The Greek island Lefkada is renowned for its seas, with its turquoise waters, natural landscapes and friendly inhabitants. One of its most fascinating features is the natural wetlands, which during the autumn and winter months, hosts the beautiful migratory flamingos. The lagoon of Lefkada is included in the Natura 2000 network, it is one of the largest wetlands of western Greece and is included in the list of wetlands international importance according to the Ramsar Convention. I was born and raised in Lefkada with the exception of the years I left to study. From a young age I spent many hours in the lagoon with my first camera photographing these magnificent birds. As a result, I now feel a close connection with the wildlife and the lagoon.

On one memorable occasion, I spent almost eight hours observing them in a single day. I tried to count the colours in their wings, listened to their distinctive calls and looked out for behaviour patterns as they all waded around together. I tried to figure out how they think, how they behave and how they perceive things around them. It’s fantastic returning over and over the see the black wings of the young birds turn slowly pink as they mature. These flamingos were the first animals that I photographed in the wild. Their unique behaviour sparked my passion for photography, for capturing nature in a split second, so I am eternally grateful to the flamingos for igniting my passion for this craft.