I said recently that the chaos seems to follow me. Well, today it was more true than ever. I left my apartment around the time I usually do, not looking forward to the short walk to the bus stop. Part of the routine I'm not particularly fond of. I stepped out, and noticed a large crowd in the area. Many of which wearing some politically themed hats that have been going around as of late due to upcoming elections. The current Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, was visiting my district as part of his campaign process.
Naturally, with cameras in hand already, I was prepared to photograph. Initially holding my 35mm camera in my hand and shooting away with that, but I don't want to freely share those photographs here given the potential editorial opportunities they hold. I'd much rather hold onto the gold, you know? Well, anyway, it was quite a surprise to see him literally right outside the apartment. A horde of people around that must've come to support him from the area, as well as follow him through the district as he aimlessly walked around rallying people up as his security personnel pushed and shoved the common plebs out of the way like the scum they are.
The irony there was humorous to see. Some were getting quite close and hugging him, sharing phone calls with relatives and such for him to speak to them, others with some distance were simply pushed well away. That's the way of politics I guess. But still, given the photography potential I snapped away. I can't say I agree with any politician at all, nor would I even know where to begin with the ones in Armenia. No idea what they're saying or want to do aside from get rich, but I guess that's also enough to know!
These sorts of events are always good for the portfolio, I tell myself. That photographing a notable figure helps things stand out a bit. End up on my website or something and see a Prime Minister? Chances are you'll do a double-take instead of just clicking away. I shot on my Mir 1v for these, which was a bit cropped in and acted more like the 50mm on my Canon did. Though I much prefer the way the film photographs came out due to the full 35mm frame compared to the cropped in Mir and Sony A6000's APS-C sensor. It's also much harder to focus with the Mir when it's cropped in a bit, whereas on the full frame it sort of captures everything in decent detail. It was sort of then I realised I should snap away the rest of the roll of film I had, immediately after stepping outside. Though I think the potential is worth it, like I mentioned before regarding the portfolio pieces. Plus, I now have some negatives to hold until I die that show a Prime Minister of another nation. That might be fun to pass down one day!
Also to anyone that reads this, please do not share this post on Reddit. Thanks. :)