Back in Armenia, and certainly feeling the fatigue. But this is no time for rest. There's money to be made. Streets to capture. Creativity to be explored to no end. I forced myself out into the streets today to do all of that. To pursue the things I want to and not let the tiredness keep me stuck inside doing nothing. These are exciting days. Days which require effort and momentum. To slack is to accept failure. In other ways that requires a bit of sacrifice. I'm not really looking much at Hive at the moment, I don't have the time to do so. Though when I feel I have enough to share, I'll try. Sometimes that ends up being daily, sometimes I'm noticing I'm taking a few days off at a time. I can feel it slipping through my fingers a little, but that's fine when there are priorities.
I roamed around some areas I've been wanting to capture in different ways for a while now. I told myself I'd return with a wider focal length lens to do so. I haven't. I ended up returning with the same 35mm focal length lens but just finding that I had more to capture this time, it felt a bit easier. As if the compositions were right there in my eyes as I walked around the corners. I think that came from the fact that I have been very active with the camera lately and thinking more as a filmmaker with it rather than photographer documenting things. Which means carrying around the gimbal and finding ways to use that to capture more fun perspectives. Though this has made me realise I need a camera monitor and a tripod as the gimbal isn't perfect for all scenarios. Yes, more gear. More money to spend! I still need a new camera, by the way.
Yerevan's landscape is changing quite rapidly at the moment. It feels like a race against time more than ever before. Areas are suddenly being demolished and construction sites spring up and spread their dust and ugly new builds around. Identity being lost in the process. Though still within the courtyards are history. Old basketball courts from the Soviet Union that I'm sure most locals don't even know about given how tucked away they are. Mosaics on large buildings that are destroyed and only sometimes replaced after lots of public backlash. One high rise building is rebuilding a mosaic they destroyed because of it, which I'm sure will also be used to boost the building's property cost. Old men still sit within the courtyards and play Nardi however. Men of a different era. Collected around a bench with the sounds of dice rolling.
I am excited to get out more. I feel as the weather changes (yes, it's still awfully warm here even going into November!) my motivation will increase too. With more interest in getting out and finding new ways to capture the things I've already explored before. As rain adds another element to the environment.