1. your ordinary side: I have to be out doing something or else I feel stagnant. I spend a lot of time in nature, in the mountains, looking for shots, scoping out lines. I like pushing my limits you know? In everything…

2. your extra-ordinary side: I can sometimes relax.

3. what do you brew in the pot? I’m in this weird transition phase right now, hard to know up from down, just moved back to Europe from New Zealand, working freelance and I find myself wondering what tomorrow will bring. I love taking my work to cool places, literally, like up in the mountains, deep in the backcountry, or hanging off the side of a tower somewhere shooting some cool shit. I’m here now shooting for a documentary on the history of snowboarding in Greece, and it’s been an awesome experience. Touring the Greek mountains with some super motivated shredders has been amazing. There’s such rad terrain here it blows me away! I wanna make sure people see how much fun you can have in nature you know… I feel like city people get ‘trapped’ in the city. I used to be a hard out city person, and I still love it, but interacting with nature has become more of a focus.

4. had you the choice before birth would you choose to be a man or a woman? Uhm… after today’s conversation in the office, definitely a man! haha, no tampons, no peeing sitting down and no crazy mood swings… well, maybe one or two haha.

5. your most precious possession: My multitool. no not that one… my Leatherman. It’s been my handy little life saver in some pretty sticky situations.

6. a luxury that you owe to yourself and never abandon: I have a deep appreciation for good food. I think there’s nothing that could stop me from eating a good (healthy) meal. Food makes me whole you know. That feeling of being out on a mission somewhere, walking or hiking all day, filming, riding, jumping, falling, sweating, and then you finally get to sit down and stuff your face with something that just makes you feel like “GOD DAMN… this bread is THE SHIT!”. Yeah I couldn’t live without good food.

7. a habit that can be translated into an obsession: Being productive has kind of become an obsession. I feel really bad inside if I get to the end of the day and I’ve done nothing. Like working towards something, or going on a little mission, or planning something, or having an interesting and constructive conversation. It’s all peachy when you’ve got work to do, but sometimes I need to learn to relax and just sit back and do nothing, enjoy the world without needing to create… just for a moment.

8. what can drive you to crime? Haha, the only time I’ve been at ends with the MAN, is trying to get into places I’m not really allowed to be in. Most of the time you can kind of talk your way into or out of situations, but sometimes there’s that one asshole who just won’t let it go, and then you have to figure out if it’s worth it, or just bail. I don’t like being told no, so yeah, that’s probably it. Oh I stole some chewing gum when I was a kid. So that too.

9. the ideal soul mate would have the characteristics of a toy camera, a dslr, or a go pro? Toy cameras are usually fun for a little while, then just sit on a shelf. DSLRs are complex and fulfil many uses, but can sometimes be a burden to carry around. Gopros on the other hand are rugged, easy to use and love to go on adventures… easy choice there.

10. a dream that visits you quite frequently: There are these three mafia characters that chase me down some narrow streets in a yellow VW bug, like the old ones, and I can’t run fast enough to get away. That’s actually a recurring dream I have, no joke. I think it means I have to run faster.

13. how does your adventurous nature occupies itself while you shoot and film a wedding? is a bow-tie as exciting a the bungee jumping rope? Shooting anything is a challenge. If it stops being a challenge then it’s not fun and inevitably that leads to mediocrity. And mediocrity sucks. So I try and set myself a goal of overcoming a new challenge when I shoot anything. If I’m filming some guy jumping off a big tower I’ve got to think of all the safety risks, and if I’m shooting a wedding I’ve gotta be totally on the ball with timings, horribly lit chapels and making sure to capture all the good moments. Basically a wedding is more complex because you’ve got all these different factors like crowd dynamic, group psychology, time schedules and data management to deal with. So really, shooting a guy jumping off a bridge is actually more of a relaxing job haha!

14. a question you always wanted to answer: In Quantum Leap, the TV show, if Sam Beckett time travelled into the body of a quadriplegic, would he be able to walk? And vice versa: If he was paralysed, and leaped into the body of a fully functional person would he have the brain capacity to control their limbs properly? I’m totally baffled by this.

you can find more about Themis and his work at his website Jagged Melon Productions and his Facebook page

(photos by Gertrude Gary Milk, post created especially for teapot.gr)