The making of an Accident

...or How to shoot a music video




You need costumes


and makeup


in order to create the characters.



But above all you need a talented director to create some beautiful shots


with a tireless production team to help him materialise his vision.


It also takes a lot of physical effort


and a great deal of patience for the long hours of waiting.

In case you got all of the above, this is the result you might get:




Ben & the Immigrants would like to thank director Carlos and his crew for their talent and personal time.

Photos by bavdel.

European car-free day

Monday 22 September 2008. European car-free day in Thessaloniki.


I took a friend and a bicycle and rode to the city center. The main part of Nikis avenue, the street that goes along the coastline, was closed to motor-driven vehicles. Some activist had sprayed this on the asphalt.


The sight and feeling was a unique experience for a city so digested with traffic, as Thessaloniki.


Car-free Nikis avenue. Thessaloniki's White Tower in the background.


The most enjoyable thing was actually the absence of the usual noise of car traffic. You could almost listen to the sound of the (polluted) sea.


Excuse me for the quality of the photos, I was actually riding the bike and taking pictures at the same time, which is definitely not the recommended way, especially when it gets dark.

For much better photos of the same event, you can check out Orhan's flickr gallery.

Thessaloniki - Zakynthos

My work involves a lot of traveling around Greece, which is good. But these trips usually take place during weekends, which is not as good. Nonetheless, they are always a good opportunity for new foto-aparat posts.


This post is all you need to know, if you travel from Thessaloniki to the island of Zakynthos by car.


Thessaloniki to Zakynthos, direction south.


Less than 400 kilometers away, you drive past Delphi, through the valley of Eleones, full of olive trees.


Over the fancy Rio - Antirio bridge, that lands you on the Peloponnese peninsula.


Driving past the city of Patra, through it's impressive new ring road.


After almost 6,5 hours of driving, having covered a distance of about 550 km, you reach the port of Kyllini.


This port links you to the island of Zakynthos and Kefalonia.


Embarkation on the ferry boat.


Fellow travelers on board to Zakynthos.


A short break on the information overload, for an arty image.


The top deck of the ferry boat.


After 1,5 hour on board, finally reaching the port of Zakynthos.


Disembarkation for vehicles and travelers.


Some fast sightseeing: St. Dionysus church in Zakynthos.


A small tavern by the port.


And some nicely scattered clouds over Zakynthos.


I could keep on posting photos from my way back to Thessaloniki. But I guess I've already wasted enough of your valuable time!

What's in Yours?

Sometimes it's just curious what can be in someone's cameraphone. I got curious yesterday, and so I decided to post last dozen pictures in my phone or so.



This pictures was taken two weeks ago. It was at our office retreat - at the bank of Kiev sea. Never thought Kiev had a sea?

It's actually a big water reservoir on the Dnieper river - up from Kyiv


View Larger Map

And it also has nice pine forest on the bank:





A nice yacht came to shore. Next week I became the godfather of my friend's daughter. Here's the happy mother, Kateryna, with daughter Ulyana-Oleksandra:



Next picture in my phone was taken somewhere on streets of Kyiv, proving it's essential eclecticism in architecture.



And yesterday, after the hectic working week another friend of mine made to come to "Oktoberfest" tiny model in Kyiv. It was on the Spartak Stadium - a big tent was installed and hundreds of people were drinking and shouting, eating german sausages. Very funny&





Another funny thing to do when you are drunk, is opening an umbrella in metro being behind of the cop, which also goes down the escalator.







By the way, it's one of the deepest metro station in the world.



Train arrives. Technical personnel started shouting that taking pictures is not allowed.



Advertising I was placing in the metro car:



Our metro is packed with advertising. There are even LCD-screens, displaying some news and stupid ads.



Late commuters going home:





Nice Bag:



That was in my phone. What's in yours?

Barcelona urban architecture

I have just returned from an amazingly intense week in Barcelona, full of music rehearsals, long-distance-relationship (LDR) reunions and nostalgic emotions.

But I will not get into that yet. This post is about Barcelona's urban architecture.



Barcelona is a city that is marked by the creations of the famous architect Gaudi but I will not get into that either. This post will focus on the less touristic, urban side of Barcelona. It is, in my opinion, equally attractive.

My comments on the following photos will be minimal, just like my knowledge on architecture.


Blocks of flats. I love how the use of gray color is avoided.


Again, lovely choice of color and interesting texture effect with the use of these tiles.


Massive buildings for corporate use, under construction. 8 hours of our days, in a box. Why?


Back to urban, colorful beauty.


The use of the warm, earthly colors soothes my brain cells.


Interesting colors, shapes, angles.






Back to corporate buildings. I think these must be Gaudi-inspired.


And here is one more glass box, for your viewing pleasure.


Quick conclusion:
Barcelona looks like a very beautiful place to live, with high standards of quality in residence construction. The corporate buildings however, look as scary as in many other parts of the crazy corporate world.