My 2013: What was not seen in Pictures

I will start this post with a confession and admit right from the start that this is not an easy post for me to write. We, the photographers, might find it sometimes easy to snap a beautiful picture which captures what we see in front of our eyes, or through the lenses. But the truth is that reality and life are not always like that.

I can write about all the places I have visited and shot on 2013 (Lisbon, Porto, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Flanders, London and Greece) or write about all the great assignments I got and my debut editorials in some of the top International Travel Magazines (Travel+Leisure, Conde Nast, Lonely Planet, Resource Magazine) or even brag about the great exposure my personal ‘Intimacy Under the Wires’ photography project got (The Independent UK, La Repubblica, Huffington Post, PetaPixels). I can also mention the people I got to meet and work with (Karim Rashid).

But what these pictures can’t and couldn’t tell, is how sad and heartbreaking the year of 2013 has been for me.

It was the year when I changed my life almost 360 degrees so I could be next to my dad while he was fighting cancer. The year I ‘danced’ through my photo assignments and deadlines so I would never skip any kind of treatment my dad went through. The year in which I spend some nights in the hospital alongside my dad, just so he would see a familiar face when he woke up. The year in which the sentence ‘Family Comes First’ was not just a sentence, but an act of life.

It was a very tough year. Words can not describe. Not even my pictures!

And throughout this hard time, I got to realize what is the Importance of Life (spend as much time as possible with your loved ones and never hold back)

Who are my REAL friends (those who will always be there for me and will come over when I ask them to, or even without me asking…they will just BE THERE)

and no matter what kind of personality I have or mood-swings I was going through, I had to keep being strong and optimistic.

Till the end.

My dad passed away on November 2013. When someone who is so close to you dies, it is always too soon.

My dad is the one who taught me everything I know about Photography and the one who always encouraged me to take risks and chances and live life with no regrets.

When I look at the images at the top of this post and count the features and assignments I did throughout this year, I know I owe this all to him. To My Dad.

My New Year’s resolutions? Live each day as it was your last and shoot as though tomorrow you will be strictly blind….