Right when you think you’ve got a particular place and season nailed, along comes a surprise.
My mother-in-law’s vineyard and neighborhood, Leliani, Kakheti… visited so many times, with my wife, in all seasons and many weathers, during our 15 years married. But a couple of days ago it showed me something entirely new.
We had been told by a doctor that our coughs were nothing viral or bacterial, more a reaction to winter. Ironic, as we had had little to no such struggles with far colder temperatures than Tbilisi’s during our many Svaneti winters. But here we were; just a cough, no temperatures or other symptoms. So, at the reception of this news, she asked me if we could go straightaway to visit her mother and sister in Leliani. I had nothing keeping me in the city, and it’s the Christmas season; so, sure. We packed and left.
My wife learned long ago to give me time to wander with my camera, especially in situations where she can do most of the talking. So off I went, several mornings, through the vineyard and out the end of it into the neighborhood.
Frost had come the morning we had to go to the weekly bazaar in nearby Apeni, to stock up on food for the family and ourselves. By the time we returned home near noon, that frost had mostly burned off in the sun (except where shadows still protected it).
But the next morning… frost AND fog. This was different. The fog covered everything with hoarfrost, transforming it, making magic I rarely get to see, especially here where winters are much milder than in Svaneti. Familiar subjects were spiked with white everywhere, leaves edged with it. All was different. Still wary of my cold-caused cough, I wrapped up well and said I wouldn’t be long.
Ha. The magic took me in for hours, and I let it. First the vineyard, mostly tiny details with my 90mm macro lens which gives 1:1 sizes on the frame. I usually shoot macro with my aperture wide open, not trying for a wide depth of field (area of sharp focus) but narrowing in on one detail, letting the rest blur out abstractly.
Then through the back road, back to the main road and so on. There were iced-over puddles, but these offered few scenes of interest. It was more the backlit, frost-rimmed details that captivated me. Landscapes, too, were absolved of unnecessary detail by the persisting fog, becoming simpler and more exotic. Some of the far-off mountain peaks separating Georgia from Daghestan began to emerge, floating on the fog. A bird here and there appeared, stork and raptor. Other people’s vineyards, too, took on a whole new look in the unique lighting and weather.
I was in time to get everything I wanted before the inevitable sunshine beat off the fog and melted the hoarfrost, turning everything back to its usual winter familiarity. But I was delighted to have had this opportunity, with my equipment ready and nothing to keep me from seeing, and recording, sheer enchantment.
My cough, too, is on the wane, as those hours in the cold seemed to have no effect on it. So my gamble paid off in all ways, and left me with some memorable images. See, people, slow down and SEE.
Blog By Tony Hanmer
Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer and photographer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
