about: AMARYLLIS KOUFANTONI
I am a 26 years old woman from Athens, Greece, in the middle of job hunting since I finished my Undergraduate and Master studies in the field of International Relations and European Politics. In my photography though I sign as “eLise photography”.
My passion for photography goes a long time back but it was raised when I left Athens, in 2006, and went to Edinburgh, Scotland, in order to continue my studies. After spending two years in the UK, I returned to Athens, in 2008, and up to now the lack of a job gave me the opportunity to work a lot on photography.
My first published work has been the album of a Greek band where I did the CD artwork. (http://www.myspace.com/blackcircusband). Photography is something I take seriously but I don’t think I have enough knowledge to support it professionally so I prefer for the time being to keep it as a hobby.
Tell us about your unique creative style/ approach.
Well I am a self taught photographer and I am still trying to figure out “my personal style” in that hobby of mine. What I can answer with certainty is that I love photographing people and especially women. Maybe because I am a woman and my first approach to photography was self portraiture.
Through time and while working with different women I saw that I was interested in bringing out something different from what they really are. I wanted the result to be a pleasant surprise for me and them. Recently I have been dealing with men and women that want to do their first steps, or are already involved, in the modelling arena.
I have to admit thought that I am really attracted in street photography by capturing everyday people in everyday moments through my lenses. I think that if I had to categorize my style it would be more conceptual photography while believing that beauty can be seen in all things.
A great artist/ photographer is…..
A great photographer for me is the one that can bring out beauty in everything he/she shoots, the one that has the passion to never stop capturing and interpreting the world from a different perspective through his/her eyes.
How do you promote/ showcase your work?
Through internet my work has been self promoted without much effort from me to tell you the truth… After I uploaded my first albums on the internet people started contacting me and asking me to work with them. This opportunity opened new horizons for me and allowed me to take some professional steps.
What do you think about the Internet affecting the way of global communication 5 years from now?I know that I can’t live without Internet… I think that after 5 years everything will be totally depended on the Internet. Whether I think that is good or bad? I believe it has many pros and cons but I would never like to see books totally replaced.
I am driven to…..
Photography, music and movies, books and travels around the world. Everything contributes to my life and my inspirations.
What do you like the smell of?
I love the smell of the chemicals when I work inside a dark room while developing a photograph and the smell of the first summer rains during August in Athens.
If you have online portfolio (website/awards/credits/client’s showcase), what is the URL?
I don’t have only one website so unfortunately I am using some of the sites where I have a profile. But these have worked pretty well so far, so there you go:
http://www.myspace.com/amaryllis_k
http://elisanight.deviantart.com/
http://twitter.com/eLise_photo
http://www.modelmayhem.com/579297
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