Samur forest and Caspian shore

Samur forest and Caspian shore

We all could not wait the trip to Samur forest. Wildlife photographer Valery Moseykin, “Photo Expedition” leader and the author and guide of the first eco-tour in Dagestan, was talking about this wonderful forest with admiration since the very beginning. So with expectations that high, the long way from Mahachkala to Samur river actually looked not that long at all. In addition, we saw endless water space of azure and calm Caspian Sea to the left, and Caucasian foothills to the right. Finally we found ourselves at the southernmost point of Russia, almost at the border with Azerbaijan.
Looks surprising, there is an asphalt road through the south-eastern side of the Samur forest. Locals take it to get to Primorsky settlement which is in 350 meters from Azerbaijan. And this road led us right to the heart of the forest.
As soon as we got out of the car, we saw adorable orchids, a species from Orchis genus. Two other species were hiding in the forest next to the glade.
Fish breeding farm was the next stop. However, we haven′t yet got under the roof as we saw a giant emperor moth, the largest butterfly of Russian fauna. Perhaps somebody frightened it, and it started flying to find a peaceful place for a midday rest.
Then we moved right to the Caspian Sea shore. At that time, the sky began to hide behind some mist and clouds, the wind almost disappeared, and a soft tide was literally pushing Caspian out of time borders. Touching the dark-grey sand, we headed to the north to spot egrets and other wetland birds.
One can move through the forest only by roads and rare paths. There is no other way, trees and everything in between were covered with smooth and thorny lianas. These jungles, an impossible for humans to cross, are home for wild cats and jackals. By the way, their concert starts on schedule—every evening at dusk, followed by cicadas and owls. The latter is quite unusual to hear in coincidence.

Григорий | Gregory 2017-07-25
The right way to shrink the digital photography archive

The right way to shrink the digital photography archive

That black day came. I am out of storage space on my file server, and have no more room to store photography. One would suggest just buying another one disk, or replace current disks with ones with larger capacity. But I should not take this extensive way. The increase of storage space will not empty the excessive data, and hgst drives are too expensive. The righteous way seems to be to systematically reduce the number of photos and to cease, at least temporarily, its replenishment. So this way is kind of no-photos vow. So some photography which will appear in my blog was created in some time in the past.

Григорий | Gregory 2017-07-16
Church of Elijah the Prophet in Yaroslavl

Church of Elijah the Prophet in Yaroslavl

You easily may pass by this Church of Elijah the Prophet, once you find yourself at Soviet Square in Yaroslavl, just in 0.5 km from the famous Monastery of Savior Transfiguration (Spaso-Preobrazhensky) in the very city center. You see white-blue-red flags that draw your attention from this church with simple white exterior. Why is it so remarkable?
Well, we know in advance, this church is the true architectural pearl. Still were impressed by its grandeur. And it′s not that much about the church′s conical roof above the bell tower, very typical to Yaroslavl architectural tradition, and not about russian ceramics in church fence decoration, and even not about its festive entrance. What really blows your mind away are frescoes. They span the walls from the floor up to the arched ceiling. Even window sides and church head inner walls are covered with painting despite the fact you see them only at a very low angle. The frescoes are dated to 17th century and not only well preserved, but are also very bright thanks to the last renovation. I use to feel like a time traveller in such places, to feel put back some centuries to the past. However, here everything is too vibrant and bright to be a reality from the past.
Everybody says that the church is big and spacious. I would not say it feels packed inside, maybe you are just so attracted to viewing frescoes that stop thinking about the building′s inner volume architectural solution.
To look at frescoes at the ceiling, you have to throw up your head and even turn 180°! Just don′t feel dizzy!
Carved guilded iconostatis is another one thing on its own. It even claims to be the richest part of the church′s interior. Nevertheless, the combination of pride of this guilded iconostasis with purity of frescoes feels harmoniuos, in contrast to that of newborn russian churches.
For sure, gallery which connects the church with bell tower, and the entrance staircase are covered with frescoes, too. When moved to Holy Protection Chapel, your are impressed with interior one more time. But here you feel the age better due to slightly worse preservation of frescoes. These remarkable paintings were made in 17th century by painters led by Guriy Nikitin and Sila Savin from Kostroma. You may find their mark on the wall, which is quite rare in our churches. It is situated in the left bottom corner under cast iron hedge along the wall, next to the door to Holy Protection Chapel. I will not cite it here—better see it yourself. Church of Elijah the Prophet belongs to Yaroslavsky State Museum-reserve and is opened for visitors during the warm season excluding rainy days.

Григорий | Gregory 2017-07-09