Official restroom

One of the players takes a leak on the side of the field. There is no restroom, no locker, nada.

Home

Went to my hometown over the week-end.


Mom and dad.

Cute little neighbour. She was almost half this size when I last saw her.

Uranus

Believe it or not, there's an outdoor cinema called "Uranus" in Bucharest. The planet, that is. Still, odd name. I checked it out last night and snapped a few pictures of a few friends to keep warm.

Stamatin. Bogdan Stamatin.

More football

Two of the team leaders just got back from Germany, where they went to buy the first set of official football equipment for the team.

Two of the guys use a car door as a mirror to check out the way they look in their new equipment.

Florin smiles during practice. He says he thinks the new equipment allows him to throw better passes.

Roman, the only team member who played in the US, explains to the others how to wear the equipment.

Florin organizes the attack during a drill.

Not everyone got to wear the new equipment. Some guys couldn't afford to chip in, while others simply refused to pay for what they say is just a hobby.

Football

I spent some more time with the football guys to get to know them a little better.


"Ogarul" (The Greyhound) makes a run during practice.

Practicing a kick.

The guys concentrate to hold their position while Mihai, third from the right and one of the team leaders, counts out loud during an exercise meant to strengthen their legs. Though it looks like they're sitting, there is nothing under their butts in this painful exercise.

Esquire, the begining of a beautiful friendship

I've recently started what I hope would be a long cooperation with the newly launched Romanian version of the Esquire magazine. It'll mostly consist of little (three weeks' time) picture stories and environmental portraits.

I won't post any portaits before they are published in the magazine. However, I'll post pictures from stories I'll be working on and I will appreciate all the feedback I can get.

For the upcoming number, I'm working on a story about a bunch of Romanian guys that started an American football team here in Bucharest. The reporter who came up with the story, a former Mizzou grad, is my friend Cristian Lupsa - staff writer for Esquire here. These guys play on a rough soccer field and don't even have equipment yet or a team to play against. Still, they have a lot of enthusiasm, which some papers that covered the story briefly kind of neglected.

Here are couple of pictures from the first training session I witnessed.

The guys warm up before their practice. When the team started, it was just about kicking the ball around. The compulsory warm up was the first sign that they were beginning to take things a little more seriously.


The guys take a short break in between drills. The field they play on is really rudimentary.

Costesti

I took Ikuru to the Gypsy fair in Costesti, where rich Gypsies get together to show off and party. Here are a few snaps.

A child runs past tow luxurious cars waving a toy gun. Mercedes and BMW are the most popular cars in this community. A man's car represents his status and can affect his image in Costesti.


A man drinks while loud music blasts from the speakers outside his tent.


A young Gypsy poses for a portrait.


Liviu Silvestru wraps his coat tightly around his body once the sun goes down and the cold sets in. Not everyone parties. Liviu has been selling second-hand clothes all day long.

Alby

The King of Music

During the photo workshop we're at here in Timisoara, we spent several nights drinking and laughing our asses off with Tamango, a popular Gypsy singer who calls himself the King of Music.

Tamango tries to light a cigarette with his pistol-like lighter.

Ikuru, The Guru

My friend Ikuru has landed in the beautiful Romanian landscape. He plans to live and work here for a year, more or less.


Ikuru talks to Andreea, a Romanian journalist, on the night train to Timisoara, a city in Western Romania that hosts a Gipsy festival.


Bogdan (one of my dearest) and Ikuru in the backstage at a concert.