Always smiling and brimming with positivity, talented photographer and popular Instagrammer Nicholas Mastoras describes himself as a ‘visual diarist’. He travels extensively and always seeks to preserve the special moments he shares with friends in fantastic locations through the lens of his camera.

We caught up with Mastoras for a short Q&A about his photography, and he agreed to share some of his favorite images from his travels around the country. Images that will get anyone daydreaming about their next vacation in Greece.

What do you look for in a location?

I have an innate drive to discover new destinations and Greece never ceases to excite me with its great diversity of landscapes. There are places that I want to return to again and again and that is in large part because of the people I meet there, such as in Karpathos and Mani. I believe that every place always has something that will attract me, because I explore them until I find the most interesting and ‘pristine’ sides of them.

Do you remember the first vacation you took?

My first vacation was with friends on Mykonos in the mid 1990s. I lived the party experience all the way, with a lot of late nights, dancing and swimming in the sea in the afternoons. Since then I have been back dozens of times but I now see the island with a photographer’s eye – there are still unseen parts where you can be alone.

Where do you visit, or would you like to visit, every year?

Kythira is a destination that I always want to return to. The nature of the island is so intense, its beaches are fantastic, its villages win you over immediately and the locals now treat me as one of their own.

What’s the best beach for jumping into the sea off the rocks?

There are two. One is the beach Mikri Amopi in Karpathos where you can jump in off the white rock – ‘Asproua’ as its known by the locals. The other is on a small islet near Arkious called Makronisi where the rocks are quite high and only for the brave.

What’s the best place away from the sea? I don’t know if it is the best but I always have a fantastic time in a picturesque mountain village called Doliania in Arkadia [in the Peloponnese], where there is much to explore depending on the season.

The craziest locals are found in…

I’m not sure, I probably identify with the craziness of the locals and don’t judge them as an outside observer.

Which person, living or dead, would you like to sit next to on a plane?

Henri Cartier-Bresson. I admire him because he captured, with emotion, beauty wherever he found it and unlocked people through his lens – from pupils in a small village in Thessaly to leaders of nations.

Check out more of his beautiful images below. You can also see more of Nicholas’ work at his blog anothervisualdiary.com and follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/nmastoras.  

1. Myrtos Beach, Kefalonia

2. Mykonos in the Springtime

3. The Beach of Petra on Patmos

4. A Man selling corn in Kyllini in the western Peloponnese

5. The Fanari (Lighthouse) of Mykonos

6. The village of Olympos on Karpathos

7. A view of Karpenisi

8. Dunes on Nisyros

9. Walking in the crater of the volcano on Nisyros

10. The area of alaties on Kefalonia

11. A small island off the coast near Petra on Patmos

12. Patmos, Chora

13. Swimming off Mavra Volia beach on Chios

14. The beach of Psili Ammos on Patmos

15. Outdoor saunas in Oneiropetra, Evritania 

16. Mavra Volia beach on Chios

17. A Mykonian horse

18. A snowy mountain road in Ano Doliana

19. Mavri Spilia in Chalki

20. Kyra Panagia beach on Karpathos

21. The Castle of Chalki