The Greek twilight, a photo from Attiki, Attica

Photographer's Note

Panoramic view of Athens from Lycabettus hill, after sunset. To the left you can see the Panathenaic stadium ("Kallimarmaron"), closer to the center of the photo, the National Park and the Parliament, and the the right the Acropolis & the Parthenon. In the background you can see all the way down to Piraeus and the Saronic gulf.

PS. Have you heard the news? This country is dying... The unemployment raises rapidly, the suicides percentage raises rapidly, the best "brains" are leaving the country, starting a new circle of massive immigration like in the '20s or the 50's & 60's. Families are left without electricity because the couldn't pay their taxes (?!?!), children are starving in a European country of the 21st century.

Some tried to "help" Greece. But they did it the wrong way, following the instructions of the IMF (known for its great "success" in the countries of Latin America). But the austerity measures led to a 5th consecutive year of hard ressesion in Greece. So, the state has less and less income and its debt keeps rising and rising. Only a blind man can't see that this kind of policy has the contrary results than the ones needed. In the meantime, those paying more and more taxes today, are those that were always paying their taxes!But they can't pay their taxes anymore because they simply don't have any money left with their salaries and pensions cut every 2-3 months. And the tax evaders keep tax evading. Who are they? The ones having 600.000.000.000 Euros in the Swiss banks. Find them and take your money back, you, European Partners, simple as that! If you take 1/3 of their money, there goes the Greek dept, and they still remain rich!

Maybe, following this program of austerity, our "saviors" will be able to save Greece in 10-20 years from now. But there will be no Greeks left! Greece is a beautiful country, but will it be the same without the Greek people! Or is this the final "goal"? Leaving the country without its people? And then buy this beautiful place, piece by piece and paying "peanuts"? For "peanuts" this country for which our ancestors spilled their blood? And the buyers, will be the ones with their obsession in "hard" currencies, the ones that killed my grand-grandfathers in two World Wars.

I have to say that E.U. has been a great dissapointment (I've said it even before this crisis begun). It never became a political and social union, it's just an economic partnership, where bankers have the upper hand. Just watch: Greece's current Prime Minister is a banker, Italy's current Prime Minister is a banker. Both of them worked for Goldman Sachs. Neither of them is elected by the people of the two countries. Bankers don't have a country, their only country is MONEY and their only duty is to make their masters, richer and richer. Is this your idea of Democracy, my European friends and partners?

PS 2.Have you heard the news? As soon as Greece gets the second (huge) loan (if ever), the first thing the Greek government will do is to buy some 60 French war aircrafts and some dozens of German submarines and other arms. So our "friends" and "partners" are taking the money out of their left pocket and putting into their right one. Just one more thing. Between 2006-2010 15% of the exports of the German War industry and 12% of the French War industry, were sold to Greece!

Copyright © 2011 – Hercules Milas. The reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any work contained herein for any use, personal or commercial, without my prior written permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

bebbetto, i9l2y1m8a8t3, siolaw, adramad, portmanndominic, bema, stat, axiotea, adores, sacimar, v_vicky has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dale54 (17768) 2012-01-12 6:27

out of this world pic hercules!great job!tfs! dr

Sergiom (117241) 2012-01-12 6:35

Bonjour Hercules,

La mйgalopole s'йtend sans fin sous nos yeux et la belle lumiиre multicolore offerte par par cette fin de la journйe donne une belle texture aux maisons.

Amicalement

Serge

schumanng (0) 2012-01-12 6:38

Hi Hercules,
spectacular indeed! a great shot.
Regards,
Giorgio

korbee (6619) 2012-01-12 6:44

Hallo hercules,
Wauw !what a way to come back with such strong photo and note!
Superbe nightscene in a wonderful blue atmosphere,love the sea and the hills in the background.
Such a scene will never die,whatever happens. ;+]]

In my country the euro was introduced in 2002,totally undemocratic,nobody was asked,it was just there...the guilder,a very strong 700 year old currency was distroyed,and our cost of living was doubled,while our salaries remain the same,all in the name of god and the EU...

Now our failing bankers and politicians want to make us believe that over the years WE lived above our budged,well I can tell you my friend,how can you ever
ever live ABOVE your budged,if you cant save a single euro??????????????
We all know very well who where living well,and far above budged,dont we?????

Who is going to pay the bill of the crisis created by the banks and their politicians?????
Who is paying the bill,and fighting their wars for centuries allready?????
We all know the answer dont we??????
All the best,good health and much fun for 2012!!!

jan

bebbetto (122) 2012-01-12 7:06

The picture is breathtaking Hercules, like most of your photos. I love Greece and spent summer vacations in your beautiful country for several years.
Italy is in a similar situation, a little better, but not very much, believe me.
But the guilt is not of the common currency. The guilt is in the hidden politics as you explain very well with the story of the war aircrafts and the lack of a serious tax policy.
Kind regards

siamesa (28231) 2012-01-12 7:06

Bom dia Hercules

Simply fantastic. A magic and marvelous view of the city. Superb capture.
Abraзos
maria

i9l2y1m8a8t3 (4814) 2012-01-12 7:15

Hi Hercules!

Yes, I've heard of the news about Greece, it quite saddens me about the situation going on there. I thought my country (Philippines) is in a worse situation already but having learned about what happened there is much worse. Hopefully they find a solution on the problems going on there, not just there but throughout the world. Anyway, hopefully, this instances won't hinder your from showing the beauty of your country such as this. The POV gives us a breathtaking view of this city, the colors and details are superbly exposed coupled with a lovely sunset. At the end of the day, the cycle still continues. We just hope that it gets better as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing this beautiful image, simply inspiring! Don't let problems and frustrations get in your way.

Best regards,
Matt

[2]

ChrisJ (171888) 2012-01-12 7:16

Hi Hercules

Greece will go on, come what may & will always be beautiful. A superb high pov overlooking the city in blue hour. Good sharpness & warm cold color contrasts. I'm intrigued by the rough circular patch of greenery in the centre. Tfs!

DarkoG (8) 2012-01-12 7:38 [Comment]

Show Comment

JFS (32459) 2012-01-12 7:48

Hi Hйrcules!
It's the first time i see such a complete panoramica of Athens, including the sea and the Parthenon! The image is magic, sensational!

thanks and best regards,
Juan

SnapRJW (31631) 2012-01-12 7:52

What a fabulous view Hercules - Immediately the colour co-ordination grabs my attention, the sky and lit buildings echo one another perfectly and against the soft grey-blues are really attractive. The shot can be read as an abstract of colours and textures or as a cityscape and I like that. Top class management. Warm regards Rosemary

PS. Your passionate note comes from your soul, I feel for you and your fellow countrymen

TopGeo (38220) 2012-01-12 8:08

Γειά σου Ηρακλή, Εξαιρετική επιλογή ιδανικό πλαίσιο, και τη σύνθεση όμορφη νυχτερινή σκηνή, εξαιρετική απόδοση των λεπτομερειών, όμορφο παιχνίδι του φωτός και της σκιάς, τόσο στον ουρανό όσο και στην πόλη! Μπράβο
Χαιρετισμούς
Γεώργιος

siolaw (38294) 2012-01-12 8:18

Hi Hercules,
A jaw dropping, spectacular shot of Athens. Both sky and city looks magnificent!
Hats off
Laurent

adramad (73006) 2012-01-12 8:23

Hola Hercules.
Celebro que estes de nuevo operativo en TE, la calidad de tus imagenes son un disfrute para todos.
Esta fantastica panoramica de la ciudad de Atenas, es soberbia y yo que tengo fresca en la memoria los lugares de la ciudad puedo reconocer sus barrios y colinas.
La belleza del cielo es impresionante y aсade su belleza a un trabajo impecable en nitidez y perfecta gestion de la luz.
Saludos muy cordiales.
Luis.

CLODO (45116) 2012-01-12 8:37

Hi hHercules

We have to enlarge the thumbnail to understand what you are showing us. Great cityscape at sunset, with some lighted buildings. Good mix of cold and warm hues.
Regards
CLODO

dkmurphys (79209) 2012-01-12 8:50

Hi Hercules,
Spectacular panorama over the blue hour in Athens. Great city scape, well catch.
Have a good night.

Daniel

Angelillo (9374) 2012-01-12 9:37

Buenos dias Hercules,

La nueva ciudad rodeando la antigua, con estas luces tan precisas y un cielo tan espectacular, el panorama tiene una enorme potencia visual. Los tonos son bellнsimos. El contraste entre los tonos frнos y los cбlidos es magnнfico. Bellнsima!

kiks (12805) 2012-01-12 9:39

realy amazing scene with the colors of the street light matching with the skycolor. Maybe strange but it gives nme the idea of lava running!!
Best regards
KIKs

brianmcc (6223) 2012-01-12 10:54

hi hercules,
what a fantastic scene. your viewpoint is amazing. the view over the city is breathtaking. the buildings are illuminated so well. and to add to this you have managed to capture the most wonderful colours in the sky at the same time. superb picture.
regards,
brian

TRB (14138) 2012-01-12 11:06

merhaba Hercules,
excellent, a great presentation.
superb in every way, congratulations
Tьlay

bema (26591) 2012-01-12 11:33

Kalispera Hercules,

wow, thatґs a picture i would like to call a masterpiece..
a real good place up on Lycabettus hill, perhabs one of the best viewpoints in Athens, i guess..

thanks for sharing, see you around, kalinichta Bernd

Pilote26 (154) 2012-01-12 12:25

Hi Hercules !

Spectacular view, good job, the colors are perfect !
TFS
Best regards
Guillaume

jojo72 (0) 2012-01-12 12:43 [Comment]

Show Comment

npecanhuk (79329) 2012-01-12 13:06

Hi Hercules!
Magnificent cityscape!
Wonderful twilight time!
Superb picture!
Sharpness, exposure, colors, chosen (high) pov, dof, contrasts, horizontal format and composition are all excellent!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

lousat (139342) 2012-01-12 14:43

No comment,this is the pic of the day,no doubt! I'm very happy for your decision to come back on TE,your pics are always fantastic and a great pleasure to see!Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano.

Zolive (5935) 2012-01-12 15:41

Hi Hercules
wonderful photo, the sky is magnificent and the city lights are amazing. The title is very well and sadly choosen too.
The situation of your country is very sad and I think to the greek people who suffer of this crisis. When countries will be not govern by bankers I hope the human condition will be priority. I'm waiting the next election in France with impatience.
The news of second PS is very scandalous.
Friendly
Olivier

mozzy27 (2) 2012-01-13 0:39

Hello Hercules
Amazing cityscape and sunset, so crisp, vibrant, colourful, sharp, great POV, just superb. TFS
Cheers Peter

hrschwartz (744) 2012-01-13 5:38 [Comment]

Show Comment

krzychu30 (15512) 2012-01-13 8:15

Hello Hercules,
Iґve seen many pictures taken from this POV,but looking at yours Iґm just speechless.Itґabsolutely stunning.Excellent quality of the image and beautiful,warm colors.Congratulations!
Have a nice weekend
Krzysztof

barrufeto_77 (28888) 2012-01-14 3:46

Hola Hercules.

Sin duda, una vista privilegiada si seсor!!!! Cuando estuve allб, esta vista la hice pero no la pude disfrutar asн jajajaja.

Un saludo!

Vertigo (758) 2012-01-15 5:34 [Comment]

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Schnappilic (9692) 2012-01-15 12:06

Hello Hercules,

Athens looks so fine in such condition. Good time for shooting - right settings. Congratulations!

All the best!

Ovidiu

bostankorkulugu (42866) 2012-01-15 13:23

i still cant believe i havent been to athens yet... amazing panorama of tzimentopolis irakli mou... looks greener than i thought...

sacavem (18620) 2012-01-16 12:06

Olб my friend,

Nice shot of the twilight Greek, it is very special, magic I would say.

Cumprimentos,
Filipe

adores (46979) 2012-01-16 16:26

Hi Hercules!
A great pov and a great moment, with the city illuminated. Exposure and colours are excellent!

sacimar (38173) 2012-01-18 8:36

Hola Hercules,

esta vista es impresionante, se ve hermosa la capital griega desde aqui, la luz es tambien magnifica, en cuanto a la nota comparto contigo la frustracion que supone vivir todos estos acontecimientos, en Espaсa las cosas se estan poniendo tambien dificiles y acabamos de empezar... este sistema tiene que cambiar...

Un Saludo,

Sergio

Graal (103040) 2012-01-18 23:54

Kalimera Hercules,
very nice view of Athens from Lycavitos hill. Great lights and hues after the sunset. Photo very well done.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

tusharkmandal (3173) 2012-01-19 8:31

Hi Hercules,

Now thats called the POV and the viewpoint. Great picture of the city with blue hour and those shades of the sky.

Nice times
Tushar

Bluejeans (64251) 2012-01-19 9:15

Ola Hercules ,
Esta tua foto estб linda й um belo ponto de visгo sobre a cidade de Atenas , bonitas as ruas iluminadas , belo tons de cor no cйu , parabйns!!
Um abraзo Gonзalo

v_vicky (1037) 2012-01-31 14:05

Μαγικη!!!!! Εκπληκτικη δουλεια!!!!!

Ευχαριστουμε,
Βικυ

kabel (1930) 2012-07-10 8:26

Hello, great night view of your beautiful city. Excellent DOF and like usual a real treat from your skilled eye. I appreciate your notes about the city and I enjoyed and learned about your economic and political views about what is happening in your country although I wonder if this is the right forum for it. It will become a time line for the future. Thanks for contining to share with us here on TE.
Karen