Georgia - Doctors at Play

Nodar (left) and his colleague at the Iashvili Children's Hospital in Tbilisi, enjoying a favourite pastime in a quiet moment today.

Magti Mobile Modem again...

Today I went to an office of Magti, Georgia's largest mobile phone services provider, with my cellphone, laptop and connecting cable. A short while later I walked out with the three connected in a new way, the same as I'd arranged for my desktop last winter: now, once again, I'm equipped to access the internet from almost anywhere in Georgia! The portability of both laptop and new digital camera means that I should be able to continue posting to the blog even from Svaneti, where I'm going tomorrow for 10 days or so. Thank you, Natia, for the help, and Magti for your new packet prices which make internet down to 1/10 the price it was for me last year!

Stay tuned, blog visitors.

People of Georgia

A recent portrait - well, I shot it today. LOVE digital.

Svaneti, Georgia

Just one image to post tonight. This reflects that I returned home late, tired, and had no new digital camera work ready - just more raw 35mm film scans, for example from the April 2005 Svaneti trip. Each takes such a long time to scan and then clean up compared to digital...! I knew that this day would arrive, when I dread the cleanup of scans as compared to the ease of digital original work. Here it is, upon me - though I'll keep on scanning the film for its personal historical and, I hope, artistic value.

Hard at Work

THIS is what I can do with the new digital camera. If I set up my laptop right, I can have the story out on the blog in minutes instead of the next day, from practically anywhere, by mobile internet. Stills or video. Your Roving Reporter is gearing up in the new Georgia.

Visited an Armenian friend of mine yesterday, a jeweller - someone was having a ring resized. Ashot works from home, in the concrete jungle at the edge of Tbilisi not far from the new American Embassy. He cut two rings with a small saw, and added a section from one to the other. Nice, neat work, which I'd never seen done before. Then he refused money for his work - always a risk here when one goes to a friend for business! But I can play that game too, with a gift of a photograph, say.

The last shot is the view from where he works - not pretty, but at least there are hills for hiking a few minutes' walk away, with views of the old capital, Mtskheta.

And welcome to the first visitor from Barbados! Your country is Number 90 on the list - counting up to 100...

Time for a Change

New blog title bar today, based on the recent panorama I posted. This reflects that I'm soon to move back home to Ushguli, subject of this photo, for a second winter of English teaching. It also incorporates my original Geosynchronicity logo.

Becho/Ushba, Svaneti, Georgia

Three more from the April 2005 visit to Svaneti with Peter Nasmyth and Nodar Aprasidze.

The road near Becho; magnificent Mt Ushba above Becho; and a closeup of the south peak

Best View in the Caucasus...?

(Welcome to the newest countries to stop by the blog: Cayman Islands and El Salvador!)

Only one picture for now, but it's a recent favourite, a scanned film 2-frame panorama from early this year. Ushguli, of course, the top part - Zhibiani, with Mt. Shkhara, highest in Georgia at just over 5000 m, lit by sunset. It's actually about 7 km from the village; its great height and the air's clarity make it seem a short walk away.
The mountain to the right is Lamaria, 1 km or so above the village, and at its base is Lamaria Church and tower.
The left-most complete house is the Ratianis', where I wintered from November 23, 2007 to February 23, 2008; its lone window at left is from my bedroom.

Georgia: People and Places

Me!

Me with Lasha and Levan, intrepid Rustavi 2 TV guys from the Ushguli March 2008 week!

Dave doing his Minnie Mouse imitation (well, it was done to him, more like it) while getting a Tbilisi kiosk haircut!

Tbilisi riverfront at dusk, a few hours ago! Gotta luv digital photography!

People of Georgia

Peter Nasmyth, Nodar Aprasidze, another friend and I went to Etseri and Mestia, Svaneti, in April 2005, the first of 3 trips I'd make to the province that year. Crazy melting snow floods, some great photos, good times. Later, I feared that with all my comings and goings around the world that year, all of the 35mm film from those 3 journeys was somehow lost. It didn't turn up until nearly 2 years later, and now I'm scanning it for the useable stuff. Here's a self-portrait reflected in Peter's sunglasses, with the mountains near Etseri in the background. Remember this, Peter?

People of Georgia

Might as well call this set "Person of Georgia", because there's 1 man in 4 of the 5 shots.

Nodar: in Khevsureti; holding an unusual set of horns in the old Mestia Museum; with children and nieces in Dizi; and (last) with an ancient mortar, also in Dizi.

The 4th shot is of Yours Truly, Tony the Mighty Hunter, in Etseri.

People of Georgia

An odd assortment today.

Top: a former landlord, Tengiz, furniture restorer. He and his family lived on the 2nd floor of a house in Tbilisi, I on the gound floor. I was there for more than 3 years - can't remember when in the last 20 years I've been in the same place for so long, such is my life.

2nd: view from Nariqala Church over Tbilisi's Old City, winter a few years ago.

3rd: one of my very favourite shots of Tbilisi - Rustaveli Avenue, opposite the Opera House.

4th: from the Kvirikoba Church festival in K'ala, Upper Svaneti, July 2007.

Etseri and Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

Top: Ushguli. I love the look of old fences in winter, strung together from whatever's at hand. From far enough away they take on the look of that sublime Japanese brush ink painting of the simplest strokes on white paper, looking effortless but requiring enough hard practice time that the artist can say, "This took me... 20 years and 10 minutes to produce."

Second: Mt Shkhara and Lamaria Church again - different moods from anything seen before, never to be repeated

Third: More winter fences, Etseri

Fourth: Goats and pigs in the sun, Ushguli

More from Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia...

Hey, don't get tired of the place. I know I never will.

These are all from late winter-early spring 2008.

More from Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

It was really a privilege to live in Ushguli this last winter, as I hope my photographs demonstrate. (The middle shot of these 5 is of Mt Ushba from Etseri, Svaneti, which I visited in January.) It was the essence of winter, not really for cold but for amount of snow and the feeling of being shut in. But there was much beauty as well.

Georgia: People & Places

FINALLY finished scanning all 20 rolls of film from my last winter in Ushguli, Svaneti. I could have shot much more than this in the 5 months that I was there, but simply getting film from way up there was the problem, actually. Some November-December 2007 previews, including, from the top:

1st - Lamaria Church with Mt Shkhara backdrop, always spectacular

2nd - reflections in a large moonshine bottle
3rd - view through a ruined house's window

4th - one of my favourite views, from up high near the Tamar's tower overlooking the bottom of the village

5th - the top of the village by moonlight, tripod-mounted shot

People of Georgia

Just one photo for now. This is of my great friend Dennis Holt, from California, USA, living with his family in Georgia (thus a fine candidate for my People of Georgia series) and involved in all sorts of humanitarian and spiritual work. Yesterday he managed to break his 2 lower leg bones in 3 places while playing soccer, and this is him today, about 18 hours and 1 operation later, 5 screws and a bunch of amazing stitches into the bargain. 5-7 more days in hospital, up to 3 months on crutches, they say. But still smiling - good pain drugs, maybe? Seriously, you can't keep a good man down, and this is one of those. Hang in there, bro.

People of Georgia

More from Tbilisi's monuments and other art, top to bottom:

St George killing the dragon, watched over by Mother Georgia and her sword/winebowl combination ("Drink this wine, dear guest, or I'll cut your throat!" goes the joke, though the sword is supposed to be for enemies...). This combination of two far-apart sculptures had to be lined up quite carefully from near Freedom Square

Chased copper icon of Jesus, from the doors of Anchiskhati Church

A huge stone woman's head with an enigmatic smile, outside another of the Old City's very many Orthodox churches

The muse of theatre, near the Philharmonia

Etim Gurgi, poet who wrote in Georgian, Azeri and Armenian