A brief batch of photographs today from the Ukraine: Odessa and the fascinating Crimean city of Yalta, famous as the summer playground of Tsars and other dictators and for the post-war conference at which Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin re-drew the map of Europe. 

They say that a picture paints a thousand words so with no more ado (and given that I am blogging from a ship with rather dodgy internet abilities!)...

Odessa: This is where the beach will be...

This is where the Beach will be

Odessa: Now Shipping

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Odessa: Dog in Skip

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Odessa: Back in the USSR

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Yalta: Early Arrival

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Yalta: Lenin eyeing up McDonalds

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Yalta: Massandra Winery, 100 year old wine.

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Yalta: Livadia Palace, scene of the Yalta conference. Roosevelt and Lenin wait by the phone.

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Yalta: Livadia Palace. Flags of Convenience.

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Leaving Yalta: a very corny sunset..._DSC5307

With apologies to those who like to see the technical details, uploading from a ship is like pulling teeth without anaesthetic so I will add the relevant details and opinions when I return home. For now, all these were taken with a D800E and either a Tamron 24-70 F2.8 VC or a Nikkor 70-200 VRII.

I am also shooting with a Sony RX100 and will post some shots and thoughts from that camera later.