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Makis Stylianou
@senormakis
Landscape photographer based in Australia
At university I have been jumping from course to course, searching for what I was actually interested in and what I liked. When I arrived at Visual Effects, I knew I had found it. It made me feel like I was in control, had freedom and could use my creative mind rather than following text books and reading words that I would forget pretty soon. Creating something myself out of nothing was entertaining and enjoyable, and in addition, it paved the way I edit. It surely helped me to get where I am today.
My love for travel though is pretty new to me. Some guys, now my adventure buddies, asked me to tag along on one adventure they had planned, and I never looked back. Now I am always chasing for the next and each adventure gets crazier, with new limits, unknown destinations and great opportunities to meet new people. It was a super spontaneous trip to Mount Buffalo, Australia. For the first time I wasn’t alone but had like-minded people around me that understood me and were on the same page, especially creatively.
"It made me realize that, as a photographer, it’s simply amazing to have photography enthusiasts around you, that it’s so helpful to progress as a person but above all as a photographer or content creator."
We are constantly pushing each other to go that extra mile and we have built lasting friendships that I am forever grateful for. Without these amazing people, half of my shots wouldn’t have happened and I might still have been restricted to the walls of my own small world. This trip happened to cause a big mindshift. I was sitting on the edge of the mountain, Mount Buffalo. A complete silence, nothing but vastness in front of me.
"My mind in peace - zero regrets, zero worries. It was that moment that motivated me to push my photography further."
I realized just how small and insignificant we are and how little our problems actually are in the grand scheme of things. The world is huge, we can’t even imagine – so many people, so many things going on, and so many square kilometers of nothingness. There’s no need to worry about the little things, they will soon enough disappear in the greatness of the surroundings.
Photography and editing is an important part of my life now. Not just because I love the act of doing it, but because everything that comes with it. Exploring, creating, sharing, venturing out, connecting… I am experiencing things that I couldn’t have imagined before and seeing details of life that I had always missed out on, even in my backyard that I’ve known for so long. The best thing about it is that I can share it with thousands of people with a touch of a button – to me that is just amazing and I am forever grateful for that.
"Improving the quality of what I share, which means, expressing myself more accurately, is one of the reasons why I keep learning anything and everything I can."
Not simply in photography, also in cinematography and editing, merging these together, networking and even in traveling. When I was little I had a bucket list, I wanted to see all the magical places I had seen on television or in magazines. I quickly became aware that visiting all of them wasn’t that realistic as they were so far away – the wandering mind full of fantasies was silenced by a more ‘mature’ and responsible mind, until I found that it didn’t have to be like that. Since my friends took me on adventures I got access again to the big dreams about discovering the world. I am 23 now and if I want I can make it happen. It’s all about priorities and overcoming fear. One of these in particular is Japan, since I was 10 years old I have wanted to climb Mount Fuji and I will make it happen as soon as it is allowed.
"Despite the desire to visit places all over the world, Melbourne, Australia, is home."
It’s where I grew up and it’s where I feel most comfortable. The funny thing is that I have been up and down Victoria and I have barely scratched the surface. Though from all that I discovered, Flinders and Mt Buffalo are still one of my favorites. These places are impactful and serene. I find that where I am from, the colours are very neutral while my editing style is very vibrant. So by merging the two, the idea is to create a mixture between reality and fantasy, making it dreamy but not too much…. I somehow rolled into this style by trying things out and I am loving it.
When editing a photo, my first idea is to bring out the colors in the most pure way I can after doing the basic edits. I tweak a little and bend the rules with color, what then leads to that mixture of reality and fantasy. I use the captions to provide a complete translation of the moment, my feelings and the edit to the viewer; I believe it gives a more personal touch and tells a little more about the creator, about me.
"Actually, my favorite photo to date is the sunset on the great ocean road, mainly because of the many different colors."
To the normal eye it’s just another sunset but for me it was the first actual day of having my new camera system (Fuji). After hours and hours of driving and hiking to see the sunset, I took that photo. Being it my first photo, to me it was not only magical and colorful, but also a moment I will never forget.
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