I woke up at 5pm, a time I felt a little proud of since I hadn't done that in a long time. I packed up my bag after charging some camera batteries and went out into the town in search of something. I grabbed a cappuccino from a nearby Coffee House and continued an aimless walk throughout the streets, walking down ones I had no reason to. Exploring the parts that seemed otherwise uninviting; though that appeal is precisely what made it so inviting in the end. Down unfamiliar streets, surrounded by dark tones of orange and blue from the apartments around. The odd construction taking place as homes were renovated, still sitting in a sea of decay. Finishing that coffee, which I felt wasn't really that good this time, I stopped by a more lit area and set up my camera on the gimbal, not quite sure what I wanted to video, but I knew it was time to start using it a bit, optimising the settings with the camera. I continued to walk without direction, down one straight road, through the bends of another. The odd stray dog munching through trash would stop me from going beyond. Not wanting to get caught up in the night with a hungry set of dogs down certain streets I did know were more their territory. It seemed a bit empty already, not a whole lot of life around. Many stores had closed, the odd worker cleaning the outside a bit.
I recorded my walk without direction for a few minutes, testing the optimised settings I had placed into the gimbal. Trying to remove jitters from each step, a bit difficult given the light payload from the small camera and lens. Motors barely working or knowing how to adjust to it. My creativity wasn't really flowing due to the limited space I could shoot in. Stepping down familiar streets that held more lighting; an old woman tried to speak to me in Armenian when she saw the camera on the gimbal, she then tried Russian. Others would look at me like I was an alien, some strange being that just landed in the area that began to film them for my home planet. This is a small location that doesn't really see a whole lot of tourism, particularly in the later hours of the day where there just isn't anyhing to see and do. Most of the life I saw were dogs curled up in the pavement, sleeping away the night. Men in large groups standing around and chatting. The few in movement would be finishing up their grocery shops or going home from work after their tough commute from Yerevan.
I don't even think I'll do anything with the footage I recorded. Though part of me things it might be fun to upload future walks of random places to YouTube, to show the raw life and culture present in such places. No dialogue or presence on my part. A sort of more documentary approach to filmmaking. I think that would be really fun in the moments where I want to get out, want to be creative, but somewhat lack subject. To turn nothing into something. I guess that's what being a photographer and filmmaker really is.
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