Posts Tagged "Moscow"
Kristina: Future ‘Image Maker’
With her bright red coat and dyed red hair, Kristina really stuck out from the crowd on this recent snowy day in Moscow. Kristina said she wants to become an 'image maker,' helping people look their best. An 'eastern dances' performer, she said the most memorable event of 2014 were her work trips to China and Turkey with her dance group. Because of her Asian features and perfect Russian, "people in Turkey and China couldn't figure out where I was from." She said she is Kazakh from the capital of Almaty but has been living in Moscow the last 4 years. She is the first Kazakh I have photographed in my portrait series .
Former Prison, Street Musician
He was walking toward Arbat Street in a colorful outfit and instrument on his back, so I stopped to chat with him. He said he was born in Krygyzstan and spent a total of 18.5 years behind bars. When I asked for what, he answered "Everything! Marihuana, theft, armed assult." He then went off to meet some young people, leaving me with the feeling he may still see the inside of a prison.#prison #moscow #russia #portrait #life#streetphoto #story #photojournalism#instagood
Fedya: Courier, Student from Uzbekistan
Fedya was wearing a 'From Brooklyn' winter hat while walking in a Moscow street underpass. He said he and his sister moved to Moscow from Bukhara, Uzbekistan. His mom passed away and his dad lives in Uzbekistan. Fedya has worked the last four years as a courier, racing around Moscow. He said he just entered university to study ecology, adding it should be a needed profession in resource-rich Uzbekistan. On a side note, NYC (Queens, not Brooklyn) is home to a large diaspora from Bukhara.
Lesha: Agro-Engineering Student
Fedya was wearing a 'From Brooklyn' winter hat while walking in a Moscow street underpass. He said he and his sister moved to Moscow from Bukhara, Uzbekistan. His mom passed away and his dad lives in Uzbekistan. Fedya has worked the last four years as a courier, racing around Moscow. He said he just entered university to study ecology, adding it should be a needed profession in resource-rich Uzbekistan. On a side note, NYC (Queens, not Brooklyn) is home to a large diaspora from Bukhara.
Alex: Santa and Skater
A few more holiday shots ....Alex was heading toward the Moscow metro around midnight a few days before the New Year's holiday, carrying his ice skates and wearing a Santa Claus mask. He said he recently lost his job - explaining why he was out so late before a work day - and was 'trying to find himself.' Having studied hospitality because he enjoys commmunicating with people, he said worked at a state-owned company under a former military official that didn't appreciate his lighter-hearted style. It wasn't as if Alex were new to such a strict environment - he said he had done his year of mandatory Russian military service. Alex said the service was in some ways a good school in preparing one for life. 'You are with complete strangers and you have no where to run. You have to learn to live with them.'
Stanislav: Seeing-Impaired Street Musician (2)
Another photo of Stanislav, the nearly-blind 77yo accordion player, who says he will play till the end. Here you can see his instrument on a cart that he was dragging through the snow. He has a stick in his other hand to help him walk.
Stanislav: Seeing-Impaired Street Musician
Before I continue with my Minsk photos, I want to post a two portraits from last 24h in Moscow to show how very different people were spending the holiday. I met Stanislav, a 77 yo accordion player, nearly a year ago at the Izmailovsky souvenir market, where he plays as tourists and Russians pass on their way to buy gifts. Today, I randomly saw him in the underpass near Izmailovsky as he dragged his accordion on a cart with one hand and used a sightseeing stick with the other. He had come to play for the holiday crowds, but the market was closed, so he was trying to find a populated place near the park. Nearly blind due - as he put it - to a bad operation, he says he won't stop playing regardless of how difficult it is to drag his stuff through the snow. "If I stop playing music, I will die. It is a holy cause." He said he was proud of his daughter, who has followed in his musical footsteps and often tours Europe to play.
Margo: Stylish Muscovite
Margo was sitting on a bench near Red Square, using her phone when I stopped to ask her about 2014 and plans for next year. She said the most important event in 2014 was her grandfather recovering from an illness. As for next year, she hoped to go visit Prague.
Ukrainian Chestnut Seller in Moscow
She was working a food stand at a Moscow Christmas market in central Moscow, turning occasionally a lever to create music and attract customers. In asked her if she was worried at all about the ruble. "Of course I am, we are all concerned because prices will go up. It probably worries us migrants more than Russians." I didn't realize she was a migrant, so I asked where she was from. 'Eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv.' She said she works in Russia a few months and then goes back home in accordance with visa rules, one of the 3 million or so Ukrainians that work in Russia. I asked if the currency instability impacted her mood. She said people have been through this before. "You have to keep living regardless of whether you are in a good mood or not." At the end of the conversation, she told me she was from western Ukraine.
Harlem in Moscow
She was walking with her friend at a Moscow park and asked me if I knew where the ice skating rink ticket booth was. I said no, taking notice of her Harlem hat and blue eye lenses. I then asked her if she knew what/where Harlem was. She said no. I asked her why she bought the Harlem hat. She said she simply liked it. I could understand her, recalling the time I bought a jacket with Japanese writing, having no idea what was written on it.
