Monday 30 January 2012

Snow!

...at last! (See below)
I'll have to hurry, it won't last very long, but tomorrow could reach -10°.
Well, it's a start, hey?

Sunday 29 January 2012

Cold Camera (1)

I couldn't find my piano in the church today (no, I will nòt explain this any further) so I had an earlier walk, this morning.
Good! Because the metereoliars said it would be really cold, great to test cold-camera-handling.
Well, turned out to be only nil° below zero, but I learned two important things:

1:  the light was surprisingly low, 1/20 at F3,5 (the Complan is fixed) and

2:  then the Minox was difficult to handle (and rather cold too, I must admit). Impossible with gloves, probably.

At 1/20 you need a pole or something, and in Siberia you'll need an axe to remove the poor thing from that pole.

Friday 27 January 2012

Linguistic

Isn't this strange: the word UKPA means calf (from your leg), ànd caviar. I have no idea why that is and in fact I should: because in Dutch the word "kuit" means calf, and caviar. (And that is not in E, Fr, D, I and so on...)

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Russian cameras


Arrived today: 1980 Kiev. I don't think the big chunky Salyut is the right one for the Siberian winter, I will stick (or freeze) to small FEDs, Elikons etc. because they can be kept warm in my pocket.
 My first real camera was also Russian: the now famous Lyubytel (=amateur). I still have the box (and a more recent Lubitel 166B). A great "teacher". (In the sixties I made real art with that, as you can see.)

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Russian Language

 I am probably the laziest man in town. I never did like studying or practising (ask my teachers). When I hàve to learn something I surround myself with "relating objects" and hope for the best (telepathy...)
When in Siberia do like... or was that Rome? Anyway, at the moment I have a sixty years old grammar, a knyga dlya pyervowo styenya, Zolotaya Ryga (nice! kind of Tilsitter Edam), caviar of course, I love that, and lots of vodka (I don't know whether that really helps but it makes me feel as if I speak fluently Russian...)




And I read a poem of Mayakovsky, proud, clear (and short).
Good man. you should google him.

Monday 23 January 2012

The times they are a changing...


Yes I knòw it won't look like that anymore; I hope, because this is open-air soup for starving children.
 But on the other hand, the St. Stevensplein in my home town looks almost the same, 120 years later. And even now, IN THE NETHERLANDS 300,000 children live in poverty.

Sunday 22 January 2012

Starting...



January 2012 and a decision has been made. 2014: Siberia, Irkutsk, Baikal.
 With as much Russian cameras as I can carry, to catch the culture I know absolutely nothing about, shame on me, and the nature I love.

This will be a very slow blog, for the time being, about Russian photography, learning the language, and some food but I know:  suddenly it ìs 2014 and there still is so much to do, long walks to get in shape, reading, OMG I will nèver be ready in time...!