Colchicum atticum

IMG_0648 [Colchicum atticum]

Photographed on Mt. Penteli on December 12, 2011

 

Crocus pallasii

803_8116 [Crocus pallasii]

 

 This crocus grows in countries extending from the Balkan Peninsula to Iran.

In Greece it flowers during the months of October, November and December mostly on some east Aegean islands

but there are reports that it was found in Macedonia and Thessaly as well.

In Attica, as far as I know, it grows only on a very small area high up on Mt. Hymittos. 

 

For more pictures of pallasii please click HERE.

Photographed on Mt. Hymittos on November 14, 2020.

Full moon at Rafina

802_9648 [Full moon at Rafina]

The picture was taken long after moon-rise from the top of a hill next to Rafina bay

on July 9, 2017

 

 

Apollo the Guitarist

802_1539 [Apollo the Guitarist]

 

This statue of Apollo, the ancient Greek Olympian god of music, stands with his lyre on a column outside the Academy of Athens, a world-wide highlight of the city. The statue itself measures 3.71m in height while the column is 19.54! 

 

It is attributed to the Greek architect Leonidas Drossis but there is evidence that there is more to the matter.

For additional information please click HERE to watch a slideshow on the Academy of Athens, in case you have missed it. 

 

Please click on the picture for a better view. 

 

 Photographed downtown Athens on September 13, 2015 

 

 

Kaisariani Monastery: A slide show

[Kaisariani monastery: A slide show]

 

A virtual tour of all the premises of the Byzantine Monastery of Kaisariani (11 c.) on Mt. Hymittos near Athens

in the form of a slide show with extensive presentation of wall paintings in the church.

 

Duration 33' 26"

 

Watching it in FULL SCREEN is recommended.

(Make sure you have your cup of coffee with you to avoid viewing interruption!!!)

• Music:

https://www.purple-planet.com

 

• Liturgical Chant:

excerpts from live transmissions of the Divine Liturgy at Athens Cathedral by ERT 2,

from "Τα Πάθη τα Σεπτά" broadcasted in 2011 by ERT 3 (Voice of Charilaos Taliadoros),

and from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c58KR... (Voice of Dimitrios Papagiannopoulos) 

 

• Script:

based on the leaflet "Kaisariani Monastery" by Aik. Pantelidou - Alexiadou:

distributed free by The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports 

 

Redistribution is allowed as long as the slide show remains unaltered 

and proper reference is made to the source.

 

Photographs taken in 2016-2020

 

Το slide show είναι διαθέσιμο και με ελληνικούς υπότιτλους στο YouTube.

Για να μεταφερθείτε εκεί, παρακαλώ, κάντε κλικ ΕΔΩ.

Spheniscus demersus [African penguin]

303_9737 [Spheniscus demersus]

 

303_9742 [Spheniscus demersus]

 

A lovable and charismatic seabird that unfortunately faces several threats and is in danger of extinction.

I had the chance to see and photograph it in Attica Zoological Park οn September 19, 2012.

 

Please click on the pictures for a better view.

 

 

303_9747 [Spheniscus demersus]

 Info board displayed next to the penguins’ location

 

 

Irakleia bay

302_5236 [Irakleia bay]

 

As I was standing at my window early in the morning today, I was looking at the gloomy, rainy weather outside that was setting off all sorts of depressing feelings. Doing so is not the best thing to do if you need to counterbalance feelings produced by such weather and experienced in the middle of a pandemic. Fortunately, I subconsciously remembered a short, summer trip to Irakleia: a small gem-island in the Greek Small Cyclades. I had visited the island to take pictures of flowers there but I also had the chance to dive into clear turquoise waters and relax in an unprecedentedly tranquil island environment! My thoughts about it proved to be the perfect antidote to my mood! It reacted in only a few seconds!

 

Need to change your mood to the better?

Just click on the picture for a better view and recall similar experiences of yours.

 

Photographed in 2010

 

 

Crocus cartwrightianus

304_5113 [Crocus cartwrightianus]

 

Ideally, one of these days I would go to a nearby mountain and take some fresh pictures of Crosus cartwrightianus but this ‘scenario’ is not possible. The current circumstances of Covid 19 lockdown have confined me home. So, instead, I searched my photo archive and selected an old picture to share with you; and there is a reason for my selection. 

 

Some years ago, I found the flower above in the center of Ilioupoli (a major residential area, part of Athens). I wanted to see it from close before I took a picture of it but getting close was next to impossible because the area was fenced off all around. So, rather than missing the picture altogether, I used my long telephoto and took the picture from behind the tall wire fence. So far so good.  

 

304_5126 [Crocus cartwrightianus]

 

Then, using the same lens, I took a picture of another cartwrightianus, and left in order to go and visit a friend of mine.

Looking at the pictures on my computer screen at home, I noticed that there was only one red style in the second picture instead of three! Where are the other two styles? I still wonder. 

 

No tricks with the camera, no alteration of the picture in processing on my part, I assure you.

 

Anybody out there having a clue? 

 

Photographed on November 20, 2014