5 days in Amvrakikos
It was a year and a half ago when I decided to visit and photograph the wetlands of Greece. The plan was to do one trip per month, twelve in total. However, I managed to do only seven.
A pretty unexpected change, moving with my family to the countryside, made it impossible for me to keep on with this project at that moment. On the other hand, I had been waiting for this change for years and our new hometown was very promising, offering very easy access to several spectacular shooting locations in the region of Peloponnese.
Αnyway, I had neither time nor mind to select and edit these photos, which eventually have been stored without being seen until now. Looking at my files after so much time I realize that the enthusiasm I felt about this trip back then no more exists but only the strong feelings of a few special moments, brought back in memory just because of these photographs. Indeed, this is the most unique characteristic of photography - it captures moments and triggers human memory.
Flamingos over the wetland near the village of Vigla.
I visited Amvrakikos in late March 2021. Amvrakikos is a huge gulf located in West Greece, close to the city of Arta. Rivers Arachthos and Louros stream into the gulf while a 700m wide channel connects the gulf with the Ionian sea. Sweet water & salty water… here‘s a wetland! Well, no less than twelve lagoons are formed around the coasts of Amvrakikos gulf.
The area is characterized as a “National Park” which in Greece, unfortunately, is just a title. Declining information points and observatories, no signs, rubble, and hunters here and there, (it is the norm in Greece to hunt within protected areas), compose a scene that looks more like a time-forgotten tourist attraction of the Balkans - although we talk about the biggest wetland area in Greece. Fortunately, there’s still wildlife around, and ignoring the human imprint one can admire the magnificence of nature.
I hope you enjoy this photo set and keep in touch for the next ones ;) Thanks for surfing around!
Don’t forget to subscribe to get notified for workshops, trips, and more. And if any of my images “talks” to you, you can always purchase a premium quality framed print from my online shop.
