i think of vladimir

The glittering city of Hong Kong stands against a purple screen, seemingly lighted from behind. The patches of white-, yellow- purple look alluring and diseased at the same time. (Air pollution, light pollution.)

By the window, I sit at my desk, mulling over applications for colleges in the United States. In an essay, I mentioned this photo, taken in St. Petersburg.

... a polished black stone horse – its forelegs in mid-air, its muscles bulging, veins taut, pulled by wires against an opaque blue ...

The horse's strength and the wires' counterforce have served as an inspiration, and I have had the photograph as my desktop background. This reminds me of a coincidental anecdote.

A muggy summer's day in 2006, my friend JY and I were sitting on the ledge of Au bon Pain cafe at Harvard Square, and I heard intermittent clicks around me. Amateur photographer Vladimir Gitin was angling his camera and snapping portraits of people in the square, as Petya, his Russian street musician friend, strummed the guitar that was connected to loud speakers.

Above is his favorite shot of me, which he posted on his flickr website. A flickr member commented, "На лице написана грусть :)," which translates to "on the person the grief is written." I think, then, I was deep in conversation with JY about whether "God," or a higher power, of different religions was the same One.

He also took some portraits of my dearest friend Victoria and me at his Barker Center office when we visited him over Winter Thaw last year. Hopefully, we'll make it down this year again.

Visit Vlad's flickr, where he uploads his rich collection of portraits and sceneries from St. Petersburg, Jerusalem, Italy, Amsterdam and East Coast United States, among other places. He has an eye for stunning perspective and composition, light playing with colors and emotion. His photographs ask for an immediate reaction and a precise appreciation.

When separated from his camera, Vlad teaches in the Department of Slavic Languages & Literature at Harvard University.