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She came from the future just to observe. Her mission had the code name “Incognito”, but how could she be incognito? My mission was to photographically investigate her and I never fail. Perhaps a more suitable name for her mission would be… “Beware of the Photographic Investigator”. But how could it be? Nobody in the future knew I existed. I know, I have checked it out myself.
Read MoreWhen Tandoori met Biryani it was a not very cold Sunday, a few days before the new year and the streets of Athens were not as busy as expected. Everything was new and for that reason it was a fine day. Indian food is only eaten in fine days (by photographic investigators, anyway…).
Read MoreVapalight, as you all know, is a special kind of light that follows a specific subject, also known as the Vapa model. The Vapa model always sits against the light with the intention to avoid being photographically investigated. Which of course is not possible. All these vain attempts of my subjects to avoid me have made my affection for them to become stronger and in an inexplicable way, urge me to favour them… Don’t ask me why, the world of a photographic investigator is a mystery that has to be faced to everyday (even by them)…
Read MoreNewblood was the name of a nano-device that was injected in the blood and roamed around the body through the circulation. It’s objective was hidden from the public - we -the photographic investigators- though, knew that it was designed to intercept our access to the true essence of our subjects and thus make our assignments useless. They didn’t know off course that we had already devised an “antidote” -the nature of which I am not allowed to reveal (for obvious reasons). So, no harm done…
Read MoreMost of the times a photographic investigator investigates subjects that are looking for something that is already -or always- available to them. We don’t complain, since this quest is what makes them “photographable” -all this wasting of energy likes to be captured- but sometimes we wonder “What if we told them that the wifi password that they are looking for is written in the blackboard behind them…?”. We haven’t come to a conclusion yet…
Read MorePhotographic Investigators very often need special protection due the extreme dangers that they are exposed to daily. Each and every one has a special connection with an angel or archangel, without the help of which they would never survive the strain. Sometimes archangels are caught by the camera in the form of a bright light. To remind us that bright lights should always be looked upon fearlessly…
Read MoreIt was a beautiful day in Venice, I was investigating a beautiful woman and her transformations. A trained photographic investigator ends up -sooner or later- realising that beauty is an energy and not a concrete, tangible thing. But her presence cannot be denied once it is perceived. That is why, very often, the most successful investigations are the unexpected ones.
Read MoreThings had changed. A trip to Graceland wasn't a romantic fool's dream anymore... You see, Graceland had passed in the hands of a mysterious organisation that made it invisible to this dimension -unless you had a very special map. And this map wasn't so easy to find. I was photographically investigating a courageous group of Graceland explorers who thought that knew where to find that map - I was after the map myself.
Read More"You saw me crying in the chapel, the tears I shed were tears of joy..." sung Elvis and one could easily cry of joy in the Vatican Chapels because they were so beautiful. Of course my subject weren't the chapels themselves but the one who found refuge in them. I had a photographic investigation to do but I also had a soft spot for beautiful people blending with beautiful architecture. My subject was pursued not by me, but from a group of mysterious, very handsome men with impeccable white shirts who invaded one day the vaporetto to San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. There was something mesmerising in their elegance and style but also something vaguely dark. All I had to do to find my subject was to follow them and I knew right there and then that this would be yet another one of my investigations that it's course had already changed in my mind...
Read MoreI was hired to photographically investigate another strange Venice creature, another dangerous subject. Her name was Medusa, she also belonged to the infamous secret circle of Il Mister (although not so secret anymore after my numerous investigations and revelations) and, what a surprise, I wasn't told (again) why she was dangerous or why she went by that name. Well, Medusa had the ability to turn men into stone with her gaze -if that as the clue that i was supposed to figure out- but I wasn't a man. And even if I were, well, it would be an interesting turn of events, to end up as a stone statue in one of the most beautiful courts of Venice. She looked at me. I don't think I turned into stone. But then again...
Read MoreThere is only one garden in San Giorgio Maggiore, in Venice. And there is no secret under the sun... But that day the sun was shining too brightly and the garden was hidden to those who cannot stand the bright light. So, in a way, it became secret...
Read MoreShe wanted to play Anne Bancroft's role in Jacques Tourneur's film noir, "Nightfall". She knew she could pull it off and so did her producer husband. I had investigated her many times in the past, but this time the investigation had taken an almost metaphysical "colour". "Things that really happen are difficult to explain" her character says at one point in the film and this is how it works. Of course, what is real and what is not, is another investigation altogether...
Read MoreIt was the day of the summer solstice and it was obvious that she was hiding. But not from me. My assignment was to investigate this beautiful woman who denied her divine nature for an obscure reason. She thought she was just a beautiful model but the way the garden embraced and protected her was more than eloquent to the contrary. it wasn't my job to reveal secret stories and I didn't try to.
Read MoreThere are many magical women in Venice and they excel in magic potions or spells that could make you instantly rich or famous or internationally admired. And although many people believe in them and visit them every year to renew the effectiveness of the magic they bought, I systematically avoid them because there is nothing about them to be photographically investigated. But there was one venetian witch that had captured my interest -and that of my employers, obviously- because she made magic dresses and corsets that could bind or liberate, depending on the wishes of the client. And she was beautiful. Of course I was the witness of pure magic in her presence, as I saw her magically changing outfits while being investigated. This was the first one...
Read MoreIt was one day before the opening of the Venice Biennale. Only journalists were allowed, so I used one of my fake identities. Not so fake really, since a photographic investigator's job is not so different from that of a journalist's. Anyway, she also pretended to be one. You come to know those things after 2-3 decades of pretending. But she made my work very easy and I was thankful to her not only for this, but for her beautiful smile as well. She knew she was being investigated, but she allowed it. I made a mental note to look her up. A very interesting partnership could be in the horizon.
Read MoreI once bought a perfume in India, called "Night in Vrindavan". It was very exotic and "indian" -only those who have been to and loved India know what I mean- and it's name stayed with me for more than 25 years... I thought it had to do with some romantic notion, but I found out, by chance, that it had to do with the local belief that every night, in the Nidhivan forest, Lord Krishna appears, performing the divine dance with his consort, Radha. A really mystical, divine act that can't be witnessed by ordinary people, as it can drive them mad. Vrindavan is the childhood place of Lord Krishna, a holy place for the hindus. My subject was making open plans for a trip around the world and had just purchased some new clothes. Written in the label of the most beautiful blouse was the word "Vrindavan"... She told me that her first stop would be India. This subject had to be further studied, I thought to my self. To be continued...
Read MoreHe was one of the most popular Californian novel writers and he liked mexican hats. I was hired to investigate him by a publishing house who wanted to hire him for a series of romance/detective novels who would have him as a hero. Unusual, I know... It's common knowledge that in such cases it's the writer who comes up with the proposal. But nothing in my job was ever... usual. So, I had to lure him to my house in the californian desert where I kept a collection of mexican, guatemalan and honduran hats. The plan worked just fine and in the end he promised me that he would dedicate his next novel series to me and my photographic investigation adventures. A fine deal.
Read MoreI am not always hired to photographically investigate mysterious personalities. Sometimes my assignments have to do with some secret technological invention or material, informations hidden in peoples clothes or accessories and so on... This time I found myself again in Venice, investigating... a dress. It was made by a revolutionary material, called "Incognito" that didn't need washing or ironing and could stay fresh for a maximum of 10 days, making it the ideal item for medium time getaways or business travel (even vacation). It was conceived to accommodate the ideal of "no luggage traveling", an ideal that I am proud to say that I am a great advocate of, since I love travelling to exotic places only with the clothes I am wearing, my photography kit and my book. I had figured that everything else I could need (mostly pareos, hats, sunscreen and swimming suits) I would be able to buy there. The dress in question was ideal for spring and summer travel and the traveler should be able to carry all that she would need in the large bag that came with it as an indispensable accessory, mostly because women feel secure by caring a bag -being a huge bag carrier myself, this is a mystery I haven't solved yet.
Read MoreThat was the name of her destination, a place one could travel to without moving, since it was in another dimension. I have done so many trips of that sort in my photographic investigations career that I was reluctant to follow. Interdimensional travel is very dangerous for the life of the photographic investigator because it depletes -in a very rapid rate- the vital energy supplies. I didn't have much of them anymore. But a photographic investigator can't just sit and preserve whatever energy she has left. It's like being dead already. "You never know which one could be your last investigation" I thought to myself. It might as well be this one.
Read MoreThat was the objective of yet another assignment, another photographic investigation. Once I found her and I completed my job, though, I realised I wasn't the only one looking for her. Of course once one realises that she is always hiding in plain sight, suddenly there is no need for looking. Anyway, she was here only temporarily, so I had to take advantage of that. I found out that she was heading to a place called Graceland and I decided to follow her there. This place is found in another reality and I didn't know if there was any energy left in me for all this. Time travel and reality crossing is exhausting, it depletes a photographic investigator's vital energy. One of these days I was about to complete my last mission, I knew that, maybe this one would be in Graceland, after all. More about that in the following blog post (if there is going to be one...).
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