Next Diary
Next Diary
(Continuation of Feb. 1,
1999)
That brings us to our pictorial essay:Winter. I've taken all these over the last few days and I'll try to let the pictures guide the story.
First, from three or four days ago, a picture of our favorite church out our living room window. As this weather has descended on us we have continued to be mesmerized by our view. It's like watching a winter storm roll in from the Pacific and spill over familiar rocks and sand. The image is always different but somehow the same.
As winter returns, we have been gently reminded that we live a sheltered life. We've been noticing an old lady sleeping on the bench below our window. I caught a picture of her at the same time as the one of the snow covered church. The lady arrives late at night and leaves early in the morning and gets covered by whatever snow the night brings. As the snow worsened, she stopped appearing.
Yesterday, I walked along the bluff that overlooks the lower city and the left bank of the Dniper river. The wind was cold so I didn't stay long but the pictures of walking in the park and of an old tree seemed to capture a gentler side of our snowy days.
Today, the storm hit seriously. It's probably 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, minus six or seven Celsius. The wind is blowing steadily and snow has been constant since this morning. It's not accumulating beyond a foot or so but it's blowing around as well. Marianne is hoping for a snow-day off from school tomorrow. I may even end up with a phone and e-mail day myself but that depends more on my driver than on me. But for today, I packed up a couple cameras, bundled up in long underwear and layers and headed out on a shoot.
I didn't go far. In the St. Sophia church yard next door, I enjoyed the mysterious atmosphere that snow makes. Most of my shots were on film but here are a couple digital shots: First, a mom (or grandma?) pulling her kid on a sled around the church grounds. Next, just empty park benches.
After warming up in the church gift shop, I headed out to our normal shopping street: Artema. Normally this street is filled with traffic but it was a different story today. There was even one intrepid skier. Both these scenes made it perfectly clear that it was nasty out there. My last outdoor shot did the same. This building is about two blocks from here but I don't think I've ever even seen it before. Today the color and the Soviet-era mosaic on the front caught my eye.
When I got home, Marianne said she had been worried because it had gotten so snowy she thought I'd gotten lost. I reassured her I was never more than three blocks away and never in any danger. This storm must have looked worse from our window to her than it did on the street to me.
Now I have to rush to publish before America wakes up. Or at least before the Super Bowl.
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
Next Diary
Home Diaries Best Pictures Road Trip
Originally sent February 1, 1999. Re-formatted for the web May 31, 2001.
This page created on a Macintosh using PhotoPage by John A. Vink.