Welcome to our first blog-post. In the blog I’ll be posting about life in Mani and introducing some of our local friends, their work and thoughts about landscape, people, markets and life in the Mani. Here’s Pete Eastland, whose photography features throughout the site, over to you Pete:

A little background for your readers:

I’m Pete Eastland and have been a photographer for more than 50 years. After training with a newspaper in England in the 1960’s I worked with a marine photography agency. Subsequently, I pursued a career as a freelance photographer traveling and working in Europe and North Africa. I have been fortunate in having my pictures published internationally in a variety of newspapers and magazines including The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, DN Resor, Vogue, Elle, Boote, Expression and many other publications. I have also exhibited in England and Greece.

I first visited the Mani over 30 years ago and for the last 14 years have lived with my wife Hilary in a mountain village in the Mani. My village is dominated by the Taygetos mountains, their appearance constantly changes with the varying weather and seasons. I can’t help but be inspired by them. This has driven me to develop my ideas about landscape photography. I have concentrated on exploring the remoteness, diversity and fragility of the mountains on both a macro and micro level – sometimes half a meter of earth can tell you as much about the landscape as the grand vista. I work both in colour and black & white which is unusual for a photographer.

This is a very fragile landscape. People lived and worked in these mountains for thousands of years. A hundred years ago you would have found the remotest mountain valleys teaming with life, their abandoned stone settlements and crumbling terraces are still there to be seen. When I am photographing, high in the mountains, it’s hard not to be influenced by these traces of a way of life now passing beyond memory.

If the unique qualities of the Mani affect you like they have me, perhaps think about joining me for a photographic exploration of the area. You don’t need to be an expert, I can guide your efforts and talk you through the basics. After coming here for 30 years I know it pretty well now, many of the more dramatic and photogenic areas are a bit off the beaten track and need a local’s knowledge. Drop me a line through my website manieye.com or email me direct at peast@otenet.gr