Acroyali Photography

Its literal translation, “edge of glass”, refers to that iconic peaceful Mediterranean place where the calm blue-saturated water meets a weathered gray mountain plunging into it. But beyond that, in its topical use by the Aegean islanders, it is much more. It describes that feeling of contentment one experiences when two apparent opposites meet in harmony and mutual need. It is a place where, what

at first appears to be the soft and malleable element full of color and pleasure, is actually the transforming agent in whose dark depths lays turbulence and danger. But it is also the life giver. And that which is at first seems inhospitable, achromatic and full of rough, sharp edges, in reality is the pliable safe cove, necessary for sustaining life and dispersing light and color. Photography is the art best capturing this juxtaposition. It is the seemingly easiest of all arts that anyone can use to capture and express a feeling, a moment of life. And yet, it is deceptive in its easiness. Technology has more democratically disseminated the easiness of creating good photographs. But the more one wants to express their (literally) unique point of view, one has to learn the fundamentals of this very technology through the basic understanding of their camera settings and the importance of post-production. And what appears to be the gifts of technology – color, clarity, affordability, easiness, volume – they become less and less important the more one finds the essence in each frame. What appears to be life and light particles captured in one’s own literal backyard, is actually a path taken long ago owed to a thirst for knowledge, perspective and an indiscernible need for beauty. It is a path geographically tortuous, but essential in learning to simply stand still. And after all the miles traveled, all the experience and knowledge accumulated, all one has truly accomplished both artistically and professionally, is to come back…home. For me, acroyali is that home. Those of us who have seen an acroyali, those who have experience both its calmness and its rugged beauty, we are longing to see more of its sharp edges diffuse into harmony, more of its hidden depths exposed by light. As for myself, not only do I ache to capture as much of the beauty and harmony as I can in every photograph I take, but I strive to bring it to you, to show you what I grasp. And if one day I transcend from been a mere craftsman to an artist, I hope you too will see it.