Posts Tagged "love"
Evgeniya: Future Baker
Evgeniya and her boyfriend Vanya (left) were visiting the friend (right) who initially intoduced them. Evgenia said she is going to be a baker like her grandmother. She fondly recalled visiting her grandmother at work for first time at the age of 8. Her grandmother let her play with the dough. I asked Evgenia what her favorite pastery is. 'Eclair - it's the hardest to make, but it is the most delicious.'
Valeria: Lover of Animation
Valeria, 17, said she is a big fan of Japanese culture and wanted to study the language at university. As it wasn't offered at university, she signed up for Chinese, the closest thing in her view. She said every Friday fans of animation in Minsk meet, which is where she met her boyfriend. She said 'finding her soul mate' was the most important event in her life in 2014.
Vitali: Love at First Sight_
Katya and Vitali, 18, were taking selfies near a Minsk metro when I saw them. I asked Vitali what the most memorable event was in his life in 2014 and he basically answered 'right here, right now because Katya and I have met.' I asked him what he meant, and he answered that they met a few months ago via social media and wrote often. They met for the first time that day I photographed them. I asked what they had in common. "Everything," Vitali answered.
Vera: Family Emigration Story
I will post a few portraits from a short trip to Minsk, Belarus that I hope will shed some light on the people and the country. I will start it off with Vera, whom I randomly met when I lost the keys to the flat I was renting in Minsk.
Vera told me her great grandfather left Czarist Russia to work in a Canadian mine to help pay off land debts. When her g-grandfather returned, he discovered that his wife had left for Moscow with the money and a lover. He remarried at 40 and had six children, one of whom died in a concentration camp during WWII, which took the lives of at least 20% of the population. One of the six - her grandmother - is still alive, age 90, and lives alone in a village, something not uncommon. Vera commented that Belarusians still migrate abroad for work much like her grandfather did a century ago. Indeed, quiet a few of the people I spoke with in Minsk considered working abroad as salaries at home are quite low.
As for the lost key, it had the address written on it. When the flat manager arrived to give me a new key, I raised the question of paying for a new door lock. He was relaxed 'Minsk is quite safe. The person who finds it will be too scared to try robbing the flat.' Four days later, no one but myself entered the flat. Minsk indeed seemed to be a safe city.
Calcutta Kiosk Owner in Moscow
I have bought chewing gum from him at his very small kiosk stand near a Moscow metro for the past 11 months, but only recently asked him about himself. He said his name is Habib and came to Russia more than a decade ago from Calcutta, India to study medicine... following the steps of one of his relatives, who studied medicine in Russia during Soviet times. Habib got his medical degree and would have returned to Calcutta he says .... had he not fallen in love with another med student from Russia. He says he works at a hospital in addition to working at the kiosk.
Russian Soldier Says Farewell
Mussia-NYC Photo Series 22
This couple was out for a stroll in a Moscow park as summer neared an end. Sporting NYC and Memphis sweaters, they said they were studying medicine and economics.
Russia-NYC Photo Series 19
The skies opened up and rain poured down when I saw Mikhail in his Brooklyn shirt in Moscow. Neither of us had an umbrella, yet he didn't mind chating or being photographed in the rain. He said he grew up in the former Soviet republic of Moldova. While working at an Italian restaurant in Moscow, he fell in love with a co-worker ... though he didn't start dating her until he changed jobs. She is from the Moldavan breakaway region of Pridnestrovie. They are now married and will be having their first child soon. He says they will continue to rent in Moscow as apartment prices and mortgages (avg ~12%) are too expensive - an all to common complaint. On a separate note, this is the second guy I spoke with this summer who married a co-worker from a Moscow restaurant - both women were from Pridnestrovie.
Olga: Grandmother Knitting at Park
Olga, a manager at a bread producer, was sitting near a park entrance on a late Sunday afternoon in southern Moscow. She said she was knitting clothing for her 2 year-old granddaughter, something Olga said she enjoys doing that in her free time.
Dog in Metro
Owning a small dog has been trendy in Moscow the last few years, but I don't often see owners taking them into the metro. This couple was returning from a park late in the evening and allowed me to photograph them.
