Romania

Today was our longest travel day, leaving Transylvania and heading back to Bucharest.  We made a stop for lunch in Brasov, which has a lovely town square and many enticing side streets to roam through.  We started with lunch then walked to the big, open square.  Since this was near noon, the sun was pretty harsh and not conducive to good photographs.  It was still fun to see and a welcome break from the bus. Arriving back in Bucharest late afternoon, we checked into our hotel before head to the Old Town for a lighting demo.  Gheorghe, our classmate and fixer, had arranged for one of his friends to come and model for the group.  Dressed in edgy black, she made a bit of a scene on the streets as we all gathered round to take her portrait. We found a place near our hotel for a Romanian dinner before returning to our rooms to sort through pictures. Tomorrow: The Palace and Good-byes

Today was probably our most photo rich of the trip.  After our third class we departed for a family style lunch at Count Kalmoky's House.  Hearty country food, the meal would keep us going through our many afternoon and evening activities. Next to our lunch destination, we met the local blacksmith, Gheorghe, for the first shoot of the day.  He was quite willing to pose for us outside, inside by his forge and with his horse in the barn.  I'm sure the gift of cash he received for his time was a big supplement to his normal income.  He's 77 and has been doing this job since he was 16.  With carts and horses still in use in the countryside, Gheorghe is a major contributor to the agrarian economy. Next, we went to a place down the road where we would get to spend time with a local group of young dancers and also weavers.  There's a desire to pass on the local customs now that communism is gone, so older children teach the younger ones folk danc...

We decided to go out around sunrise to see what we could find.  After walking up a road to get a better view of the valley, we headed into town, mostly so David could find a diet Coke.  We started noticing men pulling little carts with milk jugs in them to a place a couple of doors down from our home base.  This is apparently a ritual repeated daily where fresh milk is brought to a central location to be sold and pasteurized.   One of the gentleman allowed me to photograph him and I was also allowed inside to photograph the big vat used to heat the milk. Our second class was this morning.  Our group of photographers are fairly seasoned, so most of the critiques centered around composition and subject instead of exposure and sharpness.  Joe does a great job of guiding us forward without insulting our work. Back on the purple express, we headed to St. Ana Lake with a stop for lunch.  A short hike down a dirt road led u...

We got up early this morning to check out the Old Town in the morning hours.  Most of the activity, of which there was little, centered around the pastry shops that made their own version of a doughnut.  Theirs looked a little like a pretzel although the pastry was much more doughnut like.  Warm, most were stuffed with either fruit, sweet cheese, or salty cheese (with ham).  We tried a cherry one and found it delicious. Down on the square, they were just setting up for a farmer's market.  The early arrivals looked fresh and homegrown.  I bought a back of tomatoes and the farmer posed for me.  We had to head back in time for our first critique.  As many of you know, the critiques are a highlight of the trip for me.  Both having your own work looked at and also having a chance to see the other's work is really how we grow from these trips. After lunch, we boarded the purple time machine and headed off into Transylvania.  I sle...