Photographing Yerevan's Mayor: Armenia Travels

Do you ever have days that feel a little too surreal? That somehow you've found yourself within four walls surrounded by people you have very little reason to be near? Well, yesterday that was how I felt. I have experience being around relatively famous people from my time in the film industry in England, it's something you sort of very quickly adapt to and remove from your brain: the realisation that celebrities or politicians are really just regular people, and if you have the chance to talk to them, you really do see it. Partially the other reasons of this familiarity is due to repetition, constantly getting exposure to such people, and having that realisation of professionalism; after all, you can't really turn up to work and spend your time not working and instead annoying the talent. I've talked to and know of my active people on the entertainment industries, and often enough it's all the same to them, they stop caring. Each project is just to pay the bills, even if an inspiration of theirs happens to be attached to it. But this doesn't mean that sometimes you don't end up just feeling the oddness of where you're standing in certain moments. Then you may ask yourself: how did I get here? Talking Heads references aside, life has its ways of throwing reminders at you, quick realisations of both problems and achievements. Throwing lessons at you that make you see how far you've managed to come, even if it has been a series of odd lucky events and essentially throwing yourself into the abyss.

In my case yesterday, it was an odd experience. To feel that familiarity of being at events and surrounded by who some may consider important and influential individuals crept in immediately, even before arriving I felt that peace I would usually get before going to a shoot. The excitement perhaps of how fun they usually are, though this time, it was different: I had to photography a live event. Pulled away from my familiar job of setting up lights on music videos and works of fiction, and into reality. To capture scenes of people interacting in real time, adapting to the challenges of a constantly moving environment as both time passed with the light, and people came and went in strong density.

Being paid to shoot this event came at much surprise. The hospitality and community aspect of Armenian people led to this; at the top floor of the Soviet era apartment building I was living in, a neighbour was very interested in meeting me, the random British citizen that had somehow found his way over into Yerevan. That evening, I ate food, got cozy inside, only to have the neighbour arrive shortly after and insist that I joined them for dinner. I went over there in almost pajamas and with slippers on, and we talked a little about what I am doing here, who I am and what I do. He told me what he did, and to some coincidence, he needed a photographer to help capture his brand. He told me that later in the month he may have something for me, an opportunity in which he was working with the Government to help with an event that would be giving awards to athletic achievers.

I told him that I'd love to capture it, but I wasn't entirely sure whether it was something I could do with the gear I had, I proposed that we meet up another time before that date and do some tests, where I could talk to him more about the shoot and we could set up a few examples to show him what I'm capable of. He agreed, but that date never came; though, a knock on the door about a week ago did. He simply told me to have no plans for the 25th,. He left without saying much more, to the point where a few hours later I had to knock on his door and ask what the details were.

When that day actually came, I was a little nervous about the environment I'd be shooting in. I still didn't really know what it was or where it would be. While I'm confident in shooting things, I was more nervous that I had accepted work for someone close to where I lived and had the risk of potentially letting the down in the event that the environment just wasn't good enough to capture. This has happened a few times here already where I have had to capture dance performances in tight spaces and with low light. The movements of performers being difficult to capture because of the required higher shutter speed that led to less light entering the sensor, already under dark lighting spaces without actual lighting to support me.

I knew this event wouldn't have such low light, after all it took place during the day where natural light should be supportive. And I knew that I wasn't to capture super fast movements that would require detail. It really was that money was involved and I just did not want to mess up opportunities. Though in the end everything turned out perfectly, and I took hundreds of images that can be used. I showed them as I took them, getting approval and ensuring that they were happy in the moment. These images are purely unrelated, a result of the event and those that attended.

Oddly a lot of the other event photographers left pretty quickly, mostly alongside the leaving of the Mayor as the event came to an end and was left with the party after, full of Armenian wine and cognac, also a huge table of Armenian food. I'd have attendees calling me over to capture them, I'd get a little nervous given I wasn't really there to do portraits of large groups of people, being there with a Sony A6000 and a Sony 35mm F1.8 lens, a lens that is wide, but cropped and a bit small with the APS-C sensor. But I had fun doing something a bit different, I'm not really a portrait photographer and I don't have a ton of experience in doing it, but I found it pretty easy to do. Again, I'd show them the images after, getting their details and informing them that I'd send them to them at a later date.

Around the time the other photographers left, I sort of had finished my job also. I stood drinking a beautiful dry red wine alongside the attendees, eating a bit of food and generally just lingering around. People were starting to leave; it was a bit of a short event where press and news were just really there to capture the Mayor, with little interest unfortunately in the presence of the athletes being rewarded.

One of my favourite parts of the event however, despite the free wine of which I was given a bottle of as well as the cash payment, was the live music being performed at the start of the event, and all the way through it. Even as the event had ended and the hall emptied, I'd stand there just listening to them, admiring the beautiful music that filled the hall. There weren't many musicians there, but the sound was powerful, gentle still in the playing, As if to be playing gracefully toward the flags of Armenia, rather than for the few still present.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things at the event was seeing the fashion of Armenian men even in such important events. Even as the photographer I wore a smart looking shirt, yet those attendees would wear pretty much anything black. The women had makeup, beautiful dresses rich in colour and patterns, quite a contrast in comparison.

This shoot took place on Christmas Day around midday. It's definitely the most interesting and strangest Christmas I have experienced. But so much fun. Even after this, I received a wonderful offer to attend a tango charity dance event and photograph it in the evening. Two paid shoots out of nowhere, on Christmas. Surrounded by unique people, from different backgrounds and lifestyles, both very different challenges. And definitely one of the best gifts I could've received.