Светослед

[svetosled]

An occasional photo somewhere in Kargopolsky District...mid-70s

During my expeditions to further villages I take my camera Zenit-E with me. The atmosphere of a northern village, its architecture, types of people - these are all pieces of one picture, once flourishing, but by now deserted, fading away nature… A camera was rarely seen here in those years and helped to communicate with locals. They would ask themselves where I was going, what I was looking for and would frequently suggest taking a picture of them. Standing still solemnly was essential for such occasions - people knew that they would remain in somebody’s memory. At the same time, they would rarely ask to “send a picture”, feeling themselves a part of something more large and significant, important for somebody. That was a way to make acquaintances, to learn life stories of ordinary people through their lively narrations. Years after every detail in these pictures becomes a piece of people’s past and the history of the whole village.

[svetosled]

Lisicinskaya village, northern part of Arkhangelsk Region, Kargopolsky District, mid-80s…

Simple, warm, beautiful in everything… starting from the name of the village. “Lisica” is “fox” in Russian and in winter the footprints of these animals are everywhere - in every yard, next to windows and doors… The best time for chopping woods is frosty winter when the wood is easy to split on separate logs. Not once I’ve seen local men doing the job trippingly and joyfully with their heavy axes raising high. Picturesque piles of logs first need to stay laid down, bright yellow on the white snow - released vivid structure of the wood should “breath”... You can see it in every yard. Firewood is essential for keeping warmth in the house, for supplying the heart of each Home - Russin stove. The whole life in a wooden house is thanks to the stove and around it… In summer the logs are already folded in stacks for drying. Folding a stack is a creative process. By the manner of folding woods, you may judge of a house’s master, a good master is skilful and neat in everything! Every man in a village folds the woods in his favourite way. Stacks can be used as a fence or divide the yard into parts. They are sometimes laid at the northern wall of the house becoming the natural part of its architecture and helping to keep the warmth (as in this picture).