Thursday, April 16, 2009

_MG_0452


_MG_0452
Originally uploaded by The MediaMentor
Yours truly, alongside my interpreter, being interviewed for local TV in Chelyabinsk Russia

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

P1010117


P1010117
Originally uploaded by The MediaMentor
George Lessard on top of the Chelyabinsk, Russia trade centre building, the highest building in the town. The Mias River is in the background.

Photo by Евгения Шумакова, the wonderful young interpreter/translator student at the South Ural State University's Faculty of Linguistics and Intercultural Communication.

©2009 Евгения Шумакова

Monday, April 13, 2009

Back in Yk from Russia

I made it back... after some 21 hours of flying time... an overnight in Moscow (where I used Skype to phone a friend in the NWT for 28 mins.. it worked really well) and plus 6 hrs at Heathrow airport in London where I bought some MAC stuff in duty free...

My baggage even arrived here when I did... the baggage gods smiled upon me this day...

I go back to work on Tuesday so I shall take at easy tomorrow... sleep in... buy food and the like... probably will also upload more pictures and perhaps another video or two... Will probably also work on my report to CESO (its already almost finished)

Here's a scan of the newspaper story that was published about my trip & work with CESO in a local newspaper.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/3436799447/

When I got back here was a letter here giving me acceptance as a guest artist at the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik during July of this year... I'm looking forward to that....

And now... sleep...




---

GEORGE LESSARD
CESO-SACO  VA # 11799
http://www.ceso-saco.com
Follow my Russian trip on my Overseas Blog at
http://mediamentor-overseas.blogspot.com/
See my interview on Russian TV here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtlEjNTb3Tw
See my pictures here..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157613820810814/

Newspaper Story


Newspaper_Story-3
Originally uploaded by The MediaMentor
I visited with the journalists of mediazavod.ru and they then wrote this story about CESO-SACO.COM and the work I was doing in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Chelyabinsk, Russia on April 02, 2009


DSC_6979
Originally uploaded by The MediaMentor
Around the streets of Chelyabinsk, Russia on April 02, 2009

Russia, once more before I return to Yellowknife..

Only a couple of days left... I fly to Moscow on Saturday and overnight there for an VERY early flight on British Midlands to Heathrow airport, London... then on to Edmonton and Yellowknife via Air Canada on Sunday...

Just got back from an excursion to the Russian countryside... I was told I was going to visit with my host's friends (one who turned out to be an ex-border guard and Russian army Ranger and the other that had something to do with the design of rockets that are shot from 'choppers.. the kind that fly.. not the two wheeled bikes one rides) and would be treated to a "Russian Bath"... their version of a sauna that adds being beaten around the body with birch branches (leaves still attached) while sweating in a sauna... Indeed that did happen... after food.. so much food I wonder if the airlines seat belt will still fit on the return trip... vodka of course..

But all that started rather later in the evening after sunset because almost as soon as we got there.. there being the tiny Ural mountain home village of the ex-army guy.. he got us into his second car (a Chevy Neva 4X4) and we zoomed around the hay fields between villages until we got to a local pure water natural spring... here he collected about five gallons of spring water.. had us taste it... wash our faces in it... and then have a vodka and apple to celebrate that... then he pulls out a rifle from the back of the car.. lays it across my lap and his in the front see (barrel pointing towards his door.. thankfully...) and we once again roar off along muddy field tracks across the steppes of the Urals... before I can figure out what the heck is going on... he slides to a stop grabs the rifle and starts taking aim at a set of three little elk that are running across the field but disappear before he can get a shot off... he revs the car to action once more and we're off on the hunt anew... nothing till he spots a young buck in the remains of last year's corn field at about the same time the buck spots us ... the chase is on until the buck takes a breather by the edge of the forest... our ex-Ranger stops.. grabs the gun... takes aim and in one shot... during a hazy dusk fells the three year old buck ..

Pictures of the hunt later...

Needless to say it was an interesting trip into the Russian countryside for a sauna..

Lots of great pictures of tiny Russian village to come...

George
---

GEORGE LESSARD
CESO-SACO  VA # 11799
http://www.ceso-saco.com
Follow my Russian trip on my Overseas Blog at
http://mediamentor-overseas.blogspot.com/
See my interview on Russian TV here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtlEjNTb3Tw
See my pictures here..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157613820810814/

Km Zero Chelyabinsk, Russia


DSC_7052
Originally uploaded by The MediaMentor
This is the mile zero post for the region. All distances on regional maps are measured as starting here

These images were taken from atop the highest building in Chelyabinsk, Russia and show the panorama, size of the city and some of the many factory around the town. Photo by George Lessard

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Weather : Chelyabinsk and back home in Yellowknife...

 
Follow my Russian trip on my Overseas Blog at
http://mediamentor-overseas.blogspot.com/
See my interview on Russian TV here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtlEjNTb3Tw
See my pictures here..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157613820810814/


Chelyabinsk, CB at 7:00 pm OMSST
Mostly Cloudy , 3ºC
Hi: 4 Lo: -4

View: extended forecast and maps | records & averages


Yellowknife, NT at 7:00 am MDT
Mostly Cloudy , -15ºC
Hi: -6 Lo: -13

View: extended forecast and maps | records & averages

 

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Russian police detain beaver for biting woman

Russian police detain beaver for biting woman
RIA Novosti - Moscow,Russia

KALININGRAD, April 2 (RIA Novosti) - Police in Kaliningrad have caught a beaver after the animal bit a woman in the center of the western Russian city, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

Police said they received a call at around 3 a.m. local time (midnight GMT) saying that a beaver had attacked people. "One woman tried to caress it and the animal bit her," the spokesman said.

It is unclear why the rodent ventured into the center of the city. The spokesman said it could have emerged from a pond near the Amber Museum or a lake near a maternity hospital.

Police and rescuers arrived at the scene and caught the "offender."

"It was carefully caught and taken out of the city," the spokesman said, adding that the rodent was later released near a village.

No police officers were injured during the operation, he added.

In April last year, a large beaver broke into a food store near the south Urals city of Chelyabinsk smashing a shop window and several bottles of vodka. The animal was later safely captured and taken back to a remote part of the forest.

.
<http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090402/120879646.html>
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GEORGE LESSARD
CESO-SACO  VA # 11799
http://www.ceso-saco.com
Follow my Russian trip on my Overseas Blog at
http://mediamentor-overseas.blogspot.com/
See my interview on Russian TV here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtlEjNTb3Tw
See my pictures here..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157613820810814/

Call For Submissions / CONTACT Photography Festival

Call For Submissions / CONTACT Photography Festival 2009 / Contact918 / Toronto, ON / Deadline Date: Thursday, April 30, 2009
 
For CONTACT Photography Festival 2009, 918 Bathurst is launching a new initiative called CONTACT918

918 Bathurst is a new centre supporting culture, arts, media and education in downtown Toronto, Canada. We are an inclusive centre that supports academic, artistic, health, personal and professional career programming with an emphasis on personal development.  As a facility for educational opportunities, cultural exchange and special events, we invite people, groups and organizations to contact us with program ideas to be held in our venue. 

For more information visit us at: www.918bathurst.com
918 Bathurst St. Toronto, ON M5R 3G5. 416-538-0868

What:  Contact 918
Where: 918 Bathurst St. Toronto
When: May 9, 16, 23, 30, 2009
Time: 12 - 4 pm

Theme: Still Revolution
Photographers should submit images that will explore the ever-evolving manifestations of photographic imagery that influence the way we see the world today.  CONTACT918 creates an international online forum for photographers, and will be launched live as a digital projection for the Contact Photography festival. It emerges as an exciting digital playground that connects photographers and communities by linking the virtual with the physical.  Live rotating projections will occur every Saturday in May, showcasing the images that have been submitted by a global network of photographers.  Photographers are invited to upload images at www.contact918.com to be included as part of a slideshow, which will run at 918 Bathurst for the month of May 2009. 

918 Bathurst is a new centre supporting culture, arts, media and education in downtown Toronto, Canada. We are an inclusive centre that supports academic, artistic, health, personal and professional career programming with an emphasis on personal development.  As a facility for educational opportunities, cultural exchange and special events, we invite people, groups and organizations to contact us with program ideas to be held in our venue.

To become part of CONTACT918 or for more information visit us at: www.918bathurst.com or contact us at: info@contact918.com  
918 Bathurst St. Toronto, ON M5R 3G5. 416-538-0868

---

GEORGE LESSARD
CESO-SACO  VA # 11799
http://www.ceso-saco.com
Follow my Russian trip on my Overseas Blog at
http://mediamentor-overseas.blogspot.com/
See my interview on Russian TV here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtlEjNTb3Tw
See my pictures here..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157613820810814/

Information, Communications & Media Specialist
6402135 Canada Inc.

451 Norseman Dr.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
X1A 2J1, Canada

Yellowknife Land Line # (867) 873-2662
Yellowknife Cell # (867) 445-9193
SKYPE: themediamentor

Online Business Card:
http://lessardcard.notlong.com

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Photos: http://photosbygeorge.notlong.com
Photo Illustrations: http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157603627797568/
Etcetera:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/459582/

My Public Bookmarks: http://del.icio.us/themediamentor

Member:
Canadian Association of Journalists http://www.caj.ca
Canadian Artists Representation / le Front des artistes canadiennes http://www.carfac.ca/
Canadian Artists Representation Copyright Collective http://www.carcc.ca/

The panorama of the Taganay mountains

Yudin Andrey Nikolaevich of Chelyabinsk, Russia who runs a specialty photo studio with this website http://www.sunfoto.ru/ is the client I'm working with in Chelyabinsk... He's just set up his Flickr account... this panorama of the Taganay mountain is the first image he uploaded.... It is the Cruglitsa mountains. The height is about 1050 m. As far as 20 km. from Zlatoust-sity... his Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sunuralfoto/

04-04-09 - George Lessard in Chelyabinsk, Russia

Today is Sunday and I'm having a quiet day off at the B&B... I think I've exhausted my interpreter and host.. so they need a day off too.. Saturday was a quiet day too.. Andre set up his Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sunuralfoto/
and had our translator Eugenia and I to his apartment where his wife cooked us a lovely meal of potatoes aux gratin and chicken with sliced fruits (including delicious local varieties of pear and apples that I've never tasted before)..

Monday I will show him how to set up a blog and connect Flickr to his blog so that he may also display his work there.

I was able to upload the video I made of the TV screen while the local TV station interviewed Andrey and I to YouTube and have several more little glimpses of Chelyabinsk on video that I shall also try to upload in the next few days...

The Yellowknife pins (with the story card) and the shopping bag I was so kindly given by Mayor Gord Van Tighem's office before I left have been great hits with those I've presented them to..



DSC_6958
Originally uploaded by The MediaMentor


Around the streets of Chelyabinsk, Russia on April 02, 2009. This glass enclosed office tower is the highest building in the city. It is the International Trade Centre. The directory panels on the ground floor behind the reception desk shows only about 25 percent occupancy. It was only finished a few months ago, but my client, Yudin Andrey Nikolaevich of Chelyabinsk, Russia who runs a specialty photo studio with this website http://www.sunfoto.ru/ was able to arrange access to the roof so we could take pictures of the cityscape... they will be on Flickr soon.


--
Posted By George Lessard, The MediaMentor to Mediamentor Overseas at 4/04/2009 10:12:00 PM


---

GEORGE LESSARD
CESO-SACO  VA # 11799
http://www.ceso-saco.com
Follow my Russian trip on my Overseas Blog at
http://mediamentor-overseas.blogspot.com/
See my interview on Russian TV here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtlEjNTb3Tw
See my pictures here..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george-lessard/sets/72157613820810814/




DSC_6986


DSC_6986
Originally uploaded by The MediaMentor
Around the streets of Chelyabinsk, Russia on April 02, 2009 This is an early cinema built in the 1930s and is referred to as "The Homeland."

George Lessard's Pictures and Interview on Russian TV now online

OK... I've been been here for a week now and its halfway through my assignment.. it has been sunny and warm... next week's forecast calls for snow... brrrr... but I get to meet a group of local photographers and get to have a "Russian bath" saw a great saxaphone and organ concert last week.. and have been very well taken care of..
 
I am helping a Russian photographer get the hang of using the web to publicise and sell his photos... how to use photoshop in ways he did not know about and of course chating with him about all things media and photographic in the world... to expand his knowledge... All expenses for me are paid for my http://ceso-saco.com (they are the same people who sent me to Bolivia a few years back)
.. I had two weeks holiday (of my 4 weeks for the year) that were due to me by my employer http://nnsl.com where I am the photo editor... so I asked for it off and they said OK...
So a week ago yesterday (Friday) I flew out of Yellowknife via Calgary/Frankfurt/Moscow and am now here until next Friday enjoying helping a fellow photographer learn more about his business...
---

GEORGE LESSARD
CESO-SACO  VA # 11799
http://www.ceso-saco.com
Follow my Russian trip on my Overseas Blog at
http://mediamentor-overseas.blogspot.com/
See the interview or Russian TV here

Friday, April 03, 2009

Russian Report # 3

So lots of fun and work so far... today interviewd by local TV station about assignment.. hope to get video of broadcast tonight..for uploading to youtube ... took lost of pictures today from top of highest building in town... got told by a security guard not to take pictures of a government building... after pictures already taken...tee hee...
 
See my pictures here..

---

GEORGE LESSARD
CESO-SACO  VA # 11799
http://www.ceso-saco.com
Follow my Russian trip on my Overseas Blog at
http://mediamentor-overseas.blogspot.com/
 

Wednesday, April 01, 2009