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mykonians at heart

WITH MORE THAN 25 YEARS behind the lens, internationally acclaimed
hotel photographer Christos Drazos has built an elite clientele that includes
over 250 of the finest boutique hotels and luxury hospitality heavyweights in
Greece and abroad. The key to his success is his unique eye and his ability
to capture not just the form and beauty of things but also their soul, that
intangible quality that makes each subject and location special. “Storytelling
is essential in professional photography. You have to convey the essence of
the place and the experience of being there. Aegean and Ionian islands are
all unique despite being so close to each other, so in order to allow people
to connect with the mood of each destination, you have to shoot both inside
and outside the hotel,” Christos says. “But there are also hotels that truly
incorporate local elements, such as the Myconian Collection hotels, which
really emanate a sense of place.”
Looking at each hotel individually, Christos identifies the unique characteristics
and attributes that set each apart and sets out to share them in visual stories
A REAL OBSERVER that entice viewers to partake in the experience. His work makes it seem
"I didn’t get into photography to make a living. I got into effortless, capturing the interplay of architecture, design and lifestyle and
photography because it was what I always wanted...
As photographers, we are observers, and it’s good to take grounding them in an unmistakable sense of place that evokes an emotional
the time to turn that observation inwards, to your heart response bordering on d�j� vu, an exhilarating mix of familiarity and wonder.
and your soul, and then bring that resulting ease
and that energy to your commercial work." Christos sees each new hotel as a new opportunity to push the limits of his
craft, to go beyond the surface of form and function—sometimes even of
location, when working with hotels in the same destination—and explore
new ways of capturing and revealing its unique character. “After 20 years
of photographing hotels, there’s no stress, just the challenge. And the bigger
the challenge the better,” he points out.
The process of discovering each hotel’s unique essence, according to Christos,
is something you can prepare for but not plan. You might have a sense of
where you want to go with the project, but the hero shot only reveals itself
when you’re actually there. “The process involves arriving a day early and
taking time to simply wander around, and then it’s usually four or five days
of shooting,” Christos explains. “The key is to connect with the place, stay
there, become part of it, experience it, and then find a way to share that
experience, that moment, through an image. Only then is the job done.”
Across three decades and three continents, Christos has done his fair share of
exploring luxury hotels and breathtaking destinations through his lens, and
naturally, this includes Mykonos. “Faros is great to visit in the afternoon, to
see the changing light,” he says when asked about his favourite spots. “Agios
Sostis, with its little white churches and virgin sandy beach. The windmills
too, when the wind is blowing hard from the west and you really realise why
they were built there; the view across to Little Venice in those moments,
with the waves crashing into the houses, is extraordinary. And of course,
the Church of Paraportiani, with its fantastic traditional architecture that
makes it look like it’s made of modelling clay. It looks different throughout
the day as the light changes, and I notice something new about it every time
I walk past.” Over the years, he has returned to the Cyclades again and
again, for work and pleasure, to explore the archipelago’s diverse landscapes
and revel in its clear, brilliant light. “I feel so fortunate, as a photographer,
to have been born in Greece,” Christos says without hesitation. “The light
here is magic.” www.drazos.com

“The key is to connect with the place, stay there, become part of it, experience it,
and then find a way to share that experience, that moment, through an image.

Only then is the job done.”

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