During the COVID pandemic lockdowns, I found myself photographing out the window, from the very same point of view, day after day: the same horizons and buildings, yet, capturing ever new and dynamic nuances in the sky. Through the camera lens, the “fishbowl” stopped being the apartment trap I was in, and became a doorway to a powerful and expansive atmosphere. As I stared at the world through my 9th-floor window, unbeknownst to me, I was also beginning to suffer the debilitating effects of disseminated-stage Lyme borreliosis — arthritis, fatigue, insomnia, restlessness — all of which colored my experience of this “stay at home” journey.

A photographic autumn promenade across the historic center of Braşov, Romania — the ancient walled city of Kronstadt. Without knowing the cause, at a time, I was beginning to experience malaise associated with a tick-borne disease, recently acquired on the East Coast of the US.

Fearless, defiant, even forbidding at first; but aproach them with your warm greetings, or a polite word, and see how these barren places, facades, and faces blossom before your eyes. Seen up close, the peoples of Russia disclose the seal of their making: cherishing a lifelong friend, sharing oneself generously, striving to walk this earth with a natural, somewhat proud yet somewhat humble dignity.