Rtveli means "harvest (grapes)" in Georgian - a hugely important event in the country, especially in Kakheti, which grows most of the grapes, and where most of my in-laws live. Here, brother-in-law Zura and I are taking buckets of grapes to the press, which sends them to the huge clay kvevri waiting below ground. (Focus was a bit off on 2 of these as I'd forgotten to put the choice back from manual to autofocus on the camera, but never mind, it'll do for the blog.)
Do CDs really have that rainbow sheen you've seen in photos, or is it an illusion? No trick of the light here, as direct images show (though you can't prove easily that the effect is part of the photo, I suppose). Just playing with my camera in October.
Insectophobes, beware! Today's images - of a praying mantis in Georgia's old capital, Mtskheta - won't please you. But it's a harmless creature at this size, its sharp forelegs little able to pierce my fingers as they do the other insects on which it preys.
Today: Remember, to avoid repeating, if possible in this world. Fascism was defeated those decades ago, but communism had taken solid hold.
Hard to believe it's been 17 years since I was all over Eastern Europe - Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine - before settling in St. Petersburg, Russia in September 1992. The bottom 2 shots are from Czestochowa, famed for its Black Madonna icon. Just above them, the 2nd frame is the main square of beautiful Krakow.
My 800th blog post!
3 more from where I lived from late 1989 to mid-1991: Sturminster Newton, Mere and the Blackmore Vale. After that I found myself in Moscow, USSR (as it was), and caught the coup attempt against Gorbachev on film in late August (photos from which can be found much earlier on the blog).
We're going there tomorrow for a few months, so a few early images from the region- roughly scanned from film way back in the day, but still serviceable.
Salt lake near Jvari Monastery, Lali's cousin Gio and I
View from Jvari Monastery window to the confluence of Rivers Aragvi and Mtkvari
Welcome to the first Moroccan visitor! Country number 118!
Happy Birthday Ang! I hope someone spends a few hundred billion $ on you today, have a blast, wish I could be there...
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...
... So a friend lent me her 70-300mm lens for the EOS for a few days. I was ready. Last post's bottom 2 Guinea-fowl frames were via this lens. So are today's crazy out-of-focus shots, which all occurred at or near the tiny bit of sunlit stream in the bottom shot. Put the lens on manual focus, establish an average manual exposure as well, and DREAM. Just water, and spiderwebs (middle shot).
Guinea-fowl chick: A bird in the hand...
Many-legged monstrosity in my coffee mug
