Village in the Caucasus
Caucasus Mountains, Georgia 2016
You can tell we were at about 8000ft because of the lack of trees. It is cold in Ushguli. For six months of the year the village is blanketed with snow.
The people were hardy. The men were handsome and manly. Our guide from Tbilisi seemed soft compared to the mountain men. I could tell they thought so as well as they were dismissive of the guide’s comments. Of course, he didn’t know what he was talking about when he tried to describe life in the village. He should have kept his mouth shut. I learned that from growing up with three brothers.
This is the best view of the old village and the defensive towers. We shot in the afternoon with hazy sun. But I wanted more atmosphere. I wanted an atmosphere of brigands and blood feuds and allegiance to the Kanun…just the atmosphere not the actual killing, mind you. I tried to get this effect by desaturating the photo and increasing the blacks. Maybe I’ll try again one day but for now this is my best.