ViewBug member George Digalakis was born and raised in Athens, Greece, in 1960. A medical doctor by profession, he still lives and works in Athens. It was only in 2011 when he first studied photography at "Photoeidolo", and became acquainted with classic and contemporary photographers, that he realized this medium would offer him a gateway from reality, and enable him to express his inner world.

Photography is an enlightening and therapeutic process that forces me to connect with my surroundings. It is also a means of self-expression and communication that doesn’t fail me, and that invites others to the world as I see it.

Minimalism, both as a philosophy of art and life, has deeply influenced my work. I draw inspiration from various objects, like the sea and the sky and from my emotional response to them. It is in the simple feelings that they evoke to me—vastness, quietness, tranquility, symmetry, and balance—that I find beauty.

Modern technology allows an extensive manipulation of the image and my work relies heavily on post-processing. Reality is perceptual and through its transformation I can interpret what surrounds me and express my emotions. I often remove colour from my images, as I find it extraneous to the essence, and focus on the main building blocks of photography: shapes, lines, forms, and tones. Furthermore, to facilitate the illustration of my vision I add or remove parts of the image.

I favour long exposures because they allow me to introduce the dimension of time in a two dimensional medium and to create a dreamy atmosphere. To achieve this I use Neutral Density filters, often stacked on top of each other. Photographing with slow shutter speed, over a period of time, you can capture the changing world: rivers flow, clouds pass, the waves sway to and fro. The film can accumulate time, light, and events in a way elusive to the eye. The real becomes surreal.

With long exposures I can also eliminate the details from the background and highlight my main subjects, which are the constant in the shifting landscape. The water, an element I am deeply drawn to, and the sky are usually the canvas on which I place my subjects. This enables me to balance the image and satisfy my need for order, serenity, and silence.

My work turns away from representation, conceptualism, and the endless search for meaning, and focuses on the wonder of beauty and simplicity.

Make sure to Follow George on ViewBug, check out his website and Instagram profile.