Two customers embrace at Pub O’Hara in Rosa Khutor, Russia, during the Sochi 2104 Olympic Winter Games.

On Valentine’s Day evening, I got to trade my snow pants and crampons for my “nice jeans” (the ones not covered in mud splatters from the knee down) and the dressy shoes I forgot I packed for an assignment with USA Today on the night life of Russia. Specifically, exploring the night life of Rosa Khutor, the neighborhood myself and many other Olympics journalists as well as athletes are lodging in here in the mountain cluster.

Right off the bat, I want to acknowledge that there are FAR worse assignments I could be doing as a 32-year-old bachelor in Russia, and this fact was not lost on me as I set out on the town with USA Today reporter Chris Strauss, videographer Jon Keselica, and in the wingman position, our IT technician Nick Carter. The night was ours, and we had little idea what to expect.

Even the official photo assignment was blissfully vague, stating only, “Event Notes: Meet up with reporter Chris Strauss – Rosa Khutor Night Life.” While some photographers might break a sweat being in the dark like this with no guidance or specific requests for images, I embrace these kinds of assignments. The freedom to explore and simply document whatever is found is quite fun and fuels my creativity.

Customers gather for food and drink at the J.Us Bar during the Sochi 2104 Olympic Winter Games.

Much of Rosa Khutor was built from the ground up specifically for the games, so the bars and clubs we explored are all brand new and have a wide variety of themes. One place we ended up at, Pub O’Hara, could have easily been in the Wrigleyville neighborhood back home in Chicago. Western pop music, Irish-themed decor, and a very diverse clientele were a far cry from what I expected from Russian night life.

One thing I’m quite aware of is that, because Rosa Khutor was built for the Olympics, the night life here has been crafted to accommodate its visitors. I’m sure a Russian night life assignment in Moscow would yield a very different set of images.

Patrons smoke hookah at the J.Us Bar.

The vibe in J.Us Bar (a hookah lounge / sushi bar) was a little more in line with what I expected, with a decidedly more “heavy” atmosphere. Men were at several tables that I didn’t want to make eye contact with unless I was looking at them through my camera, while other patrons lurked completely in the shadows, illuminated only by the sparks flying off their hookah pipes.

A DJ plays music as dancers take to the dance floor at the J.Us Bar.

A dancer entertains customers at the J.Us Bar.

Patrons gather at an outdoor bar outside the Bosco clothing store.

Veranika Biziuk (left) of Belarus waits for her bill at an outdoor bar outside the Bosco clothing store.

Patrons gather at Pub O’Hara.

From the decor to the clientele to the music, Pub O’Hara could easily be mistaken for a friendly watering hole in Chicago – a far cry from what I expected a bar in Russia to be like.

An Olympics fan lights a cigarette at Pub O’Hara.

Patrons walk by a sleeping stray dog outside Pub O’Hara.

When I edited my take, I felt that black and white was a better choice than the original color files. Many of the places we went to were dark and didn’t have a lot of colorful elements to begin with, which usually makes black and white a more concise way to tell the story visually. I pitched the black and white versions to the story editor, and she agreed. The photos ran on the USA Today blog site For The Win in black and white, which