Posts tagged ‘photography chalkidiki’
New lines of horizons
Mount Athos, the Holy mountain is there at the right side of the rising sun. There and far away. Observed every day, never reached: the permits necessary to enter the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos were not requested in time. For now…
Click each picture to zoom in. This is the last episode of this picture series. Previous episodes:
Destination: the Holy Mountain
Peeping where Hera spurted her milk
Radial symmetries
When feeling in danger, octopuses spread out their arms, pump water through their siphon and exhibit phosphorescent pigments. Octopuses are animals with bilateral symmetry, despite these postures make them looking like radial. “My” octopus did not ink, maybe it was not so frightened after all.
Sedentary marine tube worms quickly retract their colorful bristles (visible) in their calcareous tube (not visible). Despite their exposed, radial head, they are bilateral annelids
Sea anemones are true radial animals. This anemone belongs to the Actinaria subclass
Sea urchins (Echnoidea) are true radial symmetry animals
A runaway octopus with its usual pigmentation
This sea anemone belongs to the Spirularia subclass
Sea stars (Asteroidea) are true radial animals. This specimen is crawling through a bed of peacock tail’s algae.
Pictures shot with Olympus THought1 and Huawei P30 Pro. Click each picture to zoom in.
Previous episodes:
Under your protection
The Arc of Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus, Emperor of Rome in Thessaloniki, capital of Central Macedonia, Greece
A small christian orthodox chapel above Klimataria beach, Sithonia, Greece
Veranda of an abandoned hotel in Porto Koufo
The Rotunda of Galerius with its 1,600 year old cupola decorated with mosaics from Byzantium era.
Beach umbrella and beds in Tourkolimnionas beach
A Byzantine fountain in the crypt of Agios Demetrios Basilica in Thessaloniki
Click each picture to zoom in. Previous episodes:
Destination: the Holy Mountain
Modern Greeks
Sunday morning 7am at the Greek Orthodox Church, bells across our street.
Waiting for thirsty tourists for breakfast at the Beach bar
Every evening a new show: her balcony in front of the only place in town
Boys playing the bouzouki at the beach, such lucky chance!
Ugly and tasteful vegetables of Sikias
Pelagic Greek – from Ancient Greek πέλαγος (pélagos), meaning ‘open sea’
Click each picture to zoom in. Underwater pictures show with Olympus Though1 or Huawei P40 Pro. Previous episodes:
Destination: the Holy Mountain
The easternmost leg of Chalkidiki peninsula (Central Macedonia, Greece) takes its name: Mount Athos, Agion Oros, the Holy Muntain is there waiting for us… already from the early sunrise hours.
And it will wait for long, as no woman is allowed, the documents necessary to cross its border must be requested six months in advance and an Orthodox travel companion is recommended (in the picture below, Saint Athanasios of Alexandria, XVth century).
This year I got all but the documents: my visit to this autonomous polity, home to more than 20 monasteries and cradle of the reborn Eastern Orthodox Church must be postponed.
Still, I wake up every morning in Sikias, placed on the eastern shores of the middle leg (aka Sithonia) of Chalkidiki peninsula: the Holy Mountain and its treasures are always there in front of me.
I will see Mount Athos across the Singitic gulf for 14 days…
… and 14 nights, with an astonishing bright Milky Way passing just above its 2,033 meter peak.. but I will never reach it, or will I?
There is also a westernmost leg of Chalkidiki peninsula (if you were wondering why Sithonia is the middle leg) that is called Kassandra, but nothing will be written about Kassandra in this travel across the North Agean Sea.
Pictures shot with Nikon D800 and Huawei P40 Pro. Lens and mount for astrophotography: Sigma 14 mm f/1.8 and iOptron Skyguider Pro. Click each picture to zoom in.
