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.

© Nicholas Mastoras
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.

© Nicholas Mastoras
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.

© Nicholas Mastoras
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.

© Nicholas Mastoras
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

© Nicholas Mastoras
2. Mykonos in the Springtime

3. The Beach of Petra on Patmos

© Nicholas Mastoras
4. A Man selling corn in Kyllini in the western Peloponnese

© Nicholas Mastoras
5. The Fanari (Lighthouse) of Mykonos

© Nicholas Mastoras
6. The village of Olympos on Karpathos

© Nicholas Mastoras
7. A view of Karpenisi

© Nicholas Mastoras
8. Dunes on Nisyros

© Nicholas Mastoras
9. Walking in the crater of the volcano on Nisyros

© Nicholas Mastoras
10. The area of alaties on Kefalonia

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

© Nicholas Mastoras
12. Patmos, Chora

© Nicholas Mastoras
13. Swimming off Mavra Volia beach on Chios

© Nicholas Mastoras
14. The beach of Psili Ammos on Patmos

© Nicholas Mastoras
15. Outdoor saunas in Oneiropetra, Evritania

© Nicholas Mastoras
16. Mavra Volia beach on Chios

© Nicholas Mastoras
17. A Mykonian horse

© Nicholas Mastoras
18. A snowy mountain road in Ano Doliana

© Nicholas Mastoras
19. Mavri Spilia in Chalki

© Nicholas Mastoras
20. Kyra Panagia beach on Karpathos

© Nicholas Mastoras