The first depiction of Athens

Travel to Athens,

The first images of Athens and the Acropolis and the first travel logs took a long time to be published in books. We should not forget that during the Middle Ages, Athens was just a small village with only the ancient ruins reminiscent of its former ancient glory. But who cared in those times? The Renaissance was the reason that the interest in antiquities had put the spotlight back on Athens, while the invention of printing made it ​​possible for the implementation and rapid spread of travel logs, drawings, engravings and later in the 19th century the photograph.

The truth is that the conquest of the Greek lands by the Ottoman Empire that ended after 1453 and the fall of Constantinople had made it quite difficult for westerners to travel to Greece. So most of the texts, maps and other representations of Greece and Greek antiquities – which seemed to be at the time the Eldorado of looters – was more of a tour in the texts of ancient authors,  the work of their imagination and their wishful thinking rather than the result of actual fieldwork. One of the first scientists with an interest in antiquity who actually travelled to Greece and whose logs and drawings made ​​a huge impression in Europe was Jacques Spon (1647-1685) who had studied as a doctor and was seen by others as a pioneer in the field of archeology but I would say that he was more of a pioneer in the pillaging of antiquities, together with his travel companion Sir George Wheler.

The first years that Athens began to draw the interest of travelers, painting and mapping were such difficult practices, requiring inspiration, talent and a lot of effort,  most of the authors and publishers just published books with information for Athens  by copying each other. Looking at the first published paintings, engravings and drawings  of Athens, I chose two to present to you due to their great interest – because they are the first realistic depictions of Athens and the Acropolis – and also because in my opinion either one of them is a copy of the other or both of them are alterations of a third, already existing drawing.

I present two drawings and one of my photos of modern Athens taken from about the same location where these first drawings were made and you can draw your own conclusions.

athens drawingCORONELLI, Vincenzo. Repubblica di Venezia p. IV. Citta, Fortezze, ed altri Luoghi principali dell’ Albania, Epiro e Livadia, e particolarmente i posseduti da Veneti descritti e delineati dal p. Coronelli, Venice, 1688. athens drawingFANELLI, Francesco. Atene Attica Descritta da suoi Principii sino all’ acquisto fatto dall’ Armi Venete nel 1687… Divisa in quattro parti. Con varieta di medaglie, ritratti, e dissegni, Venice, Antonio Bortoli, 1707.athens acropolis photo

Source of the drawings http://eng.travelogues.gr/

Let’s talk about Athens

Travel to Athens, ,

Athens is the city in which I grew up and still live today. It is a city that according to all indications has been inhabited without interruption since the Neolithic Age; i.e. its prehistory can reach back as far as 10,000 years. Besides its ancient history, Athens became famous during the Classic era (508-322 BC) when achievements in the arts, literature, politics and philosophy became the basis of modern Western civilization.

athens b&w photos

Today Athens is a modern European metropolis with an excellent travel infrastructure. The new airport of Athens Eleftherios Venizelos which opened in 2001 is one of the best and safest airports in the world. While its port, the port of Piraeus is the largest port in Europe in passenger traffic.  The city of Athens also has a Metro which opened in 2000 and Trams that connect the city with the seafront, while in the historic center you can admire among others cultural landmarks such as the Acropolis and the Parthenon and also the brand new Acropolis Museum, which opened its doors in 2009 and is among the best museums in the World, while the Athens Archaeological Museum is the museum with the most extensive collections and the most important Greek antiquities in the World.

athens b&w photos

Athens is the capital city and the center of Greece in all sectors. Although many parts of Greece has direct connections with many countries around the world, the best way to travel anywhere in Greece is to first come and see Athens. Among the other features that Athens has to offer is the excellent climate with warm summers and mild winters, but above all (speaking from a photographer’s view) Athens has an excellent light. I will try mainly through my photos, but also through descriptions by travelers, poets and writers from around the world to offer you the authentic character of Athens, my city, that has been a source of inspiration for artists and intellectuals for more than 2500 years.

Do I have the word ‘Photographer’ stamped on my forehead?

Travel to my thoughts,

In addition to the thousands of photos I have taken which I still keep on record, I have shot several hundred photos which I don’t own, photos that don’t belong to me, photos I have not ever seen. I don’t know why – but it’s as if I have the word ‘photographer’ stamped on my forehead – and wherever I used to travel I would always come across someone who would ask me to take a picture of them with their own camera, usually a family, a group of friends or a couple.

Two couples Serifos island Greece

So it was in this way that for the very first time a very good camera model that I had only seen in brochures came to be in my hands. I will never forget the Nikon F2 that I held in my hands one summer up on the Acropolis to take a shot of a couple with the Lycabettus in the background, closely followed by my first Leica on an excursion to Delphi, a Canon A1 in Epidaurus and my first Digital camera on the island of Poros. But the day that got me thinking about these occurrences was a particular summer day a few years ago on the island of Santorini.

A couple Lefkada island Greece
A couple Lefkada island Greece

Take a look to a new project about lefkada island Greece. Lefkada island Blog

From the early morning of that day, everyone was asking me to take a photo of them. By noon I had already started to say’ Okay’ and smile broadly at anyone approaching me with a camera. On the beach, at the archaeological site of Akrotiri and in Oia I considered it a reasonable request, but in the afternoon while having a coffee above the Caldera, I realised that this story would not have an end. With my companion I had begun to comment about it and we began laughing loudly. Later in a tourist souvenir shop when the owners asked me to take a photo of them with some of their customers, I realized that this thing was chasing me. At night in a bar while having a few drinks, I was just waiting patiently for the moment to come – which inevitably it did, quite quickly – somebody from a group of friends tapped me on the shoulder to take a shot of them as they were dancing. The night had passed and on my way back home I told myself that Ok, that’s it, no more for today.  When all of a sudden a car showed up out of nowhere, deep in the wilderness and a couple stepped out and gave me their camera, naturally and somewhat in a state of disbelief I took pictures of them with a flash, having nothing but the night as a background.

In recent years because of digital photography and the Internet, I have changed the way I deal with people who ask me to take a photo of them during my travels. Usually, I take pictures of them using my own cameras (which most of the time, nowadays, mine are way better than theirs) and I ask for their email address and send these photos back to them by email, so as I can keep on record all the photos that I have taken.

Serifos island Greece

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serifos island photos

The island of Serifos is a Greek island in the western Cyclades with an area of ​​75 km2. Serifos is one of the most distinctive of the Cycladic islands. Livadi is its port, while Chora or the town of Serifos is the capital which is built on a high point of the island which in earlier times offered the inhabitants the necessary protection from pirate raids.

serifos island photos

Serifos during the 19th and 20th century was an area of ​​intense mining activity and signs of this activity are still scattered around the island. Arcade mines, rusted machinery, offshore loading of ore all of which creates a unique backdrop that makes Serifos a beautiful outdoor museum of industrial archeology.

serifos island photos

Among the particular characteristics of the island besides the picturesque town of Serifos with its white-washed houses are several churches and chapels that are scattered all over the island as well as the famous Castle-Monastery of the Archangels. Also, I should mention that on Serifos there are some of the nicest beaches in the Aegean.

serifos island photos

Kythnos island Greece

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kythnos island photos

The island of Kythnos is a Greek island with an area of ​​99 km2 and is the closest island of the Cyclades from the port of Piraeus. The main port of the island is called Merichas and there are two large villages inland on the island. The capital town of Mesaria or as on the Greek islands more commonly known as ‘Chora’ and the picturesque village of Dryopida with its characteristic roofs.

kythnos island photos

The former name of Kythnos was Thermia and this is due to the hot mineral springs that exist in the village of Loutra. One of the hot springs gushes very near the sea which flows onto the beach of Loutra and you can use it freely.

kythnos island photos

The coastline of Kythnos is 104 km and along this coastline there are dozens of small and large bays which form beautiful beaches most of which are easily accessible. Kythnos has many other sights too such as monasteries, churches, windmills and several archaeological sites.

kythnos island photos

Kea island Greece

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kea island photos

The island of Kea or Tzia is the closest island of the Cyclades to Athens being just an hour by boat from the port of Lavrio. Its area is 131 km2 and it is a relatively large island that offers many opportunities for exploration. Among the major attractions of Kea are the beautiful capital town Ioulida, the famous Lion of Kea and the archaeological site of ancient Karthaia.

kea island photos

But what will really impress you on Kea is the excellent network of paths that have been recently sign posted and can guide you around the island so you can enjoy the beautiful natural environment of Kea.

kea island photos

The island has numerous wildlife reserves, particularly migratory birds and some birds of prey. But what makes Kea stand out is its flora which includes more than 3000 species of plants, among them some very rare species of orchid.

kea island photos

The first portrait 1840

Travel to Photography, ,

John William Draper was an American who was born in England in 1811. Like many other scientists of his time he worked in many scientific fields, he was a doctor, chemist, philosopher and historian. When the invention of photography was announced in The French Academy of Sciences in 1839, he was one of the first Americans to become involved with the new instrument. His knowledge of chemistry helped him  improve Daguerre’s method and this resulted in exposures of about 60 seconds in sunlight.

Among the first images he had taken was a photo of his sister Dorothy Catherine Draper which currently is considered to be the first portrait in the history of photography. This photo became known to the ​​public when Draper sent a copy of the image to Sir John Frederick William Herschel in 1840 to demonstrate the improvements he had made in the process of daguerreotype.

first portrait

John William Draper was also the first photographer who took pictures of the moon, but we will talk about this in a following post.

Find more about John William Draper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Draper

Patmos island Greece

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patmos island photos

Patmos is a Greek island, which belongs to the Dodecanese. Patmos is a small island, just 34 km² but with a long history. On this very small island in the Aegean the Revelation of Saint John was written, one of the most important texts in Christianity.

patmos island photos

Chora of Patmos, the capital of the island is a conserved medieval town, together with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian which is located in the centre of the town have both been declared Unesco World Heritage sites.

patmos island photos

Between Chora and Skala the port of Patmos, is the sacred Cave of the Apocalypse. The cave in which according to tradition, God dictated to St. John the text of Revelation.

patmos island photos

Spetses island Greece

Travel to Greece, , ,

The island of Spetses is an historic Greek island in the Saronic Gulf. At just 22 km2 in area this small island played a huge role during the Greek War of Independence in 1821 which liberated Greece from the oppression of the Ottoman Empire.

Spetses has an extensive history as a tourist destination and has always been well known for its cosmopolitan atmosphere. Nobles, grandees of wealth, artists and socialites chose Spetses over the years as a holiday destination or as a place to have their summer residences. Next to Spetses is the private island of Spetsopoula which has been owned by the Niarchos family since 1958.

In the port of Spetses you can find the Poseidonio Grand  Hotel, a hotel with a history of over 100 years that can rival in luxury and architecture the best of any European hotel. While you can take the scenic route from the Spetses hotel to the Old Port either by horse and carriage or on foot, believe me it is one of the best rides in Greece.

Dimitrios Asithianakis is a photographer and photography teacher. You can find him on Facebook Dimitrios Asithianakis.

The first photo of a man 1838

Travel to Photography, , ,

In the early days of photography, it required  a long period of time of exposure to capture an image. (See the first photo that needed 8 hours of exposure).

These long exposure times resulted in anything that moved could not have been recorded in images. So the first pictures were either landscapes or still life. Even though the first photographers were taking pictures of the everyday life of a city, people could not be captured because of the long time exposure.

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre with his photographic method that was later called Daguerreotype, managed to reduce these exposure times. In 1838, he had already managed to have pictures taken outside in the sunlight with only 10 minutes exposure. In one of his first photographs though almost nothing alive has been recorded, if we look at it carefully we will see two people standing relatively motionless during the exposure. It’s an image of a shoe polisher and his client standing upright.

first human photo

This photo from the Boulevard du Temple in Paris in 1838 by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, was the first photograph that had ever recorded people and for this reason this photo will remain forever in history. A humble French shoe polisher with his box at his position on the sidewalk at the corner of Grand Boulevard and his dandy customer!

I have referenced an enlargement of the original image  in which you can get a closer look of these two people.

first man photo