Night Sky

As a student, I was amazed by astrophysics and astronomy. The first time that I managed to capture the Milky Way, was one of the most extraordinary days of my life; since then, the night sky has become my main way of expressing my curiosity and my willingness to explore new places. I plan most of my trips and excursions, having in my mind a frame of a landscape under the night sky. Since the dawn of civilization, the night sky was probably one of the first things all the populations had in common. Observing the night sky and trying to explain it, our ancestors created myths and symbols which were embedded in the social and cultural identities of many generations and civilizations. Nowadays, we see this heritage in countries’ flags, drawings, temples, languages etc.

“The night sky is a freely available laboratory to all nations. It helps us to understand the universe and our place within it, to investigate our origin and our destiny. It inspires every individual to consider more than here and now, to be curious beyond our physical needs and simply to be different from other species on this planet.”

Tafreshi B. (2019), The World at Night, White Lion Publishing.

My goal is to show the beauty of the night sky in combination with landscapes, seascapes and also cityscapes, in order to enhance this feeling of connection with the night sky. With my work, I’m trying to show also, the importance of protecting the night sky and more specifically, protecting it from the harmful effects of light pollution.

*For more details regarding the light pollution and the efforts needed to protect the night sky you can find at DarkSky International.

*You may find my approved images at TWAN Project - Guest Gallery/Thanos Paraskevopoulos.

During holidays, I always try to spend some time outside in nature; some time of freedom. My favorite is spending time under the stars, observing and capturing the beauty of the night sky. In this way, I'm able to relax and forget for a moment all th
On 16th of May, the partial lunar eclipse was visible from Greece and was the first time that I ever captured it. I arrived at the port of Nafplio at 5 a.m., I set my gear and started shooting multiple exposures in order to create a multi-exposure im
I had this image for more than a year in my mind; the passing car and a constellation in the background. Last winter, I found that I could capture Orion in this place and be perfectly aligned with the s-curve of the street. I had no time to spend, so
This is July's full moon, which was a supermoon as well, rising above the east coast of Argolis at Peloponnese in Greece. This is also the first view of those visitors who are approaching my hometown, Ancient Epidaurus and that's the reason why I cho
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A few minutes after the sunset we had the chance to capture the milky way above the Helmos Observatory at an altitude of 2340 meters. At this time of the year, the milky way is already in the sky after the sunset, so it was quite easy to see it with
Flight A3625 from Amsterdam to Athens is about to land at Athens International Airport. The Airbus A321 Neo already has the landing gear extended, and the crew is ready for landing, while November's full moon is rising behind the hills and the northe
Mountains are the best places to visit in order to capture the night sky. You are high enough in order to avoid the particles of the lower stages of the atmosphere and normally higher than the cities nearby, which are the greatest enemy of an astrono
My first visit to Helmos Observatory was back in 2020 when we (a group of four photographers) organized an excursion just after the COVID-19 global quarantine. Then, I used an APS-C sensor type DSLR camera; with excellent colours and dynamic range an
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Look, the milky way core!
2023 is about to end, and this was the last full moon of this year, on the 27th of December. I hope 2024 brings health, happiness, and lots of creativity to everyone! About this image: It portrays the December full moon rising above the Saronic Gulf
During my holidays on the island of Kythira, which in Ancient Greek Mythology, was considered to be the island of celestial Afrodite (Venus), I had the chance to capture during the twilight the Crescent Moon, the Venus, the Mars, the Mercury and the
One day just before the November full moon, the Waxing Gibbous moon was rising during the nautical twilight. The weather forecast for Athens was cloudy with a possibility of rain. Nevertheless, I wanted also to test my new camera, so I decided to go
I envisioned this image one year ago. During my mandatory military service, while I was standing in almost this exact position, I saw the crescent moon passing by (while was setting) the fortress of Palamidi at Nafplio. Back then, I couldn't believe
This is one of my last milky way core images from this summer. The milky way was already high in the sky after the sunset, so in this frame, I captured it just before it disappeared behind the cliff. I found this particular composition quite interest
During my last visit to the peninsula of Mani, I managed to capture some of my favourite nightscape images. On this trip, I had only one thing left on my bucket list; a milky way arch 180° panorama. I drove till the (almost) southernmost point of mai
After disastrous scouting for new locations, I ended up visiting my well-known location across the Island of Hydra. Despite the dusty atmosphere and the high humidity, I tried to capture a panoramic image of this beautiful seaside place. When I arriv
While we were on the island of Evia, we had the chance to capture the Strawberry June full moon rising. In order to see this happening, we decided to go to the Manikiatis canyon and capture it rising behind these cliffs. The moon was visible a few mi
This image was captured on the 17th of June close to my hometown. The weather conditions weren't ideal for astrophotography due to the cloudy sky and high dust mass ratio in the atmosphere. Nevertheless, I managed to capture a couple of frames durin
Mount Taygetos is the highest mountain on the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. In classical mythology, it was associated with the nymph Taygete and it was named after her. We went there in order to capture the phenomenon of pyramid shadow, a
Connecting with the universe.
For around a year I've been living in Athens; the capital of Greece. Being close to nature is something that I missed from the beginning of my stay, however, Athens is a city full of great historical monuments and archeological places that are always
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December's Full Moon Rising During Twilight.
As winter is coming, the nights in which the centre of our galaxy will be visible, are diminishing. During the last weekend, I walked out of the city lights to take advantage of the new moon and capture the galaxy. On the technical side, that photo c
It was my first attempt to capture the milky way for this year. We arrived at lake Doxa around 5:00 am and we had a small window of time; a few minutes before the sunrise when the milky way was visible. This was our only chance to capture the nightsk
The June full moon rising above the Saronic Gulf, three days after the summer equinox. The summer has already started and the high temperatures, which get even worse every year as a result of climate change, prove it. The first image, you see the ful
Being out before sunrise is always a good opportunity to capture landscapes combined with the stars above. They're not so colourful though (the stars) because the existing light is increasing as time passes and the sun is about to rise.
It was three years ago, when I got my camera. Then I had no vision of what was going to happen. In these three years I found how to express myself and my points through photography and the way to present to you what catches my eye from the world. Th
Yesterday night we went to the southernmost point of the Attic peninsula, just under the temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio in order to capture the milky way rising. The weather forecast wasn't ideal for stills, because of low clouds. For this reason,
Waxing Crescent Moon and Venus rising above Saronic Gulf. 15/8/2020
Because of the lack of free time, I wasn't able to go out for photographs till the last full moon. Finally, I managed to find a nice event, the thin crescent moon rising during the nautical twilight at Dawn. After waking up at 4:00 that morning, I ha
This is the April Waxing Crescent Moon above the port of Patras during the blue hour when it was about to set. Probably my favourite phase of the moon; a thin crescent moon (~2,5% illuminated) that it's not that easy to see, but when you did, you rea
In this image, you can spot the Ursa Major and Polaris above my hometown, Ancient Epidaurus. It was such a cold night that after an hour I couldn't feel my fingers. This was also my first time using a diffuser filter in my nightscape images in order
After an amazing day at lake Doxa, where we had a picnic and a walk around the lake, I ended up capturing some nightscape images. Besides the low temperatures, there were many people enjoying the landscape as we did, some of them had set campfires as
I see these two plane trees every time I visit my grandparents and it is a scenery that I was always thinking to capture an image. Recently, after passing by during noon, I realized that I had to take my equipment and get prepared for the evening in
This image is one of my all-time favourite images. It was captured during my recent trip to the peninsula of Mani, close to the very famous village of Vatheia. The meager amount of light pollution in this area gave me the opportunity to capture these
What a beautiful feeling of being out hearing the sea sounds and capturing images under the moonlight. Probably the last one is a bit special and needs to be your passion in order to stay alone out late at night waiting for hours to complete the star
During our holidays, we visited some places in South Greece. There were some quite dark places without light pollution, so we decided to try to capture some nightscape images. In this image, we went on a sandy beach, where some small lakes had been f
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This is a panoramic image of the milky way rising above the Saronic Gulf. I decided to use a standard lens (50mm) to emphasise the milky way's details. On the technical side of things, this is a two-panel panoramic image of blended exposures. I used
Close to Gythio, there is a beautiful sandy beach called Glyfatha, where it’s “placed” a very famous Greek shipwreck, Dimitrios. Being around this area for a couple of days, I decided to capture the shipwreck under the night sky, although knowing tha
This is probably the best milky way arch panorama I've ever taken. On the 2nd of June, I visited this amazing location; it was my first time trying to capture the night sky from this place, and I wasn't sure if it would come out as I was thinking. Af
After a glorious sunset at mount Helmos, we had the chance to admire and capture the waxing crescent moon which was about to set. The vibrant colours after the sunset in combination with the high viewpoint and the earthshine on the moon were creating
Helmos Observatory is located on mount Helmos (Aroania) in the Northern Peloponnese at an altitude of 2340 m (22˚ 11′ 46″ East, 37˚ 59′ 04″ North), 130 km west of Athens and about 15 km from the city of Kalavryta. The site is one of the darkest areas
The waning crescent moon period is the right time to try to capture the moon rising from the sea. Due to the location of my hometown (facing east), I'm able to frame my shot, including the sea as a foreground. In this particular image, I went to the
Photographing the thin crescent moon is always a joy for me, and this time was no exception. I woke up at 4 a.m., and I went to the port of my hometown (Ancient Epidaurus). This time of the day is quite pleasing; everything is quiet and relaxed. You’
At the end of July, we had the opportunity to enjoy the night sky at Neraidorachi peak, where the Helmos Observatory is located. It was my second time at this amazing place, and I had been expecting this night for weeks. Everything went excellent, th
Before sunrise and before everyone wakes up, I went to the port of my hometown (Ancient Epidaurus) to capture this beautiful scene. The waning crescent moon rising above the Saronic Gulf during the nautical twilight (dawn). Because of the strong wind
The waxing crescent moon and Mercury setting behind the mountains during the blue hour. I went out of my hometown and had a ride up to the near mountain to be able to capture the crescent moon. While the landscape was getting darker and darker it was
This image portrays the milky way above the island of Hydra at the Argo-Saronic Gulf during the new moon. When I arrived at this spot I saw across the light pollution caused by the town of Hydra and I was a bit disappointed, although after having tak
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