On the other end of the telephone line, Agorastos Papatsanis. We are separated by approximately 470 kilometers, this is the distance between Athens and Litochoro, Pieria. However, the art of photography tends to create channels of communication. In October, the Greek photographer was named at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards at the Natural History Museum in London, where he won the best photo award in the Plants and Fungi category, and his photo stands out among 40,000 entries.

“I wanted to tell a story about mushrooms, which is my passion,” he tells K. Balancing between passion and fairy tale, he photographed with a wide-angle lens three morels, a mushroom species considered a culinary treasure that stands out for its labyrinthine appearance, in a magical setting with streams and trees at the foot of Mount Olympus. near Litochoro. His passion for mushrooms began at the end of 1999. Growing up in Deskatis Grevena, an area that is a popular destination for mushroom lovers, he met the current president of the Hellenic Mushroom Pickers Association, George Konstantinidis, and together they recorded mushrooms in the forests and revealed new items. “Then came a microbe that changed my life.”

What led him to enter the premier wildlife photography competition was his touch with images. In 2011, he discovered Asferico, an international competition organized by the associations of wildlife photographers in Italy, and accidentally submitted a photograph of mushrooms, finishing 2nd. Among other things, the mushrooms that the Greek photographer caught from time to time were recognized in the National Geographic competitions in Spain (Maria Luisa Photo Contest, MontPhoto), as well as in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year category, with two of his photographs among the finalists in 2013 and 2016 years. “I feel like a winner. The only difference from the previous two years is that I just went on stage and said a few words.”

I wanted to tell a story about mushrooms, which are my passion. Although in Greece there is almost no interest in wildlife photography.

Successive differences

Although the 45-year-old photographer’s images have won multiple awards, there is little to no interest in wildlife photography in Greece. “For photographers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia who excelled in the 2013 competition, their lives have changed, they have opened doors, they are running for National Geographic. In Greece, he did not open his nose. Wildlife photography is a passion. However, professionally, he is not even in its infancy.” His main work is related to wedding and christening photography, mushrooms and photography are his hobbies. However, he wouldn’t want his obsession to fulfill his dreams to derail his path.

After so much praise, anyone else in his place would have sounded pretentious. But he himself is mundane, his words concern the land on which mushrooms grow. “I don’t believe that anyone is born with talent. I admit that there is an inclination, an attraction, but no photographer is supreme. They are in one place and should cover a specific topic. When they bring in their personal element and reach an international audience, they become more famous. But that doesn’t mean they’re the best in the world.”

But what makes this competition special, apart from its 58-year history? “First, prestige. Secondly, its quality, since this is the only competition in which National Geographic journalists participate. And third is how he presents and promotes photography. Images are selected that speak to everyone and then travel the world. The competition offers the best in nature. Some photos can be harsh, others praise the highest beauty. This is a weapon to mobilize the majority for the protection of nature.” However, we humans tend to destroy it. “When you see these photos, they should encourage someone to visit the place they see in the image, but also to understand that it’s not just for them. As he received, so he must give, because nature is not an idea, it does not need evolution. Nature is perfect. If we do not understand that we are her guests, at some point she will kick us out.

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