Dimitris Doutsiopoulos, Photographer - Owner of Stands.Gr company - Greece

    photo © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos

Dimitris Doutsiopoulos: " Think as a unit, act as a team"

BPP: Identity: Who you are? And who you really are?

Dimitris Doutsiopoulos: My name is Dimitris Doutsiopoulos. I am 28 years old and live in Thessaloniki, Greece. I have studied Management and have been professionally practising it for the past ten years. I’ve been working in the family company up until 2010, at which point I started my own company that mainly produces metallic product stands, and other wire and metallic products.

I’ve always been restless and always tried to find different ways to express myself. I was involved in music for years, playing the keyboard and it really was (and still is) a great way to express my feelings. In more recent years I got interested in video editing but Photography as a hobby hadn’t yet crossed my mind.

   Photo © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos

About three years ago I started getting more and more excited about Photography. Subsequently, I started studying hard, as at the time, I didn’t have a single clue about the techniques or visual arts in general. I studied with persistence, I exercised as much as I could and eventually became proud enough of my work to show it publicly, saving every comment or review and using it to improve my skills. It surely was a personal bet for me.

   Photo © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos

Somewhere in the meantime, I became member of FOAPTH (Photography Association of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) which greatly helped me evolve as a photographer. Participating in many of its exhibitions helped me gain experience and learn more about the world of Photography. Long story short, I’m happy to say that I’m currently a professional freelance photographer and have been for this last year.

After years of personal and artistic quests, I feel that I finally found a form of art that lets me be as creative and intuitive as I can be! I think that artistic expression is an innate human need that has to be let out or else it can devour your. It’s like a little child. If you pay attention to it, it will show you the way, what it wants to do, where it wants to go!

Photography, friends and travelling are the things that fill my life’s bottle!

    Photo © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos

BPP: If you could say something important you've learned all these years of your life, to the other people and they were able to listen to you, what would you like to tell them?

Dimitris Doutsiopoulos: The most important thing I’ve learned is that you have to fight for everything you dream, believe in yourself and truly want to succeed. I also value honesty and faith as the great virtues they are. You cannot evolve without being honest to yourself and others and without believing in your own strength.

    Photo ©  by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos

BPP: What is your real dream, the one that keeps you awake at nights and if one day it will come true, you will feel your heart calm and peaceful?

Dimitris Doutsiopoulos: First of all, I will never stop dreaming! I would love to grab a backpack and trek around the world. Trying to expand my personal views and my artistic perception. I would love to stand on top of the world’s highest building - a building that no one has imagined yet, staring the world from up there and taking pictures of the breath-taking view.

Honestly, I would love to become a famous, innovative artist. It’d mean a lot to me if people were anxious for my next project. And I would certainly feel as complete as possible when I get to hold my own child in my arms.

   Photo © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos

BPP: How is life for the people in your country today? What do you wish to happen to them and to the people of this planet at large?

Dimitris Doutsiopoulos: Unfortunately, Greeks are experiencing a very harsh time, mostly due to the financial crisis. The biggest problem though is that their future seems even darker than their present.

I really hope that Greeks and every other nation on this planet will find the strength to overcome their problem. The best way to overcome every obstacle is to try to be creative and productive and try to work as a team. Think as a unit, act as a team.

   Photo © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos

BPP: If you had the chance to be a child again, will you choose to do the same life you do?

Dimitris Doutsiopoulos: I guess I wouldn’t change anything in my life. I faced (and still do) a lot of problems that I have to deal with. Things didn’t came easily. There were lot of delays and disappointments but I feel that everything has a meaning. It’s the way the universe balances itself. I’m doing a job that I love and photography is

a significant part of my life now becoming a professional occupations rather than just hobby. I’m also blessed with people in my life that actually care for me and support me all the way.

   Photo  © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos 

BPP: Which exactly was the moment you understood what you want to do in your life? How did you feel at this very moment?

Dimitris Doutsiopoulos: It surely was before I finished school. I was about 16-17 years old when I realized (and confirmed any thoughts I did before) that I wanted to study Management and try to succeed somehow in the business world. Photography back then, wasn’t even a random thought. Music though, was a present perspective. I have been playing the keyboard for years, and for some period I was determined to follow that path professionally.

   Photo © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos

BPP: Something yours: Do you want to tell us something we didn't ask you until now?

Dimitris Doutsiopoulos: I truly believe that the need to make art is in every man’s soul. It can’t be simply found in schools and books if a part of it isn’t already there. Creativity will always find a way to be expressed in public. Thankfully there are still people, like Mrs. Ismini Karali, who encourage artistic expression.

    Photo © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos

   Dimitris Doutsiopoulos' drawing for BPProject

If you want to learn more about Dimitris Doutsiopoulos:

https://www.facebook.com/dDoutsiopoulos.Photography

http://ddoutsiopoulos.deviantart.com/

Photos © by Dimitris Doutsiopoulos .All rights reserved.