Un/Taken ep. 6 Katia Peristeraki

Want to read what you don't get to see?

Feb 7, 2023

This topic is about the photo you did not take. If you haven’t seen the previous episodes, read those stories here.

For this episode we get to know Katia Peristeraki, a photographer from Greece. She will tell us about her photos, taken and untaken.

Here we go.

Untaken

Which photo was untaken and why did you not take it?

My photos are mostly conceptual, however I do many spontaneous photos as well. One night, I was waiting in my car near a wall by the sea, killing time until picking up my son from his after school club activities. Anyway, my mobile phone camera was ready , just in case something extraordinary would occur. And then, I saw him: a man dressed in total white, from head to toe, walking on the wall. He stepped in front of me, his back to me, took off his hat, and guess: even his hair was white! He stayed there for a while staring the sea and the moon, it seemed to me that he was performing a kind of ritual. I took several photos of him but missed the most precious one: the moment he waved goodbye to whatever he was staring at or thinking of, because he was quicker than me.

Taken

Which photo that you did not expect to take surprised you the most?

Late in the night, in a hospital room. I was taking care or an old lady of my family. There were four more patients there; one of them, another old lady, was in a very critical condition. Her daughters were allowed to be around her during her last moments, praying for her. Her bed was surrounded by white linen screens to give her as much privacy as it can be given in a public hospital. The room was dark, except this light in her space. She actually passed away. The entire scene before me was surreal, like a shadow play dealing with the most unfamiliar theme: death. Mesmerized, I took a photo with my mobile phone ( I am a mobile phone photographer ). Nothing to be proud of: even if I’m aware that this kind of reaction is a kind of tradition in some countries, it does not belong to my own culture. This photo has been deleted and nobody except me has ever seen it.

One of the photos from Katia Peristeraki’s portfolio

My name is Katia Peristeraki, I am a mobile phone photographer from Piraeus, Greece. I use improvised filters when taking photos and zero Photoshop when editing. My work is showcased in my Instagram account @katiaperisteraki

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