I think this is probably the most popular kiosk in Rethymno Old Town, and is right next to one of Rethymno’s Ottoman era minarets. The kiosk does a roaring trade in cigarettes and ice creams, making it an essential stopping off point on a night out. It is also opposite what is probably my favourite bar in the world.
The lady supervising the kiosk in Rethymno harbour took advantage of the mid-afternoon lull in business to take a cigarette break and look out over the harbour water in contemplation.
The afternoon sun was very bright (particularly this close to the equator!) so I’ve used a radial filter tool to ‘burn’ the clipped background highlights, and added some slight dodging to the lady sitting in the shadow to bring out some details.
Froyo (frozen yoghurt) was THE must have snack in Rethymno in summer 2013, with a good half dozen (at least) cafes springing up to take advantage of the trend. This particular bar was perfectly sited on a corner in the Old Town near Rethymno’s harbour, offering its customers the perfect location from which to watch the city’s comings and goings.
These two ladies were enjoying a bit of a catch-up at a taverna in Rethymno’s harbour during the mid afternoon lull between lunch and supper, when all the tourists go walkabout. You can see one of the taverna’s waiters off to the side also taking the opportunity to catch his break!
I didn’t have a flash on me when I took this, and because of the strong sunlight I had to overexpose the background in order to have enough light on the ladies in the foreground. I used a little dodging in the foreground, and the radial filter burn tool in the background to recover some of the blown highlights.
Moped delivery rider during the mid morning rush in Rethymno Old Town. I was impressed that he managed to keep the ciggy on the go whilst he manoeuvred through the melee!
A view into Chaplin’s bar on a late afternoon in Rethymno. Chaplin’s in one of a series of bars on Eleftherios Venizelos street, which is a strip which runs from the town’s harbour to the marina, and is the hub of much of the town’s vibrant nightlife. As can be seen from the photo, Chaplin’s caters for different music tastes compared to lots of the other bars on the street, offering a classic blend of the rock and roll greats.
I managed to capture the highly rare sight of a cat taking a nap here (!). I loved the look of his positioning underneath the poster advertising the jewellers, particularly as the model in the advert is very striking with her electric blue eyes matching the azure blue of sign for the ‘Sun Beam’ shop next door.
This is one of Rethymno’s side streets which links Eleftherios Venizelos (the marina strip) with the centre of the modern area of Rethymno. This street is full of shops selling all manner of tourist gifts – belts, bags, natural sponges and knives seeming to be the most popular.
Mannequins often prove a useful focal point in street photos (particularly as they stay still, so you can take your time framing them), and the ‘interaction’ and contrast between a mannequin and a real person in a photo can often be fun. As I composed this I realised that with the shopkeepers standing outside of their respective shops and the mannequin in the foreground there was an unbroken line of female subjects in the photo.
A back street in Rethymno Old Town. The graffiti to the right reads: “Crush the fascists”. The upswing in popularity of the far-right party Golden Dawn in Greece has prompted a powerful opposition movement from left and far-left groups, who have rallied against Golden Dawn’s divisive views on race and the role of immigrants in Greek society.
The murder of the rapper Pavlos Fyssas in September 2013 by a self-confessed Golden Dawn supporter prompted a drive-by shooting reprisal by an anti-establishment group in November 2013 which killed two Golden Dawn members. On the 26th January 2014, Kathimerini reported that Golden Dawn members had returned to the spot where Fyssas was murdered, and “vandalised” the makeshift shrine there.
In the wake of the September murder of Fyssas, and with mounting controversy over Golden Dawn’s links to violent attacks, weaponry and neo-Nazism, numerous Golden Dawn offices were raided, and several of its representatives have been imprisoned over the party’s potentially ‘criminal’ involvement, with the future of the party being called into question.
On the 2 February 2014 Ilias Kassidiaris – a spokesman for Golden Dawn, announced the party would seek to re-brand itself as ‘National Dawn’, if, as predicted by some, the Golden Dawn party is to be banned.
The day before (Saturday 1st January) some 3,000 Golden Dawn supporters gathered in Athens to commemorate the 1996 crisis involving the contested Imia/Kardak islands, which prompted a diplomatic incident between Greece and Turkey. This Golden Dawn commemoration gathering sparked a resurgence of the animosity between Golden Dawn and far-left groups, with the Associated Press reporting “scuffles” between individuals on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
Sources:
Kathimerini – ‘Amid clashes in Athens, Kasidiaris announces backup name for Golden Dawn’
Kathimerini – ‘GD thugs return to the scene of the crime’
Guardian – ‘Golden Dawn photos shock Greece’
Guardian – ‘Greece’s Golden Dawn to form new party if banned from polls’
Digby Fullam 