Focus... Kakheti, Georgia

Happy Birthday Ang! I hope someone spends a few hundred billion $ on you today, have a blast, wish I could be there...

Notice, in the last shot, how the out of focus highlights echo the whole scene over and over?

More focus weirdness, Kakheti, Georgia

Moving water, grass, and the decision to see them differently. Oh, and keep that aperture wide open for minimum depth of field and so the out-of-focus highlights will be circular...

Welcome to the 2 newest blog visitor countries: the Palestinian Territory and Syria!

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

Top 2: the main church in Chazhashi hamlet, including some remnants of outer-wall fresco work

Goat closeup in yer face

Water, snow and ice on the Enguri River

Svaneti, June 2007

Bottom: One I forgot to include yesterday - a strikingly realistic graffito of Ioseb Jugashvili on the wall of a house in K'ala.

Middle 2: More from the hidden little spring-fed pond near the pass above Ipari.

Top: A final look at Ushba and the pond before moving on. This was the last day of the walk, getting us to Mestia, Svaneti's capital.
Jeff did part of this section on top of the horse and her load due to bad foot blisters, but the addition of his weight didn't slow her down one bit though it must have been quite uncomfortable for him, stirrups not even visible. In the end I couldn't make her slow down even to my fast walking pace, and gave Jeff full control of her speed, which was the right answer to the problem. In Mestia he and the gear continued to Etseri by car, while I got onto the Nightmare and rode her the remaining 27 km to Etseri, some of it galloping, some in rain. Was I sore after that? You bet I was.

Stream, Victoria, BC, Canada, September 2006

A diversion from Georgia for a bit.

Details of a small stream in a park, near where I was staying with an old friend for a few days, en route to Zimbabwe. The colours reflected in the water were what interested me the most, as well as playing with slower shutter speeds to attempt to blur the water as it flowed.

Shuswap Lake, BC, Canada, August 2006

A family reunion on this magnificent lake. Perfect weather all week - I slept on a mattress on the beach every night. Catching up with relatives, some of whom I hadn't seen in many years. One morning I woke up early and, with my brother-in-law rowing beside me for safety's sake, swam across the 2.6 km of the lake's width. What a great feeling.

This shot of the lake is simply the result of moving the camera during an exposure of about 1/8 second.

Stream, Etseri, June 2003

The water of "home" again. And such a beautiful sound it makes.

Stream, Etseri, August 2001

Water is a huge subject for me, along with reflections on it. This humble stream is not often so colourful, but I see it every day when I'm "at home" in Etseri. So, plenty of time for different moods to present themselves.

Photography is mostly about a) freeing oneself from needing to think about how the equipment works and b) seeing in new ways, which are often inner visions brought to realisation.