Photo by Natela Grigalashvili
Found a wonderful portfolio last night—the photographer's name is Natela Grigalashvili and the portfolio is called "The Doukhobors' Land"—it's a portfolio on ongoing work from Georgia (not the U.S. State—the Eastern European country*, just East of the Black Sea).
To see it, go here and click on the text box, then navigate with the arrows. Sometimes people in various places are not able to see sites that I link to, and I apologize if that's the case here. If you can see it, however, I think you'll appreciate it. Beautiful, committed work.
The photographer also has a Facebook page, and a book was recently published in France.
Mike
*By population, the U.S. State is two and a half times larger than the country. In fact, Atlanta is more populous than the country.
CORRECTION: The first version of this post placed Georgia West of the Black Sea. Duh. My old left-right confusion raising its ugly head again...I was looking right at the map when I wrote that. Stupid mistake, very sorry.
Book o' the Week
Photography, The Definitive Visual History by Tom Ang. This is a book that can't exist—it's too much work to put it together, like several others I know of (I'm looking at you, Q.T. Luong). Amazingly, it exists anyway. A brightly-lit shop window for the attractions of photography—a whirlwind tour of people, cameras, and pictures. The author still has time to be an accomplished travel photographer, although I don't know how.
The above is a link to Amazon from TOP. Once you're at Amazon, anything you search and buy will be credited to TOP. The following logo is also a link:
Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Geoff Wittig: "That's just beautiful work. Thanks, Mike. To my eye it's like Pentti Samallahti decided to start shooting in color. Which is high praise."
Ian McKenzie: "The largest population of Doukhobours live in Canada. During the late 19th century, they emigrated from Russia and area to escape persecution. Leo Tolstoy raised half of the cost of the move to Canada, with the Quakers covering the rest. As in Georgia, the number of active members has shrunk dramatically in the last 50 years, though there are about 20,000 Canadians who have Doukhobour ancestry."
Dave: "Thanks for sharing that link! What terrific photos! From the text, it seems as though photographer Grigalashvili may be the last one to capture the fading 'Doukhobors' Land.' I can't get over the vivid colors of some of the women's vests(?). Even the shots taken in subdued indoor lighting have the vivid colors. The picnic table with the trees growing through it is something I haven't seen before. This photographer has such a great eye and turns out photos with such richness of color. That collection was quite a treat."
schralp: "Natela's work is haunting and beautiful. Thanks for sharing the link. Agree with you about QT; just ordered the latest...."
Paulo Bizarro: "Stunning visual storytelling."
Fantastic collection, Mike - thanks for the link.
Posted by: Larry Wilkins | Monday, 08 November 2021 at 09:18 AM
Thanks for that link Mike.
Inspiring.
Posted by: Graeme Scott | Monday, 08 November 2021 at 09:42 AM
Lovely, just lovely- flirts with Nat Geo familiarity, but manages to transcend it. The images of the women outdoors In their festive, colorful garb are just mind blowing...
Posted by: Stan B. | Monday, 08 November 2021 at 01:58 PM
West of the Black Sea? I think it's east...
Posted by: Tex Andrews | Monday, 08 November 2021 at 02:02 PM
Sorry, Georgia is EAST of the Black Sea and it's hardly in Eastern Europe. More like Northern Middle East, same longitude as Bagdad, Irak.
Posted by: Andrew J. | Monday, 08 November 2021 at 02:42 PM
Oh boy, that is beautiful work. So many genuine photos.
Posted by: James Weekes | Monday, 08 November 2021 at 04:09 PM
The Doukhobors are also an important community in Western Canada:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/doukhobors
Posted by: Michel Hardy-Vallée | Tuesday, 09 November 2021 at 10:48 AM
Thanks for the link, Mike! Those are wonderful photos.
Georgia is technically (most of the time) in Asia, but most Georgians consider themselves Europeans. Whatever, they're on the edge.
Posted by: Henning | Tuesday, 09 November 2021 at 05:12 PM
That’s a beautiful set of interesting photographs.
Posted by: Rod S. | Wednesday, 10 November 2021 at 04:41 AM
It's a gorgeous set of photos (as are her other photo projects).
I love Georgia. I've visited twice, and had a fantastic time both times. It's a photographer's paradise, with an incredible diversity of natural environments (mountains, forests, deserts, etc.), stunning medieval churches and monasteries, beautiful towns and cities, and some of the most hospitable people I've ever met in my travels.
The food is amazing too!
Some photos from my travels there:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sjmcdonough/albums/72157619255333119
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sjmcdonough/albums/72157694034855344
Posted by: Scott McDonough | Wednesday, 10 November 2021 at 08:21 PM
I recommend Simon Marsden's travelogue book 'The Spirit Wrestlers', no photos just word pictures. Oh and a map. Covers some of the same territory and people group.
Posted by: Olybacker | Thursday, 11 November 2021 at 04:39 PM