He was born in Athens in 1907 and followed the family tradition by attending the Hellenic Naval Academy, graduating in 1927 as a line Ensign. He served on various ships, as well as in staff and administrative positions within the Hellenic Navy.

During the Greco-Italian and Greco-German wars, he served continuously aboard the destroyer "Queen Olga," participating in all operations of that period. In April 1941, before the Germans entered Athens, he followed the Fleet during its evacuation to the Middle East and was subsequently stationed on the battleship "Georgios Averof," taking part in allied operations in the Indian Ocean.
From 1943 to 1946, he participated in World War II within the ranks of the Royal Indian Navy, and later, until his recall from the reserves, worked in the Merchant Navy.

From a young age, he passionately pursued photography as an amateur, maintaining a darkroom for developing and printing black-and-white film, while also engaging with filmmaking. In the 1940s, he acquired a Cine-Kodak Model E 16mm movie camera, which he used to capture most of the footage in the places he lived or visited, reviving memories of a bygone era.