Brutal Tours - Explore Soviet Georgian Architecture in Tbilisi

A while ago with a friend of mine (another expat in Georgia) we started an online community on Facebook: Georgia Expat Photographer club.

In matter of no time we gathered a critical member count and were looking to start offering some day trips in Tbilisi or Georgia, helping other photographers explore interesting and cool sites for a free or minimum charge.

Like organizing these trips by ourselves between club members, kind of crowd funding for photographer travelers.

Learn more: First Georgia Expat Photographer Club Meeting

We did a few day trips at the start, like Hiking in Borjomi (Georgia) or Hiking In Birtvisi Canyon (Hidden Trails Of Georgia), also we did some tutorials on HDR photography for club members and so on. Unfortunately, at one stage we stopped our activities, because of passive interest from group members, people were joining but didn't showed much activity toward organizing things, and we let the club in a free flow, after all - basically photographers were just submitting their photos or some club members tried to marketing their services, which IMHO is OK, as long services offered are useful for other club members. 

The other day another advertisement, by BrutalTours.com was published offering Tbilisi Free Photo Walking tour:

During this 3 hours walk tour we will visit the places that are not on the list of other tour operators.
Under our guidance and with a couple of tricks and tips, gathered in years of working as professional photographers, we can show you how to turn an average picture into something unique.

All levels are welcome. It is a must though that you have basic knowledge of photography and your camera settings.

I decided to apply and take my chances of seeing something new, but what's most important to hang out with other photographers, soon an old ally we started our FB group decided to join, and on a windy Thursday's (February 2, 2017) midday (around 13:00) 5 people's met at Pushkin's squire (near Freedom Square) in Tbilisi, to explore some magic from Soviet era architecture.

Tour guides, French girl Helene Veilleux and Dutch guy Maurice Wolf,  a pro photographers, told we are going to take a metro ride to get to the neighborhood of Delisi. Luckily, my old ally, offered to take us there by car, though, I believe for the first time visitors in Georgia, a metro ride in Tbilisi is a must have attraction, don't be afraid of metro or marshutka in Tbilisi, it's fun way to explore city. 

Our photography session started at some place were 3 residential buildings are connected each to other by bridges in the middle. I decided to go in panoramic photography mode, and here is what I got:

Soviet architecture in Tbilisi (neighborhood of Delisi)

Soviet architecture in Tbilisi (neighborhood of Delisi)

As we arrived to site, I remembered that about 3 years ago in Summer we were just wandering around exactly this area,  and took exactly the same route we did it today. Unfortunately, back then in Summer of 2013 or 2014 I wasn't not doing any photography, anyway a cool coincidence, right?

A Gem of Soviet Architecture in Tbilisi -Former Archaeological Museum

A Gem of Soviet Architecture in Tbilisi - Former Archeological Museum

Now, let me make it clear - it doesn't seem this museum is still operating, here is what I found on Tbilisi Guide

The museum was established in 1988 by the well-known Georgian archeologist, head of the Tbilisi archeological expedition, Rostom Abramishvili (1924-1996). The museum housed monuments, discovered by the archeological excavations in Tbilisi. The chronological frames of the collections were from the V c. B.C. up to the feudal times. In the museum was kept the earliest in the world samples of tinned bronze objects from the Delisi (Tbilisi district) dwelling, dated as 4.000 years old; bronze buckle inlayed with silver decorated with horse rider image; inventory of the Treli royal burials (XII-VIII-VII c.c. B.C.). 

View towards Tbilisi from the former Archaeological museum hill

View towards Tbilisi from the former Archaeological museum hill

This place was a great discovery to me, I enjoyed it a lot, and I will definitely return here with a tripod very soon. It would be awesome to make a HDR golden hour photography here, or maybe a star trail photography, though not sure about city light effect.

Our tour guides took as to some other cool site today, but my attention span was already limited, as it was cold and damn windy outside.