Konstandinos Vasilakakos is just 22 years of age, but he has wisdom beyond his years that may account for his decision to go live in an isolated village. “There are around ten of us at Petrilo and I’m the youngest,” he says, beaming as he talks of the mountainous region near Karditsa that he has chosen to make his home. Up on the mountain he is closer to the stars. On clear nights he sets up his camera and waits for the cynosure to pose for him.

Standing Bull

“It’s when I’m alone with nature that I feel truly grounded and balanced as a person,” he explains. “I feel humbled, realizing how majestic nature is. The photos are just my need to share this beauty with others and to look at them myself in order to be reminded of the greatness of the universe.”

“I sat down to write a story… Shortly before the legends come in the mountains and the stars begin to gallop…”

Sitting patiently, waiting for the stars to line up at just the right angle, the young photographer has time to think and philosophize but he is quick to point out that the choice to isolate himself from others is hardly because he is drawn by asceticism. “Living the life of a hermit isn’t what appeals to me,” he says. “It would be great if more young people chose to leave the madding crowd and come back to a more natural way of life.”

“All that that makes me human… All these pieces that give me soul… Every hope that I hide in the frames …. Every dream that I share in the stars… I do not know what beauty is… My words are just a few.. I do not know what life is and what it means to be alive… I’m from another era …I don’t know the meaning of dreams… When I’m in my village I do not see them just because I live them (dreams)… I just know that I feel proud of all those who lead me and come into my life and give me something… It’s good to be in the mountains with the Stars…”

The allure of the simple life may have played a role in his choice to study agriculture, though he admits that photography is his greatest passion. For him, photography isn’t just about the technical side of zooming in on details but also about the ritual of absorbing the elements around him.

“You and I… I found myself looking at the galaxy in the roof of Greece… Mytikas, Olympos, 2918-meter altitude…”

Enjoy his latest time-lapse project, one he has been working on since the end of May. He walks many kilometers and spends nights on the mountains with no sleep, with just his Nikkor 70-200 and Vixen Polaris for company, so to capture the perfection of the night sky. “I sat outside, covered in a goat-wool blanket and gaze at the night sky while my camera was capturing the night sky,” he explains. “The best part of that is that I found myself to be part of the night sky.”

And more photos…

“In the embrace of the sorcerer.”

“Stargate” on Mt. Olympus.

Tending to his galactic garden…