The Central Market at Monistraki, Athens Greece

I got up at 4 am and took a cap to the market to be there before the regular customers. The vendors were busy setting up. I highly recomend this place for anyone going on holiday to Greece.

You snooze, you loose!

Hey I have seen those heads before!

Excellent, the pig on the left looks alive... they're like comedy and tragedy masks.

A fe more before I got o bed!

Were you behind the counter or do they work out front of the cases?

That first pic begs for some photoshop comments.

These are all so fantastic... wow!

Good pictures. What are you shooting with?

Great Chris! Keep 'em coming!

xoxoxoBruce;542938 wrote:

Were you behind the counter or do they work out front of the cases?

No, the buthchers and fish mongers work out in front of the lighted displays. Most meats are in cases with glass fronts and most of the fish is just in big displays packed on ice. On the whole it was the freshest stuff I've ever seen! And the people were very nice and accomodating on having their pictures taken so early in the morning.

Wonderful insight into something most of us will never see. Great job.

HungLikeJesus;542967 wrote:

Good pictures. What are you shooting with?

Right now I usually shoot with 2 camera bodies; a Canon 1Ds Mark II (16mp sensor) and also a Canon 5D (12mp). I use a wide variety of lenses, almost all Canon. 15mm fisheye, 16-24mm f2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, 80mm f1.2, 100mm Macro, 70-200mm f2.8, 100-400mm f4.5 and my newest lens is a Sigma 800mm f5.6. I'd like to retire the Canon 5D and go with another 1Ds Mark II or even a Mark III (21 mp).

I don't travel with everything but pick gear based on what I think my needs will be. For my upcoming trip to Africa I am trying to decide if I can take my 800mm lens as it is rather big for carryon and I need to pack my big Gitzo tripod in the checked gear. Decisions, decisisons!

chrisinhouston;543023 wrote:

... For my upcoming trip to Africa I am trying to decide if I can take my 800mm lens as it is rather big for carrion ... Decisions, decisisons!

Fixed it for ya!

Oh, and good shots, did some nice shots in a fish market in Portugal myself. Not with "pro" gear though.

Chris those are some glorious photos. You are a master.

On a more mundane level, they remind me of the meat & fish markets I saw as a child - Smithfields and Billingsgate respectively. We were always up early as children, similarly when staying with my Grandparents but never early enough to catch the men at the markets setting up - they worked through the night! The Upper Classes used to come out of Covent Garden Opera House and be able to go for a drink with the stall holders from the fruit & veg market, as they escaped England's punitive licensing laws due to the topsy turvy hours they kept.

And more recently it reminds me of Bradford meat & fish market, and Leicester covered market, much of both is now halal. Both lovely places to walk around (Bradford being far larger and therefore more time consuming) whether you are a shopper, a browser or just a sight-seer.

Thank you.

Oh how splendid!! How jealous am I? Aaaah!

Great photos Chris....I might spend my spare time dreaming of being there and I might not. Ok I do.

Live it up for me! :)

Chris, do you speak Greek? If not, how did you communicate with these guys in the market?

Just to jump in - Greece has been a holiday destination for Brits for MANY years, and America has been an emigration destination too. I think you'd be hard pushed to find a Greek who didn't at least know a Greek who spoke English.

And yes - I've known Greek people, as well as Brits who have lived there. Not to mention holidays.

xoxoxoBruce;543101 wrote:

Chris, do you speak Greek? If not, how did you communicate with these guys in the market?

I always try to learn and use some words or phrases in which ever country I visit but ni, I don't really speak Greek. Most Greeks on the mainland and the more popular islands speak English to some degree. I also find that people generally don't mind having their pictures taken in most places and take simple directions well even with a language barrier. That being said there are some countries where you should not photograph people's children because the parents sometimes feel you might be in the child abduction business.

By the way, I shoot everything now in color and then go to B&W if I feel it is more suited. The market had a big mix of flourescent and tungsten of all kinds so the color versions didn't look too good in my opinion. These just seemed to ask for being made into B&W shots.

I thought the black and white was genius, especially since it was still dark outside...it gave the lighting more impact and mood.