Photographing customs and festivals of Greece

Michalis Pappas was born in 1980 in the village of Kirinthos in Northern Evia. He started as a self-taught photographer before deciding to enter a photography school

He likes to photograph customs, festivals, traditional celebrations and all kinds of events – mainly of a religious nature – all over Greece.

His photographic style is reminiscent of something between photojournalism and documentary, with the human-centered element always at the center.

His photographs have been published in many foreign media, and last October one of his own shots was selected as “photo of the day” by National Geographic.

But in entering this world I saw many familiar images. Memories from when I was a kid came back to me. I’d experienced these before. Now I photograph with my heart. I let my heart “scream”. I don’t care about any geometry, any decisive moment

In the following interview, he presents some of his work and talks about his models, his influences, the subjects he likes to photograph, and answers the question of whether social media and smartphones are altering the art of photography.

– Tell us a little about yourself. When did you first get into photography? What are you doing at the moment?

– Right now I’m looking at where it’s worth going to photograph on 15 August (always in collaboration with Blue Star Ferries who sponsor my trips to their destinations). I am also preparing for the exhibition “Ethos. Images from another Greece” opening next November at the Benaki Museum, with images by me and my partner at Reflex Photographers and the Pculiar.com web app.

But it all started in 2010 when I entered photography school. That’s when I was “born” photographically. I want to say a big thank you to my teachers at the Leica academy in Athens. They opened my mind and eyes, they showed me the way. I remember saying that I didn’t want to go to a photography school lest they change my mind. I thought I knew.

Before I went to school and for 10 years I was self-taught. But I got my first piece of advice from my father.
When I started to struggle with photography and he saw me getting nervous he used to tell me: “shoot what you like and how you like it. If you like it, everyone will like it.”

– Which photographers do you consider your role models and how have they influenced you to date?

Nikos Ikonomopoulos, Vivian Maier and Diane Arbus. I first saw Nikos Economopoulos’ work in the “History of Photography” course I took in school. I immediately understood how much power a photograph can have. I wanted to do just that. Visual poetry. Visible information in the service of visual poetry. I studied his work and I’m still studying it. What kind of cameras and lenses he uses, what places he has gone to shoot, his subject matter and the composition of his frames. I’ve tried to copy him.

One of the few paths that can lead you to a result is to find a photographer you love and try to copy him as closely as possible. You’ll never succeed. It’s exactly where you won’t succeed that your own work begins. I think it’s necessary to go down that road. Find your favorite photographer and copy them.

Vivian Maier and Diane Arbus have influenced me the most with their lifestyle as well as their attitude and thinking towards photography.

– In my humble opinion, your photographic style is something between photojournalism and documentary, with the human-centered element always at the center. How do you choose the subjects you deal with and what you like to photograph?

The subjects I deal with are mainly about customs. As much as possible of a religious nature so that I can bring out my obsessions more easily.

Obsessions are the one thing missing from the history of photography and I had to choose a subject matter that would help me bring my own obsessions to the surface.

In the beginning I wanted to photograph the whole world. But it doesn’t work like that. I had to be more specific. The more specific I became, the more I aroused the general interest.

Customs are the reason to photograph. I would say my subject is the composition itself. If I have composition, I have everything. It is what makes people interested in a photographic subject The reverse will never happen. And God himself being presented to me, I will try to compose to photograph him, I won’t just photograph him.

So in essence my subject matter, the customs, is the reason for me to compose and get my obsessions out. The obsessions of any photographer are what is missing from the history of photography, not the subject matter. Everything has been photographed and will be photographed again.

– In your work you often capture images of another side of Greece, the one that remains close to its tradition and roots. Why are you so drawn to them? Does it have to do with your origins or your memories as a child?

These questions started to concern me lately. I don’t have a specific answer but I certainly have experiences of customs and festivals. I have happened to pick up the scattered nickels thrown by those dancing and have taken them to the singer’s skirt. In the end, she gave me a few myself. I did it at another fair but that singer didn’t give me anything (laughs). I have left countless times at dawn from fairs, half asleep in my parents’ arms.

I grew up in a family full of stories of miracles. I read the lives of saints. I had icons under my pillow, was an altar boy in the village church and never missed Sunday school. Later I got my hands on Kazantzakis. Other stories came to life before me then.

When I was at school I thought quite cunningly of collecting pictures for my wallet of various customs and traditions, as there are many in northern Evia, which were easily accessible to me. Entering this world, however, I saw many familiar images. Memories from when I was a child came to me. I had experienced these before.

Now I photograph with my heart. I let my heart “scream”. I don’t care about any geometry, any decisive moment. When I manage not to care about composition or liking my photos, I will rise to a higher level.

– What equipment do you use and what cameras were used to take the photos we see?

I use Canon equipment. Two full frame bodies. The Canon 6D primarily and as a second body the Canon 5d Mark II with wide angle lenses at 20mm and 24mm.

Of the photos we see only two are from the old days when I was using a Sony and they are with a 35mm lens. Most are with the Canon’s with 20mm and 24mm lens.

At one point Leica Germany sent me equipment to shoot custom, so some are also with the Leica Q with its 28mm lens. Many of these photos have been published in National Geographic, US Vice and many other media outlets overseas.

I’m not crazy about the equipment I just need it as much as I need it to get the results I’ve imagined and be flexible at the same time. I’ve never had the equipment I would have liked. It’s about “writing” not what I’m going to do that with. And I don’t care if Kazantzakis wrote with charcoal or Parker pen. It’s not the equipment that will make me better but the eye; that’s why I’d rather invest in books, films, photography books, travel, than in equipment.

When I hear people talk about equipment I know I’m dealing with people who are in the early stages and think it’s their fault that they don’t get good results. When I hear people talk about money I know I’m dealing with professionals and when I hear people talk about light composition I sit down because I know I’m dealing with a real photographer.

– Has social media and smartphones altered or favored the art of photography? In the sense that we are “bombarded” daily with thousands of images…

Those thousands of images are not photography, they are ahtarama. The world is visually illiterate. Instead of organizing the chaos in front of them, they just pick up their phone or camera and click.

Photography for me is content and “dressing” it up with the right form. You have to discover the order beneath the seeming disorder of the world. And the world out there is full of that kind of order. It’s our fault if we don’t see it.

We are given a great weapon which is the four sides of the frame. A new world, now photographed, should be born in there. A world we could not see with the naked eye. Who’s watching these? Good thing there are strong photographers in Greece. We can’t be so unlucky and they are so lucky, they are doing something right.

Photography as an art, and what is art is a long conversation, it has nothing to fear. This “bombing” is something else, it’s not photography. I walk down the street and I hear people saying “I took a picture and I don’t like it”. It’s not such a simple thing to give birth to something new. And it is, indeed, a birth.

– How can one learn to see what others ignore?

It takes work, a lot of work. I’m a big believer in work. Talent is good, but talent alone is not enough. Most of the time it’s what keeps you from not working hard enough. Equally, if you have talent you have to work twice as hard. Study theory and practice on photography. To photograph all the time. Read literature. Watch movies. Travel. To see remarkable photography.

All of these things you should do as often as possible. If someone spends 8 hours a day doing these things and someone else spends 10 hours, then the latter will have a better result in the long run.

The combination of these, but more importantly being able to see the work of remarkable photographers in person is one of the most important.

See old photographers, see their work and give yourself a 6 month period. You’ll see afterwards that the result of your work will be better.

– What’s your favorite photo you’ve taken to date and why?

I’ll mention – to do my advertising – the photo that was last October’s “photo of the day” in the online edition of National Geographic and was seen by millions of eyes around the world.

But really, my favorite is a photo I took of my late father that I’ve never published.

I’ve managed to marry content + form, but for me, my favorite is the one with the strongest content, which is my father, without any composition.

I think of it as a constant search since I started. I’ve made up my mind that I’ll never end up, I just have to keep working.

– In addition to photojournalism, you also do wedding and social event photography. Is it something you choose to do solely for livelihood reasons or do you see it as part of your job and try to add your own style;

Both. He is my big sponsor so I can do my travels and photograph the customs around Greece. Without these photo shoots it wouldn’t happen. On the other hand, though, marriage is a custom. A custom that in every place is done in a different way. It is done differently in Thrace and Macedonia and differently in Crete or Karpathos.

The same situations that I encounter in my travels, I encounter in weddings. The style I will record at a wedding is the same as the style I will cover and a custom. A story with a beginning, middle and end in a reportorial and documentary style. I’m just a simple observer who happens to have a good camera and knows how to manipulate light.

– What are the biggest challenges for a photographer these days?

To be able to be financially independent to create personal work. But the circumstances have never been right.

I never had the money to do the projects I was planning, I never had the photographic equipment I wanted, I never had the time.

I thought about what I would want to photograph if someone paid all my expenses and that’s what I did. I never use any cheap excuses for myself. If I don’t do something, I’ll only have myself to blame.

More information about Michael Pappas, his work and the customs he has photographed can be found at pculiar.com. Next