Tag: Photography

Revisiting Antalya: 25 Years Later and Family Bonds | September 15 2025, 15:56

I’m back from Antalya. I was there last time 25 years ago. This time I met up with my mom (she’s from Russia) and showed her Turkey №2. Turkey №1 was last year (Istanbul). Here are some photos from this trip. All taken on an iPhone (I brought a camera too, but was too lazy to carry it around).

Russian pop music is no longer blasting from every speaker, but Modern Talking and similar genres are everywhere, until midnight. I was lucky to rent a hotel just 9 steps away from a night bar that quiets down at midnight, but no worries, we got used to it quickly and the music is decent. The city has many Russians, not only because it’s easy to get there, but also because Turkey offers citizenship for $400K — a sum many Russians can afford for a “passport”. But there’s really nothing to do there. You can tour all the natural sites within the first year or two, and then it’s just a very boring city. No museums, no cultural activities, except for more Modern Talking from the bars. So, at a minimum, you need not only to go there for the passport but also actively use it to live somewhere else.

My mom did great, handling all those hills and boats, and had a lot of impressions. Actually, she has only been abroad in Riga and twice in Turkey, last year in Istanbul and this year in Antalya. I really hope for her 80th birthday next year we’ll go somewhere else where Russians don’t need a visa.

Exploring Kal Gajoum’s Masterful Blend of Abstraction and Realism in Cityscapes | September 15 2025, 13:45

An interesting artist — Kal Gajoum (Canada, 1968). His works are amazing. Mostly cityscapes, but there are also a few still lifes. Judging by the number of works, Kal somehow manages to create these masterpieces almost like on a conveyor belt, yet you never feel like adding or removing anything from a single piece. For me, it’s the perfect balance of abstraction and realism. Enjoy 🙂

Creative Mashup: Exploring Telegram’s “Rzhivopis” Art Parodies | September 12 2025, 20:12

I discovered a hilariously wacky group on Telegram, “Rzhivopis.” I spent an hour on vacation using a script to download their paintings and overlay them with their custom titles from their channel. Then two more hours reviewing them all and picking out the best. Definitely subscribe, there are about 2000 paintings, I won’t post that many, but maybe next time there will be a second part of the funniest:)

Like & Share!

Seeing Shapes and Shadows: How Portrait Drawing Changes Our View of Faces | September 12 2025, 15:44

It’s interesting that even a little experience in drawing portraits makes one see patterns in other people’s faces that you wouldn’t think about otherwise. For example, you look at someone’s face, and some points on the face converge into an equilateral triangle. Or the shadow from the sun forms a notable pattern. Or some lines are strictly parallel or perpendicular. And at that moment, you feel like grabbing a pencil and trying to sketch it. At this point, it seems that achieving a likeness is a piece of cake.

Or you notice that a silvery dress is the darkest thing in the picture and probably needs to be depicted almost in black. With highlights, of course. This contradicts the notion that “a silvery dress is just a shiny white.”

Sometimes you look at someone’s face, reassured that the typical proportions are maintained, or, conversely, that they are not. There are also optical illusions. They are the most interesting. It’s when it seems that some point exactly divides a segment in half, but as soon as you measure, it turns out not to be the case.

It’s also interesting that our eyes deceive us about what lines are and what are not lines. Here, it would be more correct not to use the word line” but edge.”

Uncovering Hidden Hotel Fees: A New York City Experience | August 21 2025, 14:33

Lived in New York on Manhattan for a couple of days recently. The hotel cost 370 USD per day (see photo). Out of which 284 USD is the cost for one day, and the remaining 86 USD are taxes + a mysterious Facility Fee of 35 USD (per day).

From the hotel’s website: “What is a Facility Fee? It’s a hotel service charge! $35 plus tax per day per room provides our guests access to all amenities at Freehand NY, including high-speed WiFi, complimentary 3x filtered water, 24-hour fitness center access, SMART TV connection, priority access to programs and events, and rooftop priority — Broken Shaker!”

Needless to say, these 35 USD were of course not included in the reservation system. It’s not practical to visit every hotel’s website to check for fees before pressing the book button. And yes, the confirmation does state FACILITY FEE TO BE PAID ON ARRIVAL, you can always read and cancel. But for the future, it’s always better to check.

Exploring Shepherdstown: A Hidden Gem in West Virginia | August 20 2025, 13:00

From the trip to Shepherdstown, WV. A small town an hour’s drive from home, founded over 260 years ago. Hardly any tourists, but the few small restaurants and shops compete against each other for the attention and interest of passing travelers.

From the street, there’s an open window at the Lost Dog Coffee cafe. Inside works a very colorful bartender and owner, Garth Emmery Janssen. The coffee shop’s Facebook tagline reads “Founded in 1995 by two crazy punk rockers. We are not normal. We do things correctly. it’s ❤️”

Oat milk latte, please. Dear sir, Garth answers me, that wouldn’t exactly be a latte then. But if you insist, of course. Okay, I say, make it the right way, it doesn’t matter to me. The coffee turned out delicious.

Next, there was an art studio, which I have already written about in previous posts, a handmade cosmetics store where the owner eagerly shares her chemical experiments on the quest for perfect creams and soaps, and where she sells prints drawn by her daughter, who, unfortunately, has grown up and no longer wants to draw.

A very homely atmosphere everywhere. And a nice little town. It lacked modernity, and yes, our regions are all like that, with dust from the past, modernity is somewhat cumbersome.

Exploring Gender and Identity in Michael Davis’s “Madam XY” | August 18 2025, 14:09

We arrived in Sheperdstown yesterday, where there is a studio of a local artist, Michael Davis. His works are very interesting. In the studio, an enormous painting hangs on the whole wall, which immediately brings a smile to those somewhat versed in art, as it’s a riff on Madam X, and the artist decided to add Y — clearly alluding to transgender identity. At first, I thought it was his wife he painted (she seemed to be in charge at the studio yesterday, but perhaps they just resemble the XY model, so I didn’t ask). The strap on Madam XY has fallen, just like in Sargent’s original version before he repainted it and relocated it to avoid complete moral outrage.

A very talented artist. I will definitely visit his classes. Initially, I said “as much as 50 minutes to ride”, but now I think about it and will say “only 50 minutes to ride”.

#artrauflikes

Michael Timothy Davis Fine Art

Dreamlike Realities: Exploring the Surreal Art of Nicola Pucci | August 14 2025, 12:58

Nicola Pucci. Some of his paintings feel like snapshots from a dream. He has a very interesting technique, strong stylistic consistency, and a wild imagination.