View from Balcony

I was kind of sick in the past week. Couldn't do much. But. at least, I edited the fishermen story.
http://www.lightstalkers.org/galleries/contact_sheet/11890



My moneymaking job is deskwork at home, and my short break is always on the balcony. The street was totally grey during the winter, and it was reminiscent of stereotypical communism-era atmosphere and made me felt like I was in adventure or something. But, as time passes, everything that was unusual to me turned rather normal - not just communism buildings but like gypsies, beggars, strays, tons of smokers and such. Same in the U.S., the empty Midwest lands, cornfields and soy fields and rednecks, as examples, become rather normal after a while four years ago. Yet, I'm still foreign, but this foreignness became normal, and people thinking I’m different becomes normal. It's same in Missouri, but it's a different kind and would be different in every country and state.
Adjustment in foreign countries is like a series of mental training. When you do weight lifting or wrestling or whatever the tough sports, it's kind of pain first, then you like it, and then you get soar again. Then after a while, it becomes normal - less pain and less excitement in a sense. But, you feel more about small daily things. Like when you realize the grey street has turned a bit green in a spring day. The photo is shot by Contax G1 - finally I got a new used contax! Though it's not aG2...

Misha and His Brothers

Misha, or Mihai Kfitaef, is a 37 year-old Lipovan fisherman in Sulina. Like Misha, there are a number of Lipovans, Russian descendants, in the Delta, and many of them work as fishermen. He and his brothers used to go fishing whenever the wind is mild. But, stricter restrictions on fishing around the Danube Delta, partly caused by Romanian's joing EU, made their life harder. Because of the new rules, the fishermen in the area have to spend certain periods just staying at home until the season starts. Misha said the life is getting harder and harder in the past years, but the government has done nothing for the fishermen. "This is my country," he said. He has a wife and two children, and because of the inflation and stricter restrictions, he barely manages it. Still, he and his brothers, like many men in the Delta, don't have other options but continue fishing. Their thick and rough hands tell you how hard their work is. People called my hands a girl's hands. In fact, their hands are like three times thicker than mine.

Pasageri

Going to Delta is a pain in the ass. It's long, as it takes a day to get there. But, if you have a time, it can be a nice long trip from Bucharest through empty lands and the Danube. From what's called the gate town of the Delta, Tulcea, there is a ferry going to Sulina or other parts of Delta. Like I've written, Delta is like a bunch of islands. There is only a couple ferries a day (or once every other day depending on where you go), and if you miss it, you are stuck. Going to Sulina, the main town in the Delta, is relatively faster because they have "Rapid" ferries, which get you to the destination in one hour and half. But, it's twice more expensive than the regular one called Pasageri. It runs slow and, to Sulina, it takes about four hours and half. For many villagers, it's the only transportation to the outside of their villages. I took Pasageri on my way back and enjoy photographing them. It's slow, but pretty relaxing, and very photogenic. I regret that i didn't take this before.

Again Delta

I was again a lazy blogger for a few weeks. I was shooting some NATO stuff, but it was very boring, and no hardcore protest happened due to the government's tight security. Right after the dissapointing and boring NATO Summit, I headed back to the Delta and stayed there for a few days... Because of my second job, I had to come back a bit earlier, but I probably made some more photos from there. I will upload them once I picked the selects.