I forget

15th December 2017

I just had another embarrassing reminder of how bad my memory can be. Once I emerge from a hole of shame I reflect on where I would rather be. The chill of winter and the short days are testing my patience. I am itching (as ever) to walk somewhere exciting.

These images are from what seems like years back in Romania. My plan was to head there in Dec but I am still ridden with injury so I’ll have to sit tight a little longer.

I can’t recall the last time I took a picture that I was excited to see the results of but I can still feel a recent pleasure of hunting for it. On this day we were driving and scouting with an itch to find an elephant in the road. Instead, I was bitten by wild dogs as I climbed a quarry.

The road approached a white puffy cloud. The thick smoke hung suspended, covering only a few meters of the road. We slowed down and I popped out to take a look. Instinctively snapping a police officer as he approached us.

We drove on to find a seductive pink quarry, as the dark settled in we agreed to return in the morning to explore. We strolled the circumference of the lake. Andrei kindly agreed to help play with the symmetry but as I shot this frame I knew the illusion would not translate.

I strolled alone to climb the quarry and soon found myself overlooking the vast space below. Andrei stood about 50 ft away and as I decided to head down to meet him I felt someone, or something watching me.

I turned to face 3 wild dogs about 6ft away looking directly at me like a bacon sandwich. I’m not really afraid of humans. Most people have a predictable limit and a sense of right and wrong. Animals, however, are less easy to reason with. I felt weirdly calm and turned my back to walk down thinking they were just going to gaze at me. Before I knew it one was attached to my bum whilst the other two attempted to bite at my ankles.

“Andreiiiiiiiiii!!” I shrieked as I ran down followed by the barking beasts.

The dogs were called back by an owner and I began to breathe again. My thick jeans and double layers had protected me but my heart was racing.

“You know, a Chinese man got eaten by dogs in Romania recently,” Andrei says, matter of factly, as we drive off to hunt again.

OAO x