Ti strašni strici Those fearsome guys

Takole vam rečem: fotoaparat je ena prav fina zadeva, to sem že davno pogruntala; ne samo, da mi pomaga zabeležiti nepozabne trenutke, zelo je pripraven tudi, da te pustijo pri miru. Sploh pri takih strašnih stricih, kot so kurenti, to pride še kako prav. :)
 
Če si oborožen z njim, se ti sicer dostikrat zelo nevarno približajo, celo tako zelo, da se ustrašiš, zajameš sapo, narediš beden posnetek in hitro odskočiš nazaj, toda vse je bolj ali manj del njihovega poziranja, v nasprotnem primeru, brez njega pa, kdo ve, en dva tri končaš tako, kot sta uboga ovčka in rdečelaska. In to ni kar tako - sem videla, da kurenti po novem pri dekletih zbirajo ne samo robčke, ampak tudi nedrčke! :)
 
Kljub vsemu so te maske tiste, ki me, sploh v množici raznoraznih novodobnih, pa četudi marsikdaj izvirnih in zabavnih, najbolj privlačijo.

Tokratni posnetki so s pustnega sprevoda na Viru pri Domžalah.

I tell you this: photo camera is one such fine thing, I have discovered this long time ago; not just that it helps you document precious moments, it is also very convenient for others to leave you alone. It is especially useful when meeting such terrible and loud guys like kurenti are.
 
Kurent originates from pagan times and is the main figure of our rich carnival season heritage. By crazy jumping it rings its belt-bells to dance the winter and evil spirits away. There are two different types, the feathered and the horned one. Kurentovanje in Ptuj town, the traditional carnival costumes parade, is one of the biggest in central Europe.
 
Anyway, if you are armed with a photo camera, you are safe. The kurenti will pose for you, ok, they can come very close to you, like a hurricane, so that you get scared, hold your breath, take lousy pictures and quickly jump back in the crowd, but without it, you never know, you might end like these two poor ladies above, the sheep and the redhead. :)
 
And it is not a small deal - I saw what kurenti do these days; they don’t take just handkerchiefs from girls, like the tradition says [picture 4], I even noticed a bra or two in their collection! [see pictures 1 and 3] :)
 
Nevertheless, this one is my favourite of all our carnival characters, it attracts me most, especially in the mass of modern ones, even though many of them quite original and funny.

Pictures are from Vir carnival in a little town near Ljubljana and here you can see a film about kurenti.