Party

Thu Jul 23, 2015

So yesterday, we had a party.

On the party bus - Vova just moved his head On the party bus - Evgeny and Renat chatting while we wait to get going On the party bus - Jeff covered in frickin' lasers

The occasion was a successful funding round (which was officially announced earlier this week, so I can safely tell you this).

On the way in - rounding the corner to our venue On the way in - Michael looking sharp in his blue suit

It's kind of funny being one of the very tiny minority of non-photographers at a party for a photo-sharing site. These pics were all taken on what is assuredly the most ancient of possible phones. Hopefully, the amount of fun is still captured.

At the venue - one of our interns and her mom enjoying the view At the venue - everyone gettng settled At the venue - mingling At the venue - a shot of the bar At the venue - the view out back At the venue - the table setup

The spread's fancier at a get-together like this than at our usual office lunches.

Dinner - the buffet lineup Dinner - A Plate Dinner - revenge of A Plate Dinner - another revenge of A Plate. Also, Alessandro totally not looking at the camera. Dinner - the bar

After dinner, Evgeny gave a bit of a speech. Nothing big, nothing fancy. Just a short, well-spoken "thank you" to the crew for their hard work and dedication. Our. Our hard work, really, but I don't feel like I've been here long enough to lay claim to any credit just yet.

Speech - Evgeny addressing the troops

And then photography happened.

This place is clearly kitted out for weddings and similar, so there's the canonical spot, marked with a paper-tape "X" on the floor, where you can stand to get a shot of yourself and your partner with the lake background.

After dinner - the picture-taking starts After dinner - Vova checking out the focus on a new Canon After dinner - duelling cameras After dinner - someone wanted a picture with the lake background

This is the part where I feel like an outsider, because there's a large amount of lore and craft involved in taking high-quality pictures. I basically just know a little bit about composition thanks to my education. That's enough to appreciate the skill I'm seeing, but not enough to wield it myself. This is how non-programmers would feel sitting in on one of the Bento CompSci discussions.

Time passes - Paul and his +1 with a crescent moon Time passes - the group disperses into smaller social clusters Time passes - the line at the bar Time passes - Jack doing a Ryan North impression Time passes - just the moon and night lights

At some point, Andy (our CEO) gave a small speecth too. It was much later in the night than Evgeny, and there was an open bar, so this one was more emotional and emphatic, echoing the thank you to the entire team for the hard work, determination and energy this project received over the past few years. I don't have pictures of that specifically; just the aftermath.

Late night - still mingling and hitting the bar Late night - intersting conversations continue Late night - parting shot of the moon

All told, we ended up staying there 'till about 12:30. By the time everyone got packed up and back onto the bus, it was getting on to 1:00.

We were all at work today, greeted by a delicious breakfast served thanks to Hailey. More tired than usual, and some of us knocked off early, or came in late, but no less determined than ever.