I used to think there was no wildlife around Akademgorodok. That was before I got into photography. Oh! I used to be such a banal pointer-and-shooter, oblivious to the beauty of nature surrounding me. How could I just go around like that and watch the world through 7.1 Megapixels only? Why did nobody tell me about features other than the "Auto" mode? Am I the first one to open my eyes beyond what's on my old tiny LCD screen? Are we all walking through life, blind to the beauty around us just because the Auto mode of our camera does not have the right shutter speed or aperture?
I now have a big heavy camera with many buttons. It's black, it has many features, and I look very cool when I walk with it. And the Auto mode works great. And now I see the world from another perspective. Let's just take wildlife as an example (our first example of what I believe will be a long series): What I thought was a tamed schnauzer is now revealed to me as a fierce predator. Look how he nearly breaks that branch by the strength of his jaws! and how he rests on the beach like a... wild thing that he is!
And look at these birds: isn't that wild? That's not your grandma's chicken, I can tell you that.
And with my new camera, even toads that copulate look good... I am so excited about the new dimension that is now open to me with this big black camera. More beautiful pictures on your way very soon...
Who is the bright guy in Russia who decided that central heating needs to be shut down in the spring, once the temperature exceeds 8degC for a week? Nobody else wants to write an addendum to that policy saying that central heating must be switched back on if the temperature drops below zero and if snow is falling? It's freezing here!
The whole city has transformed for the May 9th parade, the biggest event in the year. Billboards and giant pictures are on display in all the streets and on the buildings.
The excitement has built up for days now, and I could hardly sleep the night before. We woke up early to try to beat the crowd and get good spots. Obviously, we failed, and when we arrived, all good spots were already taken.
So here is what we can bring back from our celebration day:
A few pictures from the back stage, taken minutes before the parade:
Girls adjusting their combat outfit,
-The regiment of orange berets,
-Some other regiment, more friendly,
-And the typical police car with the front hood open (nothing really different from an everyday picture).
And here some pictures we managed to take by stretching our arms really high:
Conclusion: In spite of my really cool new camera, I was not able to get a decent picture from this memorable day. Plus the new camera is a bit too heavy for the 'stretched-arm-picture mode'. Next year I will go with a periscope instead of a camera. Still, it was a nice day to be outside and we had good shashliks by the river.
