Symi Door Photogenic Decay

Colorful Symi in Black and White

by Jeff Bell
January 2, 2014
13 comments
Europe, Greece, Photo Essay

Symi Sunrise black white photo

Symi, Greece, is one of the most colorful, most photogenic places I’ve ever been. It is a small town of orange, yellow and white buildings accented with dark blue shudders and doors. The polychromatic, neoclassical buildings climb up steep, tawny hills. During our visit, we had cerulean skies, sometimes punctuated by gleaming, bilious clouds.

Due to the bright and contrasting color, Symi is beautiful when photographed in black and white. I took hundreds and hundreds of photos in our four days in Symi as the changing light throughout the day and night continually offered something new and beautiful. And there was little else to do. It is a mellow, chill town – a great place to unwind and relax.

Symi Photo Gallery

Click on any photo below to open a slideshow view.

Symi harbor with rain clouds rolling in.
One of many buildings in Symi in a state of beautiful ruin.
A lazy dog taking a break while his person drinks wine. This pretty much sums up the pace of life on Symi.
Luxury sailboats and yachts line the shores of Symi Harbor.
Symi was bombed after WWII and currently has only 2000 residents, down from 20,000 in its heyday. There are many abandoned buildings in various states of photogenic decay.
The full moon rises over Symi.
The clock tower shortly after sunset.
Boats bob in the water in this long exposure photo.
Neoclassical churches are located all throughout Symi.
Church tower and clouds.
Symi at Sunrise. I only woke up for a few sunrises last year, and this one was awesome.
Cross on a church door.
Symi at sunrise.
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Currently living in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I travel, write, take photos, and stalk street cats. ~ planetbell1@gmail.com

13 thoughts on “Colorful Symi in Black and White”

  2. jennifer Windram says:

    Amazing photos, as usual. I think the first (Symi harbor with rain clouds) is my favorite.

    And I just noticed you were Freshly Pressed a couple of weeks ago. Congrats!

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