I haven't been to the botanical garden in Yerevan in well over a year. The last time I went it was basically spring. The little forest area green and the heat relatively strong. Back then a lot of reconstruction was going on, and still is, but I decided to return as I wanted to be around some woodland and capture the atmosphere a bit more. Without taking a bus all the way into the mountains near Dilijan! I didn't expect such beautiful sights in the botanical garden, and a few rookie mistakes had me taking some relatively awful shots for the duration of my time there. I mean, I completely forgot to set my white balance!
Sony's back lens cap can conveniently be used to set an accurate white balance, so after being in the forest for a while and constantly wondering to myself why everything in camera looked so shit, I realised I could actually fix it. Sitting down at a bench and pointing the lens into the cap. Immediately the autumn tones I was seeing with my own eyes came to light within the camera, I was quite relieved, but also a bit frustrated that I had wasted so much time trying to make something work when it was a simple fix. I was switching between all three lenses I had with me, removing and adding filters in assumption that maybe one of them was the culprit behind the totally inaccurate colours.
Not long after, the sun had started to set. It sets around 6PM here. This was about the time that the light had mostly left the forest, there wasn't much left to capture given the light had left and everything started to look flat. On my way out, a small fox ran out in front of me, which was quite a surprise. A shame I didn't get a chance to capture it, though I'm sure it lives within that space given how large it is. Hopefully the reconstruction takes into consideration the wildlife that remains in the woodland and doesn't impact it. So many squirrels, magpies, and other birds running around. I tried to capture those without much luck. Again, by the time I had figured out my colour problem, the light was already on its way out and the birds had decided to rest.
Though I did capture this one image of a squirrel. I only stumbled across it due to it making such an odd noise which sounded like a bird. It sat on that little branch for a while, and I attempted to yet again switch back to my 85mm lens to capture it in a better frame, and of course just as I switched lenses, the squirrel decided to move. It was about that time that I figured it was a good time to leave. Nothing was really working out for me. Though I did learn my lesson regarding not forgetting about white balance. And I intend to return to the botanical garden soon. And this is with knowing there's so many little things to capture. So many details around the forest. Even in the old Soviet era buildings which hold various plant species and animals within them. Though they aren't in the best condition.
I am still yet to enter the main building, which you can see has some smashed windows somehow. Years of neglect. Though I think in some ways it adds to the charm of the building, which has a very unique Soviet modernist style to it. I am partially glad I didn't shoot a whole lot here, since it did remind me of that fact: I am still yet to really explore it all.
