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I was born in 1972 in Athens, Greece, but since the age of 10 I've been living on the island of Crete, which is the birthplace of my parents. I studied Computer Science at the University of Crete and ever since I graduated I've been working as a Software Developer, in the Telecom sector. I'm married and a proud father of two sons. My interest in photography started developing in September 2003, when I bought my first compact digital camera. During the next year, I also developed an interest in nature, especially the micro-cosmos surrounding us, when I photographed my first dragonfly, at a pond my parents built outside their house, near the village of Fodele. I begun "hunting" insects and spiders to photograph in their natural environment. Afterwards, I used to research through books or resources on the Internet, to find out the taxonomy of my subjects, thus enhancing my knowledge on entomology and botany. In August 2006, I discovered flickr, where I joined and started uploading the nature photos I had captured. I made lot of contacts there and found people sharing the same interests with me, listened to their opinions and learned by watching their own work. This way I soon recognized my shortcomings, both in know-how and equipment. Later that same year, I started attending seminars on photography, organized by local adult education programs. Soon after learning the basics in photography, I decided to buy my first digital SLR camera in 2007. Slowly my interest grew into passion and I haven't stopped snapping pics ever since. My favorite subject is Wildlife Macros: I'm fascinated to discover through my photos a whole world of detail, abundant around us, but often ignored. I still research to find as much information as I can on the species I photograph and I've had a lot of help in this field by many reputable experts I've come to know through this endeavor. My current equipment lineup includes a full-frame camera body, a few good general-purpose lenses and a lot of specialized equipment for macrophotography. I'm constantly honing my skills, I still have much to learn, after all it hasn't been long since I got intensively engaged in the genre. Some of my photos have been distinguished in competitions worldwide and some have been published in print. I've also been a contributor to Getty Images since 2009.