Trying new things, and having a lot of fun with it

I've been mixing things up a bit more lately. Something I love about photography is that it never ends up being boring. Sure, I can grow a bit too tired of using the same lens or focal length after a few weeks, but that also means there's a new one to pick up and swap things out with, To try different styles and shoot different subjects. That's something I've been doing lately as I jump between the Helios 44-2 and the Sony 35mm. I have a Black Mist filter that I've started to use again which really softens light and produces some beautiful results. It came to my surprise yesterday that the filter has the same thread size as the Helios, meaning this already beautiful vintage lens is suitable for the filter too! What a great discovery that was. But I haven't had much chance to use it yet under natural or decent artificial lighting. A busy day yesterday of talking meeting up with people and talking about all sorts of things, but very inspiring.

Yesterday I handed over my passport to a notary to handle the starting process of registering a company here and being able to legally work under contracts within Armenia. I have a few annoying expenses coming up as all the document creating and fees are to come, but that's fine. It's a really exciting time at the moment, to be enjoying the beauty of summer, the atmosphere and life that's all around to capture, but also thinking ahead at all of the possibilities once things are done. I know I'll continue roaming the old streets though, perhaps even more so once that's done. In search of more life to document and find new ways of sharing. Also pushing more into traditional social media again to engage with people and spread the creations with. From Instagram to TikTok, even throwing some images and videos out into Tumblr of all things! And it's going decently so far, which is nice to see. Sometimes an algorithm isn't so bad when it actually shows people with similar interests your stuff.

I'm also loving black and white at the moment, as well as cropping some images down to a similar look to the cinematic 2:39.1 aspect ratio, which is a bit similar to the anamorphic Hollywood look. I think it's pretty fun in some scenarios, but definitely doesn't work for everything. But that's what I meant before by photography never getting boring: there's always something new to try and check out, to have fun with. Especially when there are different types of subjects around: architecture, nature, history, and people. The creativity really comes out, you're forced to observe and really appreciate everything around, from the most simple of moments that unfold. I do really want to upgrade some gear though. Having a full frame would definitely allow for more to be captured within a shot. Sometimes the APS-C sensor feeling too tight within the environments I'm in, even on the 35mm, but that's just another challenge, isn't it?

Anyway, I have no idea when I'll share another photography post. I know it's a Saturday and Hive sort of dies down over the weekend, but I felt like writing a little something anyway.