I feel sick lately. Like I have been incubating a bit of a cold or something over the week. On and off days where towards the evening I start feeling a bit unwell. A cough is starting to appear. But the weather has improved massively and after waiting so long for some clear skies and warmth, I just couldn't stay home. I threw myself out there, schlepping along as my body kept. telling me to just go home or at least sit in a cafe and do nothing. But I wanted to shoot things around the city. I wanted to feel that warmth of the sun and see how much more life was finally present within it; and there was a lot more than usual! Streets full of people. So much life. Everyone finally awake from their long wintery slumbers. I wanted to shoot people more than anything today, though I think I just wasn't quite feeling the intimacy of it, not wanting to get too close to people with how I felt. I instant tried to keep my distance a bit more anyway.
I had images in mind that I wanted to try to take and I took none of them, but that's fine. I enjoyed the process. Even just running the Mir 1v under some actual sunlight. I didn't use it to its best ability, but it was a fun time shooting all manual, having a wider focal length to deal with. There's a particular building that had a really cool Soviet modernist design I wanted to photograph, though a man in a military uniform a few moments later approached me, telling me (and I must add he was very kind and relaxed) that I can't take photographs of one particular building. I knew that the United Nations building was nearby and told him I was interested in another, he understood. I made it clear that the UN building wasn't in frame but he said it was best to delete the images anyway. So I agreed. Given he was really relaxed and kind about it all, even translating through his phone to tell me more information, I even made sure to show him each photograph I took being deleted. I forgot I shot a video though. That didn't appear in the image gallery. So here is that building (not the UN one). I think it's pretty cool. Looks very fun. with the vintage glass.
I walked off only to realise I had a video on the camera I completely forgot I had shot just moments before. Content realising I could grab a frame from that. And so I did. I also questioned to myself why a supposed 'protected building' would be located in the very centre of the city if it's that afraid of being caught up in any photographs, to the point where nothing nearby can be photographed. Again, it's right by the city's largest tourist spot. You know how it is though: people see a camera that isn't just a phone and instantly assume something's up. It draws in the unwanted attention. I can see why people like using really compact cameras for street photography as a result. Small prime lenses, small camera bodies, no additional accessories and a silent shutter. No messing with focus, just a quick snap and off you go. I tend to act this way, but being a bit sick I was more slow than usual with the focus, I was sluggish.
Though walking through the city and seeing the light impacting the surroundings was so nice. For such a day where it was a bit chilly still, it reminded me again of how intense the Armenian sun can be even on a day like this. Where ND filters are a must. Where the contrast is strong. Everything looks blown out. Even from the eyes. But it was exciting. It felt like the city was finally alive again, everyone happier and displaying more joy on their faces to the sun's sudden reappearance.
