A little street photography in black and white

Still don't really feel like writing but I'm sitting in a cafe now escaping the sun a bit. Incredibly intense. And acter a few hours of running around the streets I felt like taking a break. Today was a people day. An interest in getting real close to people with the camera and just not caring. Trying to find interesting looking people to capture in the street. High aperture shooting for a good depth. Though the shutter speed remained about 250th at f8. A low ISO with how strong the sun is.

Today felt right with black and white. One of those days where despite the sun I wanted no colour. I wanted a wider focal length and used the 35mm which happens to be my lowest focal length lens. I'd love to get a 28mm or 25mm for the future. But I'd also love to have a Leica for 35mm film and street photography in general. This is something I love doing and want to do more of, but sometimes feel a bit more limited regarding the gear I have. APS-C crop sensor already means I'm punching in quite close already. And 35mm on a crop sensor basically pushes this to a 50mm full frame equivalent.

I love these fast paced moments though. Seeing something interesting and having a second to react. Forced to get as close as possible without being too invasive, or trying to be as secretive as possible. Landing a shot definitely gives quite a thrill. Even if it is digital and mostly autofocus. Though I missed that feeling of winding film, being more limited to the 36 frames. The range focusing that comes with shooting film. I think this post is more me just whining about my lack of a range finder for 35mm film! Anyway, it's nice to see the city opening up again. More people out with nicer weather. Feels like there is more opportunity again.

These moments feel more connected. More intimate where the streets feel alive with different kinds of people. And Yerevan is a tiny place, so eventually you start to notice faces from the day before. Routines of strangers. Sometimes they stop being strangers and you exchange a few words here and there. Sometimes it feels like you know a person that doesn't know a thing about you. Being a photographer is strange like that. But I definitely prefer the times where I do actually talk to people and it isn't just a quick press of the shutter before moving on to the next. These tend to be the times where I ran around events as there's a higher density of people that are generally more relaxed and expecting of cameras. But those also sometimes feel a bit less authentic in that manner.

Where instead of capturing people in their raw state in the street, they're almost posing for the cameras. Ready for them. In a party kind of mood that strips away some of the other aspects of their personalities. Basically, I think the street photography style of capturing people without them knowing or really expecting it just sticks with me a bit more.