Sometimes I get so caught up in the chaos of everyday life that I stumble across photographs I took that I completely forgot about. And this was one of those weird days where the mind is already roaming endlessly with the thoughts of all things to be done. A little roam through the streets in attempt to multitask and pursue multiple areas of personal growth. My attempts to obtain various documents has finally ended, for now. The previous financial quarter in Armenia came to an end as well, so everything starts anew now. I'd say I'm exhausted, wanting to spend weeks inside and just sleep and do nothing, but I can't.
Even on this day, I attempted to go to one area of the city to capture some aerial views of it. Though the sunlight was still quite strong and I had some free time. I decided to walk down Yerevan's Cascade and into the city centre, only to discover yet another festival unfolding outside of the Opera House. This was a festival dedicated to tourism and general travel within the nation, though it wasn't targeting international tourists, rather introducing its own citizens to various locations in the country and events that unfold. Ranging from hiking trails to companies that specialise in general wellbeing groups: yoga, spas, and the rest.
Coming up in about a week is an event I haven't seen before beyond some advertising for other countries: hot air balloon rides. I managed to capture the advertising of these trips as one balloon was being built up for display next to the stands. The event I mentioned a moment ago pertains more to a larger campaign in the city that will see its entire skyline covered in these balloons. I have never been so close to one before, and it was an interesting experience to stand and watch them slowly fill it up and get it going, shortly before very safely just tying it off to a car nearby. I don't think this was used to take anyone anywhere as a result. To no surprise, this event was more popular than the stands that were trying to find customers. Most people stepped off the main trail of the festival and came to watch the balloon instead. Even the photographers and videographers of the event took a few steps away to watch and capture it.
Huge roars of flame would erupt and fill the surroundings. Everyone stepping a bit too close to try to get the best view. Nobody seemed to care. The odd time the balloon would sway with the evening breeze a bit too close in one direction. I tried my best to capture a few interesting shots but I was, as always, rocking the Helios with its tighter 58mm focal length. I was happy to see I wasn't the only one struggling to capture the entire thing though, as other photographers would also have to take many steps back to try to get more of the spectacle into frame.
As you can see from the last image, I took a few steps back too before it finally rose up into the air a bit. Capturing the entire thing with the crowd that had formed. This event didn't see much life to it, not a lot of advertising at all. Even the stands that advertised things were already packing up and had left before the balloon was up. I think given this was a Friday, it was still being prepared a bit.