WESTERN THRACE BAZAAR: EYES ON THE BORDER

Mikro Derio, Greece/Bulgaria - I found myself wandering through a street bazaar along the Greek-Bulgarian border, deep in Western Thrace, home to Greece's largest Muslim minority community. Strings of nazar amulets, what I've come to know simply as the "evil eye," hung overhead here just as they do across the Balkans and the wider Mediterranean, a belief with roots stretching back nearly three thousand years. Even though the Orthodox Church itself has never recognized it as doctrine, this ancient symbol has made its way deep into popular culture, showing up on bracelets, hats, towels, and souvenirs at Greek festivals everywhere. Standing among these vendors, it struck me how one small glass eye still carries the same meaning from a Greek village to a Turkish bazaar to a table at a Greek festival.

TWO CROSSES IN THE EVENING LIGHT

Jeffersonville, Pa. - Folk dancers head to the big tent as the sun drops behind St. Sophia/Ss. Faith Hope & Agape Greek Orthodox Church of Valley Forge, PA, their costumes and shadows cutting across the church wall in one last quiet march before the night comes alive.

AHEPA STEEL AND SKYLINE ON THE BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY

Camden, NJ - Foula Vasilogiorgis traveled from San Francisco to attend the AHEPA National Convention in Philadelphia, standing on the deck of the Battleship New Jersey in Camden as the city skyline glows behind her. Wrapped in an American-flag dress marked “America 250 Years,” white bag in hand and matching hat catching the last light, she becomes a living tribute between ship and city while veterans Ret. Major Carl Hollister and Ret. Colonel Nicholas P. Vamvakias are honored for their years of service to the United States Armed Forces. In that instant, the battleship rails, the Philadelphia skyline, the AHEPA Convention, and Foula’s unapologetically patriotic style lined up so perfectly that the frame demanded to be made—history, pride, and presence all in one photograph.

AUTUMN ON STATE STREET

MEDIA, PA — Autumn has settled over this corner of town, where bright leaves cover the brick walkway and a historic home welcomes the season with pumpkins, cobwebs, and a porch full of Halloween spirit.

Beneath a sky streaked with moving clouds, the colors of October turn an ordinary walk through Media into a small moment worth stopping for.

HOT ASPHALT HEARTS

Clifton Heights, PA - Baltimore Pike was cooking today, but Clifton Heights never blinked—this town took the heat, turned the street into a stage, and threw its own Independence Day show. Kids flew off the asphalt with flags in their fists, neighbors turned sidewalks into front-row seats, and a fire-hose splash zone did a better job than any air conditioner. These new images will live in my ongoing Americana series—small-town stories, big-hearted people, and the kind of July heat you don’t forget.

ECHOES FROM THE BLACK SEA

Samsun, TK - Along the Black Sea coastline near Trabzon, Turkey, summer unfolds at the water’s edge.

Boys gather on the concrete steps and weathered piers, climbing, diving, pulling one another from the sea, then doing it all again. One hangs briefly in midair while another reaches back from the water, a small gesture of friendship and trust amid the movement.

The city rises behind them, but their world is here: saltwater, sun, rough concrete, and the freedom of an afternoon beside the Black Sea.

From Echoes from the Black Sea, an ongoing photographic project and book exploring daily life, memory, and the enduring spirit of Turkey’s Black Sea coast.

ECHOES FROM THE BLACK SEA

Trabzon/Maçka , Turkey - Isolated along a rocky road, near the Kustul Monastary (Iera Moni tou Agiou Georgiou Peristereota), a woman pauses in her yard, rope in hand, eyes closed to the sun, while a young calf wanders close, unbothered by the rhythm of daily chores around her stone home. This moment belongs to a family who welcomed me into their world, sharing the quiet, unposed grace of mountain life. This image is part of an in-development book and project of the same name, Echoes from the Black Sea.

PRIDE IN EVERY STRIPE

Fourth of July in Clifton Heights PA — two hearts one flag and a whole lot of pride from my ongoing Americana series celebrating everyday stories of community and belonging.

WHERE CONCRETE BECOMES CANVAS

Chester, PA. - “Everyone can see it. You don’t have to go to a museum. You don’t have to buy anything. It’s open to all.” — Chalk artist Hans Honschar

Yesterday at Subaru Park, artists from across the country transformed the pavement into a living gallery of color, imagination, and community. I could have spent all day watching the quiet concentration, the movement of the hands, and the moment an image began to emerge from the street.

Public art has a way of meeting people where they are, turning an ordinary path into a shared moment of wonder. As artist Martin Firrell puts it, “Making art, and in particular public art, is always an assertion of our humanity and our strength.”

ECHOES FROM THE BLACK SEA
Trabzon, Turkey - In the mountains beyond the city, the gathering moves to an old rhythm. Here, music and dance are not simply performances. They are part of a living rhythm of village life, carrying memory, fellowship, and regional identity across generations. This image is part of an in-development book and project of the same name, Echoes from the Black Sea.