On Wednesday I had a little walk in the evening to the postage office (the goal was to receive a parcel with a nice Christmas present I was sent by my good friend). That was a long walk by foot (60 min) in the residential district of the city, which I do not visit too often. Of course, I took the camera with me, and this time decided to try my 16-35mm wide lens. Maybe, 50mm (which is more powerful and bokehlicious) would do the job better, but still... I wanted to change my angle of view. I met a lot of intresting stuff, and some of it (graffity) definitely needed a wide angle. And some of it 100% needed a macro lens, maybe I will return to shoot that beautiful orange wilted flowers, covered under a snow (if we will have the said snow at all, this winter).
Enjoy an evening walk across an old, residential, non-parade district of St.Petersburg.
This post goes for #WednesdayWalk challenge by 
My posts at the Pinmapple world map
All pictures taken by me (c) qwerrie
The photo venture started at the nearest cross: I noticed workers were settling a Christmas Tree Bazaar. In Russia, spruce is traditionally used as a Christmas tree. (As a child, I myself have been decorating a Christmas Tree every year, and while our daughter was growing up, we were getting and decorating a Christmas tree annually. 2020 is the first year when we limited ourselves to a small artificial one - I already wrote about it before).
'Dancing men' - an intresting advert, car used as a medium and a huge eye-catcher. (This is an ad for different casual mundane services, like crafting spare keys, etc).
Soon after that, I moved into a long raw of yards.
Unintentionally, I found some winter mushrooms (again!)
A lovely garage - someone clearly was tired of the gray everyday life and the dull dusty surrounding. It's a pure pleasure for an eye to stop and rest at this bright spot in the middle of everything else! Gauguin! Matisse! Chagall!
Inhabitants of many houses try to decorate and revitalize their yards with flowers, alpine slides, bird feeders ... anything. These are the remains of such a garden. In winter they look sad, although they are photo-friendly. Summer is another matter!
This is a really nice spot. I forgot the name of this flower... but it looks super cool especially when it is already matured, aged and dried up!
I have to return here with dedicated macro lens and make more shoots, when there will be a better light, and (preferably) some snow...
I left the residential area - these are buildings near the postage office.
The building next to the postage service (well, I am speaking about the 1st floor which isnt residential) - looks pretty much abandoned ... and I can imagine easily how I could send this stuff to #urbex community, heh. I had some gloomy thoughts about the current stae of the russian economy, and life... This is not suburbs! not a historical center of the city, but.... its a district not far from the fashonable center.
The inscript asks in Russian: 'And who are you?" (i.e.: stop and consider for a minite, who are you are, really, and what life are you living here). Note the broken window glass and the empty beer bottle lying there... I can bet it may be rotting there right from the spring, or summer!
I remember all the 1st floor of this building was stores.. now its not: just the closed doors, broken dusty windows and the smell of decay. And, of course, the graffiti. Well, the neighbouring house still not abandoned! still has some shops around.
Street posters reflecting the cultural life and promoting various events.. Quite used.
Young children are the most passionate, delighted and impatient Christmas-waiters. Christmas is a time for gifts, sweets, fulfilling dreams nd parent's promises :P ... Look at this baby - he picked up a spruce twig near some the Christmas Tree Bazaar, and is smelling its resinous scent, enjoying this sign pretty much... Christmas is somewhere near!
I received the parcel successfully. And on my way back home ... it was becoming darker and darker very fast, my hands were busy holding a huge box, but I didnt holstered the camera -- and was rewarded with a few more nice plots.
Here I noticed a cute streetlife scene: trolley-buss driver having a break for a smoke.
Please can you guess what is it?
I love shooting doors... and this, perhaps, is the most unusual of all I met! Yes, it is the door for a kitty to go out and back home. Isnt it cool?! I wish I had somebody posing me there, but... hehe, you cant have all at once, right? I happened not to happen there at a right time...
But nevertheless I met one cute kitty: black and white, a farm type (according to Elliot's classification :) she was lying at a wasteland spot and was warming her body on a sewers hatch cover. It turned out impossible to take her decent portrait without a telephoto lens - she did not let me get closer than 3 meters ... and when she ran away, she raised her paws in a very funny way, trying to touch the frozen ground as little as possible :)
It was the only cat I met along the way ... not because this is a poor kittycatless area, oh no! quite on the contrary! but winter certainly is not the best time for them, cats prefer not to walk out, but to lie at home, as our kitty does.
:P
Thanks for walking with mee, see you next time!
Надеюсь, вам было приятно прогуляться со мной по улицам Петербурга!
all images taken with Canon 5D + 16-35mm 2.8L
location: St.Petersburg, Russia
world map: pinmapple
[//]:# (!pinmapple 59.853185 lat 30.307792 long wednesday walk - in the residential yards d3scr)