The day broke crisp and clear over much of Georgia on March 1. This was the date that RFE/RL had asked local residents to pick up their cameras and photograph ordinary life in their homeland. From the scores of images submitted by our readers, we selected 18 which best captured the spirit of Georgia on that day.
Georgia: A Day In The Life
1
Photographer Indigo Fleur was in Tbilisi's Roses Park when this scene unfolded: "The park security guard came to rest in the sun, then the old man joined him after a couple of minutes. He opened his bag, took out an apple and handed it to the security guy, then took another for himself and started peeling it -- probably because he's old and has some problems with chewing."
2
A young local looking nonplussed by the unusual turn of events at a birthday party in Tbilisi. Photo by Maia Chkhaidze.
3
Soccer players and sheep share the grass in Mukhiani, a suburb on the outskirts of Tbilisi. Photo by Khatia Basilashvili.
4
In the village of Chkhari, in Georgia's west, "Kolya" was photographed by Dato Chachanidze. "He stays alone until the evening, when his mother returns home... This is him waiting for his mom."
5
A street cleaner sweeps between trees in the central Georgian town of Akhalkalaki. Tree trunks in Georgia are often painted white to stop "sunscald" caused by trees being warmed by the sun, then frozen overnight.
6
As two men fiddled with an electrical outlet in a Tbilisi passageway, photographer Vakho Dolidze saw an allegory for his country's current situation: "We Georgians are in this dark tunnel that's slippery and treacherous, but we can see the light in the distance. We know we have to walk carefully to reach that light."
7
A schoolgirl helps out at her parents' kiosk in Tbilisi. Photographer Gvantsa Gagnidze says "she had just sold a cake to a man and was watching him as he walked away."
8
Students play dodgeball at a school in the village of Kumistavi, as photographed by P.E. teacher Lika Chkonia. One team has an advantage in the low winter sunlight but Lika says that's just something her kids have learned to deal with.
9
Maia Chkhaidze had an obvious subject for her camera that day. "March 1 was my daughter's birthday party, perhaps it's not interesting for your audience, but for me this is part of the best story of my life."
10
A tense endgame on Tbilisi's Freedom Square. Photo by Keti Gzirishvili.
11
Browsing a secondhand book stall in central Tbilisi. Photo by Indigo Fleur.
12
The dog, it appears, is walking the boy in this image from the town of Akhalkalaki. Photo by Nino Odzelashvili.
13
Nanuka Japaridze says she tried her best to capture a moment of optimism in Tbilisi's old lanes that day. "But the pictures I shot all look melancholy. The sunny weather wasn't enough to create the joy I remember of Tbilisi's streets. Today you see only a few people outside and they're all so sad. In my childhood it was the other way round, the streets were full of people and there was happiness on their faces."
14
Backgammon on the streets of Tbilisi. Photo by Gvantsa Gagnidze
15
Anna Kacheishvili was ill with a fever on March 1, but she managed to capture this sliver of Tbilisi street life from her window before heading back to bed.
16
Photographic prints hanging in a corridor in Tbilisi. Photographer Tiko Tskhvedadze says she doesn't know who lives here. "Maybe someone who is in love with photography, or someone who is just in love."
17
Hedging your bets: A street seller in Tbilisi offers winter clothing alongside spring flowers. Photo by Levan Mikadze.
18
In Tbilisi's suburbs, Indigo Fleur captured the flow of workers exiting Varketli Metro Station on their way home at the end of the day on March 1, 2017.