40 Street Shots By Marina Nota That Turn Ordinary Moments Into Magic

When asked what first drew her to street photography, Marina describes it as an “urge to document the life and details on the streets of Athens, which most of the time remain overlooked.” The photographer added, “Also, I love the process of being on the street taking pictures. It makes me feel like being a part of a bigger living organism and allows me to fully understand and absorb the city’s spirit and heartbeat.”

We were curious to know what Marina considers the most unexpected or surreal scene she has ever captured. Here’s what we found out: “In general, my style of photography is to capture scenes depicting ordinary moments of life and city details, so it actually shifts from the classic street photography style of surrealism. In that sense, I don’t consider any of my photos to have an element of surrealism or unexpected scenes.”

The Greek photographer also shared with us: “In my work, I usually incorporate colour as a means of enveloping mood and emotion. I believe that each city is characterised by specific colours which signify a certain era and state of the city. In my opinion, for Athens, these are primarily the colours red and yellow, so there is a recurring pattern I use when photographing, for example, Athens’ yellow taxis. My goal in general is to use ordinary elements of the city in order to depict an alternate but at the same time existent reality.”

Lastly, we were eager to learn the most valuable lesson the photographer has taken away from capturing street images. She shared: “That’s a very interesting question. I believe the most important lesson I learned from street photography is that if you pay attention, you will start noticing things that matter. If you start noticing things, you’ll be able to understand more about your own self. Also, observing people will alter your perspective of the world in general as you gradually understand that in our core as a universal species, love, sensitivity, grace, and fragility more often than we think manage to surpass hatred, vulgarity, selfishness, and cruelty.”