"I am Stella, I am greekamerican!" she told me when we first met in broken greek and with that proud tone that only in greeks living abroad you can meet nowdays.
Stella is a photographer that came to Crete a few years ago to teach in a photography workshop. Since then , she keeps on returning to the island in every opportunity, so that we consider her "one of us".
Her temper is explosive, her laughter loud, something original comes out of her.
I show her my photos.
Andreas, where is the love?
I cannot grasp the meaning of what she says. Looking at her, watching the way she reacts and how she approaches life, I realize that what she asks of me has nothing to do with photography - this is just a side effect. She asks me to put emotion to my life, to love what I do and leave behind my protective walls and expose myself to others.
Stella has been like that since day one. And this is the reason I think that she loved Crete and people here loved her back.
Story and photo: Andreas Brokalakis