Posts Tagged "Street Photography"
Samara Art Students
SAMARA: Alina (left) was hanging out with friends Alexandra and Nastya by the Volga riverside in Samara, each holding hot drinks from a nearby McDonald's as they watched people skiing, walking and winter kite surfing along the frozen river. Alexandra and Nastya, 17, first met Alina at an art class they all currently attend outside of their regular studies. Alina said her favorite artist is Salvador Dali, but that she is inspired by work of modern, unknown artists ''as their art is normally created from their hearts.'' Alina said her first portrait will be that of a girl ''to show her deep inner world…what she sees and the nature she feels.''
Dima & Sveta: New Year’s Love
SAMARA: Dmitry and Sveta were walking along the frozen Volga River on Woman’s Day, far from the rest of the holiday goers that were enjoying the beautiful sunset. Dmitry, who works for a local power company, said he met Sveta at a New Year’s eve costume party in the Samara suburbs to ring in 2014. He was dressed as a martian and she was dressed as a robot…
Daughter Runs LA Music Store
SAMARA: This couple was returning home on Woman's Day from their walk across the frozen Volga with their 8 month-old dog. They said it only took about 15-20 minutes to make the cross, which others complete via a boat ride across the ice. They said their daughter has been living in Los Angeles for the last three years with her Russian husband, having opened a music retail store.
Ksenia & Danil: Samara Starbuck’s Lovers
Ksenia and Danil, 14, were walking along the frozen Volga in Samara around sunset time on Woman's Day. Danil had given her five tulips, red and yellow, but Ksenia left them at a cafe fearing they would freeze if she took them on their Volga River walk. Both teenagers study English 6 times a week at an advanced high school and both have studied English abroad, Ksenia having spent 3 weeks in upstate New York. Danil would like to be a chemist while Ksenia said she would like to become an engineer. When I asked them what is lacking in Samara, they were quick to answer: ''We want a Starbucks in the middle of the city,'' said Danil. ''It is the best coffee in the world,'' chimed in Ksenia. Starbucks is in fact opening at the moment their first store in Samara, but it is located at the airport, a good 30 minutes from the center of town.
Elena & Mikhail: 45 Years Together
Elena and Mikhail, who will celebrate their 45th anniversary this year, were walking along the Volga riverside in Samara on a sunny Woman's Day. Elena said she was a professor at the local medical university, teaching latin, and wanted to converse in English. She said she has been working at the university for 40 years. Both her children studied at the university and now her granddaughter studies there. ''I recommended to my family to study there,'' she said. Her daughter is a nurse, her son works for a pharmaceutical company and her granddaughter is studying to become a pediatrician, she said. Elena said her and her husband continue to work despite reaching retirement age in order to stay active.
Liza: 3rd Year Law Student
MOSCOW: Liza, 21, was walking down Old Arbat street in Moscow with a bouquet of flowers ahead of Woman's Day celebration. A Chelyabinsk native who studies law in Moscow, Liza said she was given the flowers by a fellow classmate and was surprised by his gift. I asked how she plans to celebrate the March 8 holiday. "I have no idea how, but with my friends for sure.''
Svetlana: Moscow Poet
MOSCOW: Svetlana was walking down Arbat dressed in black and carrying a single red rose. She said she was a poet and had just finished a 3-hour walk with a friend, who had given her the rose ahead of the official celebration of Woman's Day. Svetlana said she now writes poems about Moscow and started to mention various poets she admired, none of whom I recognized. She then asked if she could recite for me a French poem. When I said I didn't know French, she said she would recite the Russian version of it. It may have been 8 or 10 lines long and it was about nature and waterfalls. I asked if she spends a lot of her time reading poetry. "Poetry isn't meant to be read, it is meant to be listened to," she said and then hurried off to meet someone.
Katya: Future Surgical Pathologist
MOSCOW: Katya, 14, passed me in the metro. She was hard not to notice. She was wearing a multi-colored coat, black stockings with white stripes, black hightops, purple and yellow scarf, green hat and maroon dress. And she was carrying a single orange-colored flower given to her at school by the boys as part of the Woman's Day celebration. Katya had just finished school for the day but was on her way to additional German language classes. Her English was already at a high level. I asked her what she would like to be when she gets older, certain she would say something like 'artist, designer.' She said she wanted to be a surgical pathologist. "It is interesting to know how the human body works and about diseases. I want to help the world to cure deadly diseases. Surgical pathologists know everything about the human body and their diagnosis are always right."
