Twilight in Mestia, early Feb. 2011

 These 2 are from the roof of the lower of the 2 Chartolani watchtowers; the upper tower is the one at left in the top photo, giving an idea of just how safe - or not - I was.  The roof is shallow and wooden, so not at all slippery despite having half a foot or so of snow on it.  But there's nothing to stop you aside from friction should you slip towards the edge, and it's a long way down...
The 2-storey house at right in the top photo, with 2 sets of lower windows lit and 4 sets of dark windows above, is where Lali & I are staying (in an upper-floor room) with a super host family, our new friends in Mestia.
The lower shot is of most of the eastern side of Mestia as twilight fell, that magical time again.  I was shooting on a tripod, exposures of up to a minute or 2 in length, bare fingers getting numb as the evening deepened and the wind rose a bit on our high perch.  But nothing too serious, and the frames I came away with made the whole thing 100% worth it.  At extreme right, the white building is the new gamgeoba, or town hall, and left of that blazing away with light is the central sqiare and its park and hotel.  Mt. Tetnuldi with its pyramidal peak in the central background obligingly came clear of clouds during the shooting, a relative rarity at the moment.

Mestia Views 2, late Jan. 2011

 Top, from our host family's barn.
Middle, from an upstairs window.
Bottom, panorama from the newly refurbished Tetnuldi Hotel.

Mestia, Jan. 25, 2011

Only one photo today, but it's assembled from three (same shot, different exposures) in the HDR style in order to capture the full range of tones such a contrasty scene offers.  Mestia, with Mt. Tetnuldi's pyramidal peak in the background, this midmorning.  This is also the first time I used my new circular polarizing filter.

Mestia, late November 2010

 New digs, and a new little wood-burning stove in our bedroom.  The room itself is SO much warmer than our one in the last host family's house because:  1) it's a more normal size without being cramped; 2) it's heated from below by the family's main wood stove, so the floor isn't deadly cold; 3) only 1 of its 6 surfaces (4 walls, floor, ceiling) is an outer one; and 4) we have a hole in the wall for the stovepipe, allowing us to have the stove at all.  A VAST improvement in our comfort - it roars away and heats up the room in about 5 minutes flat, once I light it in the morning.

Below, us at the restaurant of Mestia's Tetnuldi Hotel, 24/11/10, our civil wedding's 2nd anniversary, a shot hand-held by me.  We look happy because we ARE.

Iced Fence, Mestia, November 2010

Perhaps more of a Christmas-themed image than the last few (at least for the minority of earth's population living in the Northern Hemisphere, where Christmas is in the cold part of the year, not the warm!).  Caused by a leaking water pipe, and delighted in by me in the morning when I saw it.

Panorama: Central Ushguli, February 2009

You visit a location once (in landscape photography) for the place itself, and then may times for the lighting.

(By the way, left-click once on any of these photos to see it larger.)

Koruldi Lakes, above Mestia, 12/9/2010

It was plenty hot up there, but the last of the previous winter's snow still clung on in this place of extremes.

Koruldi Lakes, above Mestia, 12/9/2010

 Three more from that memorable walk.
Top:  dandelions in front of Mt. Tetnuldi
Middle:  Try walking up that!  "Slip slaaadin away"... but it's not as bad as it looks.
Bottom:  This, however, is every bit as good as it looks.