{"id":30587,"date":"2026-02-08T17:31:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T15:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vaiosvitos.com\/?p=30587"},"modified":"2026-02-08T18:14:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T16:14:54","slug":"lake-kerkini-pelicans-mark-smith-week-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vaiosvitos.com\/el\/2026\/02\/08\/lake-kerkini-pelicans-mark-smith-week-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"\u039c\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b5\u03b2\u03b4\u03bf\u03bc\u03ac\u03b4\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03a0\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03ba\u03ac\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c4\u03b7 \u03bb\u03af\u03bc\u03bd\u03b7 \u039a\u03b5\u03c1\u03ba\u03af\u03bd\u03b7: \u03a3\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03ce\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b5\u03b4\u03af\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bc\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd Mark Smith \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03ad\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are weeks at Lake Kerkini that feel less like workshops and more like shared field expeditions. This was one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I welcomed Mark Smith<\/a> and his friends for a full winter week dedicated to Dalmatian Pelicans – and a few Great White Pelicans, or \u201cPinkies\u201d as my guests and I like to call them \u2014 shaped by cold mornings, quiet boat rides, a brief moment of snow, and that familiar sense of anticipation that only Kerkini brings when the first light begins to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slow Mornings, Intentional Photography<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We began each day before sunrise. No rush. No pressure. Just preparation, silence, and respect for the birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winter in Kerkini strips everything down to essentials. Light becomes softer, movements slower, and the pelicans \u2014 massive, calm, aware \u2014 dictate the rhythm. From the very first morning, it was clear that this group understood the value of patience over speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thank you, Beckie, for this epic image!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Watching Mark Work in the Field<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of my favorite parts of the week was simply watching Mark in the field. He has that rare calm focus that doesn\u2019t announce itself \u2014 no big gestures, no rushing. He reads the scene quietly, adjusts small things with intention, and commits fully when the moment is right. On the boat, he stayed locked in as the light shifted, tracking tiny changes in behavior and body language, waiting for the exact head angle, the wing position, the spacing in the frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside stills, Mark was of course filming. Switching seamlessly between photography and video, he treated motion with the same discipline: steady compositions, long observations, and an understanding that real wildlife footage is built on patience, not coverage. Watching him move between the two mediums reinforced how closely they\u2019re connected when the foundation is strong field awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n