The Gallery #7: 'Ugly', and The Mads

This week's prompt for Tara's Gallery is 'Ugly'. I racked my brains when I read that; what to photograph? Normally it's examples of beauty - or our interpretation of what is beautiful - that we bother to record. So if I go back through my files I can show you photographs of sunsets over idyllic beaches, of children playing in the mountains, and the sun rising over Glastonbury Plain, but ugliness? Not something I usually want to remember.

I've seen plenty of it, mind you. Just looking around me in Moscow there is the dirt, the crumbling tower blocks, the fumes from the traffic, the beaten up old cars, the expressions on the faces of the people fighting to squeeze onto the metro in rush hour (although, understandably, a lot more people are taking taxis right now...), and the rubbish thrown onto the side of the road.

But all that would be too obvious - and too cheap a shot. So instead, here is a pile of melting snow outside our front door. Definitely not pretty (despite the late afternoon sun glinting off the ice), and I suppose it could even be called ugly. Except, after a whole winter dealing with the white stuff, this sight marks the beginning of Spring - so whilst it is ugly, it's also a very welcome sight indeed...

And whilst I've got your attention, I would just like to indulge in little bit of shameless self promotion and point out 'The Mads' logo on the right hand side of the screen. For those of you who haven't come across this yet, it's the collective name for a series of blog awards to be presented to nominted Mum and Dad bloggers, and I'm delighted to have been nominated for a couple of them;

Mad Blogger of the Year

Best Mad Blog Writer.

Any support would be much appreciated. (It appears that I left both my Natural Modesty towel and my Shrinking Violet hat back in London when we moved...)