One day I was walking toward the sea on the southern coast of Crete. Beyond the distand cliffs lay Africa, two hundred miles away. Here Greece ends. It was a warm overcast day as I picked my way over the rocky outcroppings of the barren landscape. The silence of the place was touched only by the distant tinkling of sheep bells.

As I walked, raising my head occasionally to the sea, I began to discern an unusual black shape in the distance. Soon it became apparent that this immobile object was a man sitting on a rock. He was resting his hand, his eyes covered. His other hand grasped a shepherd's staff, its crook resting under his arm.

As I came closer, I slowed my pace and moved more gently over the rocks. I felt that I was invading a vast and serene privacy, which would be shattered by my presence. I held my breath as I moved closer for fear of startling the man. I expected him to look up at any moment, then I stopped, only a few feet from the bent figure. I slowly raised the camera to my eye and pressed the button. He slowly raised his head, looked at me calmly, and said good morning. The picture had been taken, and the experience was ended.

Each photograph in this portfolio was a personal experience and a particular moment in time both for the photographer and for the subject. The people in these photographs lived in small villages and isolated farmhouses scattered over the Greek countryside. They were mostly poor people, but extremely proud and strongly defined as individuals. Most of the young had left to seek work in the cities of Greece and distant lands, leaving behind a sparsely landscape of old people and children.

My passage through this countryside was leisurely and unplanned, that of a friendly observer. My presence was accepted with unquestioning warmth and hospitality. In time I came to learn that nothing is more sacred to the rural Greek than philoxenia, which literally translated means "friendship toward the stranger".

The resulting photographs should be viewed as one man's experiences in Greece. No attempt has been made to define Greece or the Greek people, for such attempts inevitably lead to generalities. By his unique nature each human being defies generalities, and no two people are the same. The individual is constantly changing in relation to time, his environment, and other people. Selecting a split second in which to arrest this passage through time is the unique magic of the camera. These small particles of time have passed. Whatever truth and meaning they might possess are captured forever in these images.