The Bench V.  Лаўка (частка V). What can seem more prosaic than the plain wooden bench in front of almost every village house in Belarus?  And yet the bench is the pivot of social life, the gathering place of generations on a summer’s eve, the village agora, the permanent observation post.  The bench is the… Continue reading Photo of the Day for November 24, 2010: The Bench V

Portraits of Belarus II.  Партрэты Беларусі (частка ІІ). Apple-Blessing Festival, Azdamichy 2010 (see also photos for August 16-20).  Яблычны Спас, Аздамічы 2010 год (гл. таксама фотаздымкі 16-20 жніўня).

Women of Polesia X.  Паляшучкі (частка X). Azdamichy 2010.  Аздамічы 2010 год.

The Cross III.  Крыж (частка ІІІ). One of the most evocative sights in Belarus is the cross, placed at a village crossroad or along the road in the countryside.  I have been inspired to photograph crosses in great part by the timeless ethnographic-photographic study “Беларускія народныя Крыжы” (“Belarusan Folk Crosses”) of Mikhas’ Ramanjuk (1944-1997), published… Continue reading Photo of the Day for November 21, 2010: The Cross III

Old and new.  In the background a traditional log house with thatched roof, storks’ nests, and pre-Christian sun symbol on the gable; in the left foreground the homeowners’ hothouse for growing cucumbers to export to the Russian market.  A boom in hothouses and cucumber exports was key to a sharp rise in prosperity in this… Continue reading Photo of the Day for November 20, 2010

Interior Light I.  Інтэр’ернае асьвятленьне (частка І). There is something deeply comforting in the natural light that suffuses a Belarusian home.  This is a light as ineffable and timeless as it is bound to place and season. The linen fabric in this photo was hand-woven by the grandmother of the house. Сонечнае сьвятло напаўняе беларускі… Continue reading Photo of the Day for November 19, 2010: Interior Light I

Portraits of Belarus I.  Партрэты Беларусі (частка І). Azdamichy 2010.  Аздамічы 2010 год.

The Extraordinary in the “Ordinary”:  Hands III.  Надзвычайнае ў “звычайным“: рукі (частка ІІІ). Hard-working but ever graceful.  Alert even in repose, when they rest — as always — in their proper place.  I think Belarusan hands reveal most eloquently Belarusans’ distinctive and instinctive traditions and attachment to place. Працавітыя, але абавязкова зграбныя, дбайныя нават у… Continue reading Photo of the Day for November 17, 2010: The Extraordinary in the “Ordinary”: Hands III

Portraits of Mjensk VI.  Партрэты Менску (частка VI). Mjensk 2009.  Менск 2009 год

Women of Polesia IX.  Паляшучкі (частка IX). Vjeljamichy 2010.  Велямічы 2010 год.