Statue of Ostap Veresai

~~ Wonderful, wonderful life history here... ~~

Ostap Mykytovych Veresai (Ukrainian: Остап Микитович Вересай), (1803 - 1890) was a renowned minstrel and kobzar from the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (in today's Ukraine). He, like no other, helped in the popularity of kobzar art not only in his country, but also outside its borders.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostap_Veresai

The Former Leipzig Hotel (HDR)

This is the former Leipzig Hotel building, constructed in 1900. Unlike many older buildings in Kiev, which are left vacant by greedy owners who covet the land the building is on, but not the building itself, this building is being restored by it's new owners and will once again open as a hotel, just in time for the Euro 2012 football championships. (That's soccer to you folks in the states).

The Sport of Photographers

This is from Orthodox Epiphany, January 19th.  Yes, this is a ritual in many Eastern Orthodox religions.  Orthodox religious holidays often fall 13 days after the similar holiday in other religious denominations. This year was a bit of a disappointment. Partakers in this holiday prefer it to be much colder than 36F/2C when taking the plunge.

The Mask at Sorkirentski

Seen at Sokirentski, Chernigov Oblast, Ukraine.

Japanese Garden, Denver CO

Digging deep into the film archive, about 15 years!

Memorial to a Pickpocket (HDR)

All cities have statues and memorials that might bewilder an outside observer, and Kiev is no exception. Why oh why would anyone put up a memorial to a pickpocket?

Well, the story behind this statue helps explain it. Because the pickpocket here is not a real-life one, but a fictional one. This statue was erected in 1998 (after the fall of the USSR) but commemorates Mikhail Panikovsky, a character in the 1931 Soviet era novel "The Golden Calf."

The Panikovsky statue resembles the Soviet era film star Zinovy Gerdt, who played the role of Panikovsky in the 1968 film version of the story. There used to be a cane in his right hand, but it has been vandalized. :-(

More at… Kyiv Post

Roman Amphitheater, Myra Turkey (HDR)

Myra is an ancient town in Lycia, where the small town of Kale (Demre) is situated today in present day Antalya Province of Turkey.

Panorama created by combining four images together, HDR photo created using three different exposures of the original panorama.

This photo was taken on a side trip to Demre and Kekova during a family vacation to Simena Sun Club, Kemer Turkey.

Central Post Office, Kiev (HDR)

Central Post Office in Kiev, early on a Saturday morning.

Bridge of Love (HDR)

The Bridge of Love, Kiev.

Statue of Leonid Bykov

Leonid Bykov (Ukrainian: Леонід Федорович Биков, Russian: Леонид Фёдорович Быков, December 12, 1928 in Znamenske, Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine - April 11, 1979 in Kiev Oblast of Ukraine) was a Soviet and Ukrainian actor, film director, and script writer.

Leonid_Bykov

Mean (HDR)

Three exposure HDR.

The HDR process did not make as big a difference in this one as I thought it would. Yet, there was some noticeable improvement. What really surprised me is that usually when I start out with an ISO 1600 photo, then create a three exposure HDR, the outcome is often unusable because of noise introduced by the HDR process, noise that even a decent noise removal program won't deal with well. This time it worked out well.

But in the end, the outcome was more due to the use of Topaz Adjust then to HDR.

Located at the same restaurant as this one...

Traditional Musical Instruments.

St. Sophia Square, Kiev (HDR)

St. Sophia Cathedral is to the left (but not in the picture). St Michael Golden Dome Monastery is to the right (but not in the picture).

This is a panorama created from two images, and an HDR created from three different exposures of those two images.

Lavra Church (HDR)

Three image panorama, then three exposure HDR.

While I've shown the larger buildings in the Lavra complex, there are many smaller buildings, including around 15 churches. This is one of the smaller churches on the Lavra property.