greek MBike magazine.

We went near the top of Ymmitos mountain on a really bad winter day, all cold, windy and rainy... We were the three of us, Dimitris the (hero) rider, the other Dimitris, chief editor of the magazine and best-boy for the occassion, holding the off-camera flash and myself. We all got soaked to the bone until we got everything right, Dimitris must have learned every little bump and stone of this section, as he must have got up and down about 34.000 times and I was in a constant battle with weather, having to wipe the drops from the lens every millisecond. Eventually and thanks to the patience of the boys we got a few keepers...

You can see a sample of the printed article here:... more »

2013-02-24 10:13:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Added photos to The Selfy Sunday Project.

2013-02-22 17:22:55 (18 comments, 8 reshares, 88 +1s)

Tree Tunnel

This was shot back in 2009 on my last visit to France, near the river Lot.
Shared here for my fave theme of #frenchfriday by +Peak Ness and +Noze P. Photography
and though it's far from Tuesday it seems to be suitable for #treetuesday by +Christina Lawrie and +Shannon S. Myers
Also for +Jarek Klimek and his #plusphotoextract  

2013-02-21 19:28:37 (21 comments, 10 reshares, 72 +1s)

Lofoten, Norway

This photo was taken on our first night at the Lofoten islands in Norway. It is a 42 sec. exposure to capture the nice blue light of the evening sky. I had long forgotten about having capture this one, but trying to find something interesting to share for my fave #longexposurethursday by +Francesco Gola and +Luca Gerardi I just remembered about it.
And since it's all about the sea I wouldn't mind sharing it also with #seatuesday of my friend +Julia Anna Gospodarou,
#thirstythursdaypics by +Giuseppe Basile and +Mark Esguerra and last but not least for #plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 

2013-02-19 21:31:31 (21 comments, 4 reshares, 109 +1s)

Aspropyrgos revisited

The other day I re-visited after a loooong time my fave spot at Aspropyrgos coast, near Athens, Greece.

It turned out that I reached the place a bit late, the weather was not as good as it initially seemed and my photos were not exactly what I had been hoping for and certainly not on par with my best from the place. Yet again I enjoyed the whole thing unexpectedly much and it's strange how being there once again felt like "home"...

#seatuesday by +Julia Anna Gospodarou
#plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 

2013-02-18 20:32:41 (8 comments, 6 reshares, 52 +1s)

Harder Kulm, Switzerland

This is the view from Harder Kulm mountain towards the Jungfrau massif. Harder Kulm is a relatively low mountain (at least for Swiss standards) reaching "just" 1322m. It may not be the highest or most spectacular mountain in the area, but it sure affords some great views towards the town of Interlaken and the famous peaks of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. The observation plattform seen here is quite new, called "The two lakes-plattform" affording not only better views to Interlaken right below (this can get a little scary you know...) but also to the lakes Thun and Brienz.

Though I've been at least ten times in Switzerland (and in the surrounding area of Interlaken) due to dear relatives, this was the first time I went up to Harder Kulm and I can honestly say I did not regret it!!

#mountainmonday by +Michael Russell
... more »

2013-02-14 22:10:31 (10 comments, 4 reshares, 66 +1s)

Elefsina sunset II

This is the B&W version of the photo I posted the other day, taken on a very windy afternoon in Elefsina port, Greece.
You can see the color version here: https://plus.google.com/107466846654114212261/posts/31JgFpXXy7H

This one was made by tweaking the color version with Capture NX2 and it's one of the few times that I'm not sure which one I prefer over the other...

Shared here for #coastalthursday by +Jon Kahn and +David Polzine
my fave #longexposurethursday by +Francesco Gola and +Luca Gerardi
#thirstythursdaypics by +Giuseppe Basile and +Mark Esguerra
and though it's not Tuesday for #seatuesday by my friend +Julia Anna Gospodarou
Last but not least for +Jarek Klimek and #plusphotoextract  

2013-02-12 15:32:51 (17 comments, 4 reshares, 68 +1s)

Elefsina sunset

I shot this one a couple of weeks ago on a very windy day at the port of Elefsina, Greece. I have a B&W version too which looks quite the part and wondered which one to post here, but then again I saw that due to the fact that today it's Tuesday, many B&W seascapes have already been posted for #seatuesday curated by my friend +Julia Anna Gospodarou. So I decided to differ a bit and add a little color...

+Jarek Klimek #plusphotoextract  

2013-02-10 07:11:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

Added photos to The Selfy Sunday Project.

2013-02-08 17:34:27 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 43 +1s)

Ακρωτήριο Ηραίο

Αναδημοσίευση μιας ήδη δημοσιευμένης αγαπημένης μου φωτό, μια και το G+ δε μας επιτρέπει να μοιραζόμαστε ταυτόχρονα με ανθρώπους και κοινότητες. Ultra ενοχλητικό, άσε που για κάθε αναδημοσίευση δημιουργεί και ένα επιπλέον αντίγραφο (που είναι ακόμα πιο ενοχλητικό...) Ποτέ δεν κατάλαβα πώς οι υποτιθέμενα έξυπνοι άνθρωποι που τα στήνουν αυτά επιμένουν να ακολουθούν αυτή την ηλιθιότητα (που ένας θεός ξέρει πως τη σκέφτηκαν) αντί απλώς να ακολουθήσουν/αντιγράψουν κάτι πουδουλεύει αποδεδειγμένα καλά εδώ και χρόνια, όπως πχ. το Flickr που κρατάει όλες τις φωτό σε ένα μέρος και μπορείς να τις αναδημοσιεύσεις όσες φορές και όπου θες. Πολλές φορές αναρωτιέμαι γιατί μένω στο G+!! Πάλι εκνευρίστηκα...

Αυτός είναι ο φάρος στο ακρωτήριο Ηραίο κοντά στο Λουτράκι. Επειδή δεν έχω NDG φίλτρα (και ούτε θέλω να πάρω γιατί δε μ'αρέσει το σκοτείνιασμα που κάνουν όταν... more »

2013-02-06 21:19:55 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 34 +1s)

The Barn

It may not look like it, but this photo is the one that took me the longest time to process ever! I've already read some horror stories about 60 or more hours of PP from my friends +Joel Tjintjelaar and +Julia Anna Gospodarou and had never felt I could be motivated to do something similar.
Yet, this is the very first time that from the moment I saw this scene live in front of my eyes, I knew that some long PP hours would be the only way to recreate what I had in my mind.

For some backup info, this is the barn in my cousin's farm in Emmental, Switzerland. We spend our summer vacations there and though we stayed at a lovely modern apartment in the farm, due to some very strict state regulations about the outter appearnce of the old farms, the only way to get in and out of our apartment, was right through this barn. So you can guess I must have seen this view... more »

2013-02-05 14:23:14 (6 comments, 3 reshares, 35 +1s)

"As We See It 2012" Selfie

Our annual group book is here!
This is my proof-photo holding our "As we see it 2012" book, a team effort of a bunch of Flickr friends from all around the world!
I'm very proud to be once more a part of the production team (I wouldn't miss that for anything...) and I want to thank everyone who helped in this project and especially +John Leech (leeechy to us...) without whom we'd never have that great book!
You can have a look at the book (and see why we're all so proud) here:
http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/3805826-as-we-see-it-2012-hardcover?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget

Shared here for my good friend +Julia Anna Gospodarou and her #seatuesday and also for #portraittuesday by +Laura Balc and #thuesdecay by +Ian Ference

You can see my previous two photos from the same place here:... more »

2013-02-01 09:08:21 (9 comments, 6 reshares, 70 +1s)

Abandoned II

Last Sunday we've had a stroll by the sea and it was the first time I tried some proper LE shooting after a looong time. This one is a long-ish rather than a really long exposure but I like the way the movement of the wave is caught.

I have already posted another one of a nearby umbrella (shot and processed in an entirely different way) which is here:
 https://plus.google.com/107466846654114212261/posts/cfpKUedjjAg

Shared for #coastalthursday by +David Polzine and +Jon Kahn
#inmotionthursday by +Scott Thomas
#longexposurethursday by +Francesco Gola and +Luca Gerardi
#seatuesday   by my friend +Julia Anna Gospodarou (though it's already Thursday...)
and #plusphotoextract by  +Jarek Klimek 

2013-01-29 15:54:25 (17 comments, 4 reshares, 94 +1s)

Abandoned

Last Sunday we've had a stroll by the seaside and for once after soooo long I had everything set, tripod, filters, remote release etc.
The project (apart from walking by the sea) was to make a proof-shot of myself holding The Book (an annual publication we make in our Flickr-based Nikon DSLR group and for which I'm proud to be in the production team)

When I spotted some of these abandoned umbrellas (among other still-standing ones) I was sure I could use them for my selfie, which I did, but I could not resist trying a few LE's. This one, at 5 mins, is the only really long exposure I did, the others were rather long-ish exposures varying between 1 and 2 secs, trying to capture some movement of the waves (same for my selfie)   Came out quite well though, considering it was a one-off...

Shared here for my good friend +Julia Anna Gospodarou an... more »

2013-01-29 07:00:28 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Not a selfish pig

I've just found out that for some unexplained reason the slider that controls how many posts I see in my home page from my "acquaintaces" was turned to "zero".
Not being vey active lately, I had not properly noticed that I haven't seen anything new for quite some time from many people I used to follow. And considering the fact that my "acquaintances" are about one third of all the people I'm following, it seems I was missing quite a lot.
So if you're among the people that I used to follow and comment and haven't heard anything from me for quite some time, chances are that it's not because I'm a selfish pig but it's just that you happened to be in my "acquaintances"...

2013-01-25 17:47:17 (10 comments, 5 reshares, 85 +1s)

Gorges de la Jonte

This was shot early in the morning a few years ago in the gorge of the river Jonte in southern France.

It was really foggy a bit earlier (so you could barely see anything) but as the fog started to clear and the sun played hide and seek with the clouds, some great photo opportunities were pretty obvious. The thing is you cannot be in too many places at once (and with the whole gorge being so spectacular that was a real pitty), but I think I was lucky enough to be at one of the "right" places at the right time.

Shared here for #frenchfriday curated by +Peak Ness and +Noze P.
and also for #plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 

2013-01-15 20:50:43 (14 comments, 2 reshares, 62 +1s)

Making easy things difficult

I've been waiting for this shot (ok maybe not exactly this particular one) for a long time, because
a. I had not shot any of my fave seascapes for too long and
b. because my friend +Mikko Järvi had announced some time ago that the theme for the Challenge #71 currently running in our Nikon DSLR Forum in Flickr is "13.01.13" meaning a photo taken on Sunday 13.

On Sunday the weather was great here and we decided to visit a coast on the north of Athens (Varnavas coast) that we had not been before so we could all have some fun near the sea. You can possibly imagine what the definition of "fun by the sea" was for me, so you might guess that I was fully prepared and equipped for the occassion. Well, to be honest I thought so myself, and it was not until much later on that I realised that I had forgotten all my ND filters... more »

2013-01-09 21:21:42 (15 comments, 6 reshares, 91 +1s)

Bachalpsee, Switzerland

Today, after a long time I started processing my Switzerland photos again, in fact I did only this one, but I must say I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome as the original looked quite different.

Shared for #wetwednesday by +Jen Baptist  ,
#travelpanowednesday by +Rolf Hicker  ,
#widewednesdaypanorama by +David Heath Williams  and +Ken McMahon
 and #plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek 

2013-01-03 17:08:47 (21 comments, 3 reshares, 79 +1s)

"Mediterranean Sky" for the Plus One Collection 2012

I'm re-sharing this photo because I've just submited it to +Ivan Makarov 's  wonderful #PlusOneCollection2012 project.

Finding the year's fave to submit was quite difficult as I have shot many thousands of photos (and a few of them didn't look bad...) but this specific place, the shipwreck of the Mediterranean Sky cruise ship near Athens Greece, is kinda haunting me as I've been there quite a few times (and still feel there's a lot to be photgraphed there) This is rather the best photo I've got from it so far and one of my all-time faves.

You can learn more about the Plus One Collection and how to submit your own photo here:
 https://plus.google.com/u/0/106711803105103787711/posts/h7A4z7eTdNz

2012-12-30 16:01:51 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 38 +1s)

Milopotamos, Pelion

Today's rain reminded me of another rainy day back in 2011 in Milopotamos beach, Pelion. All other similarities end here...