Best picture for National Geographic Contest!

Hello everyone!

I  am happy to announce that I am participating in the National Geographic Photography contest 2010! Yay! But I need your help to choose which two pictures to send them. So, please take a minute and just tell me which photos you like best! As simple as that! Photos will be judged on creativity and photographic quality.

Thank you!

1. Varadero Sunset, Cuba, 2010.

2. Fishermen. Cuba, 2010

3. Trinidad cathedral, Cuba, 2010.

4. Visit to Lavra. Russia, 2009.

5. On the roof. Russia, 2009.

6. On the roof 2. Russia 2009.

7. Pelican, Miami, 2010.

8. Russian cathedral. Russia, 2009.

9. Floral 1, Miami, 2009

10. Floral 2, Miami, 2009

11. Floral 3, Miami, 2009

12. Floral 4, Miami, 2009

13. Contrasts. Miami, 2008

Rainy beauty

Rainy photographs for rainy days. Seems quite fair!

I took this picture during my recent trip to Cuba. That day we were about to hit Varadero Beach, but for a reason I can't recall we disembarked at this hidden beautiful beach called Caleton near Matanzas, or the City of Bridges, as it is often called. Marvelous view of the coming rain, which, by the way, didn't stop us from enjoying the beach for the rest of the evening!

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Oooo la la!

Going through old photographs last night, I found this one, taken in a nice small French restaurant in the Latin Quartet District in Paris in winter 2007. I like it because it is the only photograph where I am pictured eating snails! Yes, one of those snails that French call gourmet delicacies. Although snails are not associated with food in the United States, they for sure are in France. Often called “ambassadors of the French gastronomy,” escargots (“snails” in French) are available in all different shapes and sizes in France. Usually they come wrapped in grape leaves with garlic and butter (like in my case). They are served in shells on a special escargot plate, which you are seeing in the picture. White bread – French baguette – is also served.

Eating snails is an art, as everything else in France. Holding the shell with a pair of tongs, I would pull the snail of its shell with a small folk and then enjoy its unforgettable taste.
Dare to master this art too! Once you try French escargots, you’ll love them!


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Delicious dessert

Turkish desserts are as delicious as their main meals. Just looking at them makes my stomach growl! Sweets have always been an important element of the Turkish cuisine. For example, one of the most important holidays in the Turkish calendar, the one that marks the end of the 30-day period of daytime fasting during Ramazan, is named “Seker Bayrami,” which literally means “Sugar Holiday.” Some sweets are offered on major occasions, such as birth, death, enrolling to school, or induction into the army!


Although I can’t remember the exact names of the sweets pictured above, I for sure remember they tasted gorgeous!

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Delicious meal

My previous entry about the Cave of Love in Alanya reminded me about how delicious Turkish food is! In this picture, which I made during one of my multiple visits to Turkey, you can see an example of a full Turkish meal: Adana kebab, flatbread, green salad, onions, grilled tomatoes, and peppers. Adana kebab - the long piece of meat on the plate - is a spicy minced meat (usually lamb) named after Adana, the fifth largest city in Turkey. By the way, bread is the most consumed product in Turkey. Turkish cities and towns are full of bakeries which make bread twice a day: early in the morning and in the afternoon to make sure people get only fresh bread. Fresh vegetables is another thing that is always present on a Turkish table. Complemented by a glass of good red wine, this meal is one of the most delicious I’ve ever tried!

For a nice Turkish food experience in Miami, I would suggest three places, which are good, according to multiple reviews:

o Hakan-Turkish Grill‎ in Miami Beach

o A La Turca and Istanbul Restaurant, both in Hollywood

Güle Güle (bye-bye in Turkish).


Get to know the world – travel through photography!

Show me your love

Have you been thinking of how to show your significant other how much you love him/her? Then when in Turkey, make sure to take a yacht tour and stop by the Cave of Love. This place is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Alanya, a seaside resort city in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. To get to the entrance of the Cave of Love you’ll have to sweat: swim a little bit, then climb up a rock, walk in darkness by a bunch of sharp stones, and voila – you are in the Cave of Love. But if you think that you’ve accomplished your mission here, you are wrong. Now comes the best part – you gotta jump from the height of 32 feet! Changed your mind and you don’t want to show your feelings any more? Gotta jump any way, because this is the only way to get back to the yacht. I took this picture of brave tourists jumping from the Cave of Love a few years ago when visiting Turkey with my friends. At the moment I didn’t have a person whom to devote my jump to, so I stayed in the yacht taking picture of the brave folks. Jumping from the Cave is already an accomplishment, but if you really want to show your love then add a yell of the name of your significant other, and your love will become much stronger, a legend says!


Get to know the world – travel through photography!

Back in Time

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Cuba, along with mojitos and beaches, are vintage 1950s Chevrolets, Buicks, Fords, and Plymouths that add so much color to the Island. For many a visit to Cuba equals traveling back in time and having a magical reencounter with the1940s—1950s United States, in terms of cars.  I took this picture of colorful papier-mâché (French for 'chewed-up paper') cars in Trinidad, a very small colonial town in province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Blue, green, red, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Ford, 1946, 1955, 1958 – such an assortment would definitely please anyone!      

Street circus



 These guys rock! They are street circus actors. There is no other place for them to perform, so they chose the busy streets of Old Havana, the historic district of the Cuban capital, for their street shows. Wrapped in all they could find and afford, they entertain tourists, engage with them in conversations and just pose for the camera (like in my case). I especially like the girl's bright polyethylene scarf, not to mention the guy's jacket decorated with newspaper pieces. Avangard!

Indeed, art has no limits!

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Panorama

I took this picture from the 5th floor of the Holy Trinity Lavra belltower (the same belltower that has the biggest functioning bell in Russia). Enjoy the marvelous panorama of the Lavra's interior, as well as the town of Sergiev Posad itself.

Isn't this view awesome?! Enjoy!


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Gift from God

We are back to the Holy Trinity Lavra! This time Father Guriy is pictured by a box full of prosforas – rounded pieces of white bread used in special occasions in Russian Orthodox churches. In Greek, word “prosfora” means “offering” or “gift.” According to Orthodox believes, prosfora is a gift from God.

Only prime flour, fresh yeast and spring water are used to make prosforas. One prosfora consists of two parts, which symbolize two natures of Jesus Christ: divine and human. The two parts are pasted together with water. Prosforas are usually made in the same church (sometimes monastery) where they are going to be distributed to parishioners at no charge. People eat prosforas on an empty stomach after praying.

Many people, including myself, find prosforas very tasty, although it is just bread and water. If you want to try one, there is no need to go very far. You can always do it in the Russian Church of St. Vladimir, located at 101 N.W. 46th Ave, Miami. Its doors are always open for you! Ask for Father McKenzi. He is fluent in English.

Get to know the world! Travel through photography!

The Biggest Bell in Russia

If you have ever been to Russia then this is what you are going to remember – churches, churches, and more churches. Saying this, I do not mean there is nothing else there worth seeing or visiting. There sure is, but beautiful cathedrals with their breathtaking architecture do not leave anyone indifferent. I was lucky enough to grow up just a few blocks away from one these beauties – the Holy Trinity Lavra, which is a very important spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is located in 42 miles north-east from Moscow, in a small peaceful town of Sergiev Posad (Sergiev Posad in Russian means “the town of Sergius” – a monk who founded the town according to a legend).

This picture was taken on the second floor of the Holy Trinity Lavra belltower – the highest belltower in Russia (18 meters which equals about 59 feet). My friends Eugenia, Olesya and our guide Father Guriy are pictured here by one of the largest functioning bells in the world – the copy of the famous Tsar-Bell (Royal Bell). The original Tsar Bell is one of the main tourist attractions in the Moscow Kremlin, but it does not function. The one in the Lavra does function and is usually used for major religious holidays. We managed to strike the “Tsar Bell” couple of times, but, to be quite honest, it was hard to do. Imagine, it weighs 144 thousand pounds (76 tons) and is approximately 16 feet high! The “Tsar Bell” in the Holy Trinity Lavra is now the largest functioning bell in Russia.

Be sure to visit the Holy Trinity Lavra when in Russia!