See them all at once
Look at thumbnails of all the photographs from Siberia,
Moscow,
RedSquare, or Nightlife
in this country.
Each picture was made with the Agfa
ePhoto 1280 digital camera.
Litsvyanka, Siberia
A two day trip by train from Mongolia left me in Siberia and the capable
hands of Elena my tour guide from Irkutsk. Accompanied by twelve fellow
travellers we hopped in a van and were whisked to Litsvyanka, on the shores
of Lake Baikal, the oldest, longest, deepest and cleanest lake on the planet.
Litsvyanka is a small village devoted to fishing and vacationing. We stayed
with an old couple we named Mama and Papa Ludmilla. After feeding ourselves
on packaged noodles during the train journey, the Ludmillas feasts were
immense, each of us adding long forgotten pounds to our bellies.
Looking at Litsvyanka
GreenWindows
- windows defined the village, with each unique as the owners
WhiteWindows
- another window view of the village
House - more windows
in the village
Fence - surrounding
the grounds of the Orthodox church
Lada - the russian auto
against a wood fence
Ludmillas - waiting
for us to get ready for dinner
mamaLudmilla
- our host and grandmother Ludmilla
PapaLudmilla
- Ludmillas husband, Papa Ludmilla
MadLudmilla -
telling off one of us for being out too late
FishLady - the local
vendor of raw fish
ShopLadies - happily(?)
selling fish
Salesgirl - in
Irkutsk market
Bartender - young,
efficient, without humor
Meat - selling meat
at the main market in Irkutsk
Campfire - backpackers
telling lies
Baikal - from the
bow of the ferry
BaikalSail - sunset
sailing on Lake Baikal
BoatBow - at the
port and center of town
BoatColors - twins
except for paint
AnclhorAb - an
anchor on weatherbeaten boat
BoatsReflection
- in bay at sunse
RoundWindows
- boat protholes in the late summer sun
Diving Lake Baikal at Litsvyanka
James - me in a
drysuit ready to drop into 40 degree water
Pearce - Pierce
ready to go into Baikal
Dive - the research
staff suiting up
JimnPearce
- Pierce and I ready for action
Boat - a big craft
for two divers no?
PearceBino
- checking for fresh-water seals
JimEmerging
- frozen but coo-looking
Staff - the chase
boat on our dive
Red Square and the Kremlin,
Moscow, Russia
A short stay in Moscow usually leads tourists to downtown and the Red
Square/Kremlin areas. Given all the history behind these buildings it's
a wonder that everyone mostly sits about and has their portraits taken
in front of the bricks. On my summer day trips to the square it is hard
to imagine it as the same place that witnessed years of military equipment
parades, perhaps the most lasting impressions I had of the country until
now.
Red Square
General - general
in charge of red army during ww2
Statue
Overall - St.
Peters Church
Ab2
Cops - police
at Lenin's tomb
Cops
ChurchEaves
- arches in red
Morning - sunrise
at north end of square
Windows - windows
at square
Tourists - trendy
tourists
GombWindows
- Gomb department store windows
Ab4Clouds -
church with clouds
Clock - Kremlin
clock from square
Wide - the wide view
of the square at dusk
Nameplate - love
that alphabet
Statue - in front
of the church
Ab1 - the most well
known architecture in Russia
Over2Clds -
church with clouds
Leninstomb -
abstract of the stonework
SelfPortrait
- me and St. Pete's
Kremlin Churches
ChurchCeiling
ChurchPaintings
ChurchPosts
Belltower
Door
Steeples
Steeples2
Steeples3.
Around Town, Moscow, Russia
I noticed the color in Moscow at once. I always imagined the city as
one big grey, windy, concrete grid. In fact, it's quite lovely, with lots
of european architecture, stylish inhabitants and questionably financed
luxury cars zooming about. Also, the young people of Moscow are not the
drab, downtrodden youths we Westerners might expect. There is a vibrant,
stylish culture surrounding the entire downtown, that is quite a breath
of fresh air after the backroads of Asia..
YoungDnG - brand loyalty is
fashion
YoungDress - wild dress in
traditional soviet place
YoungSmoker - stylish and
smoking at thirteen
YoungSveta - Sveta: cropped,
dyed, and employed as an animator
YoungBullseye - wild dress
abstract
LeninPoser - gotta earn
a living somehow. H gets paid to look like Lenin
NightHorse. - shadow on the
square
hiClassStore. - Ikea it
ain't. Posh department store interior
NightDomeAbs - lighted
dome clock downtown
facade - architectural abstract
at sunrise
MonestarySteeples
- behind the Bolshoi
NightWindows - at the square
NightDome - lighted dome clock
downtown
CommuterTrain - remnant
of the CCCP at Mockba train station
NetCafe - a nice one, just opened
in downtown
AirportNumbers - abstract
of gate entrances Moscow airport
AirportCeiling - abstract
of ceiling Moscow airport
AirportCeilingBig
- abstract of ceiling entrances Moscow airport
GovWindows - french architecture
in downtown Moscow
Moscow, Russia, The Hungry
Duck
Every big city has it's bar-of-the-moment. In Moscow the most notorious,
if not the most popular, is the Hungry Duck Bar and Grill. Every expatriate
I met in town would grin widely and groan at the same time when asked about
the Duck. Purely for journalistic curiosity I visited and was met with
a truly unexpected scene. Decadent? Unruly? Heaven? Check
it out for yourself, but be warned of some nudity and lots of beer.