Postcard from Bishkek

Victor Rehemaye is a computer engineer who works for us as a contractor.  He is also an avid photographer.

A few years ago I was called into the office by one of our managers who wanted me to see some of Victor’s photographs.  They weren’t just ordinary photographs, they were some examples of his 3D spherical panoramas.  He explained how he stood in one spot and made about thirty different photographs and then “stitched the together” in order to create an image which showed the view from the spot through 360 degrees, as well as look up to the sky and down to the ground.

I was impressed, but wasn’t sure at that time how it we could use such images.  The photographs are distorted, like those taken through a fish eye lens, and need a special computer program in order to see them properly.

However, we kept in touch on the issue and over the course of time he showed me not only the images, but also the variations that he was able to introduce.  For example, he was able to produce a tour along Prospect Chui in Central Bishkek, with symbols to show where the next panorama in the sequence was taken.  We talked about producing a tour of the hotel but I was worried about how to use it on the internet given that the files are very large and would take a long time for a user to download.

We were, however, able to use his panoramas in a number of places, especially on the Kyrgyzstan Infopack CDs which we produced.  Victor has also produced a number of special CDs for us: of the Russian Orthodox Church here in Bishkek and the one in Karakol and also Tash Rabat.  We have also sent him off on a number of trips around the country to take panoramas and he put together a special CD featuring several places on the route between Bishkek and Torugart.

Eventually we established www.see.kg where you can several of the panoramas and get an impression of what Kyrgyzstan has in store for the visitor.  Of course, that’s all a photograph, (albeit a 3D Spherical Panorama), can give … an impression.

Quite often Victor will call into the office and tell me he has something to show me … a new panorama.  “I was passing *** and had half an hour to spare; the sun was shining and so I thought I would stop and take some photographs … and this is how it turned out …”.

Sometimes, however, it doesn’t work out.  Once we on the way from Son Kul down to Naryn and had stopped in order for Victor to take his snapshots for making a panorama when the heavens opened and it started to pour down.  We ran for the bus had to give up on that particular occasion, although he did manage to get some spectacular results on another trip.   (He was able to stitch together some of the photographs that he did manage to get, however, and the results were quite spectacular; it was possible to zoom in on the high resolution master photograph and actually see the raindrops.)

On another occasion he was photographing a night scene on one of the busy street corners in downtown Bishkek, (at the intersection of Prospect Chui and Manas), and car whizzed past.  When he came to work on stitching the images together he noticed that he had only half the vehicle in the photo.

Sometimes there are some amusing moments.  When taking one panoramic set with a tour group he managed to get the guide twice; once in one shot pointing in one direction and then again in another pointing in another.

 

But Victor doesn’t just take panoramic shots.  Photography is a passion and he often brings me photos to show me that he has taken on a wide variety of topics.

Another aspect of photography which he practices is called Macrophotograpy – which ironically means photographing very small objects.

Once, example, he showed me an image which seemed to be a set of hexagons, and I looked somewhat bemused at it; wondering what I was looking at.  It turned out that it was an eye … of an insect.  That was pretty spectacular, but some of the other photographs of the insect were a bit more disturbing … after all, creepy crawlies tend to send a shiver down the spine.

He often turns it into a sort of guessing game: “What do you think of this?”, he’ll ask and I have to work out exactly what I am looking at: a snowflake; the stamen on a flower; the milling on the edge of a coin; a detail from a banknote; sugar crystals; an eye; a fingerprint; a piece of thread; the eye of a needle; a drop of water nestling on a leaf …

Well, last week Victor brought me an invitation to the opening of an exhibition featuring some of his photographs and those of another photographer, Igor Ananyevo.  The exhibition is called “Micro Cherez Macro”, (“cherez” is Russian for “through”).

It’s being held in the Frunze Museum, (on Frunze Street), and although it is quite small, (just 10 boards in the room, each with nine photos – one has just six photos), the detail on the photographs are quite striking.

The local press turned up and the exhibition was featured on the news on local television and Victor gave an interview, which attracted the attention of several of his clients.

The exhibition will be held until the end of January, (although not on Mondays – all museums here seem to close on Monday), so if someone finds themselves just passing by with half an hour or so to spare, like Victor often does, it’s well worth a visit.

 

Remembering that it can only give an impression, here’s a 3D spherical Panorama package prepared by Victor during the opening of the exhibition:

Click on the Green Arrows to move to a new location

 

Tags: Calendar, Cultural_Events, Expat