Mexico City

It was a quick 2-day trip to Mexico City and I had my trusty 1954 Kiev-2 rangefinder in my backpack. At the airport, I dropped my bag but did not think much about it as the camera had survived rough travels across continents for years. After work hours, I walked the streets for a short while and after 4 frames, the camera jammed! And it is still jammed today, but I keep it for memories.
This is the only one I printed. It has all the imperfections an-about-to-quit-Kiev camera can produce. But it does have a comforting and happy story. It seems to capture what I have often seen in Latin and South American countries: a genuine capability to enjoy the moment, no matter how little such an attitude may require. Hanging out, chatting on the street corner is a wonderful social behavior.
In addition to the picture telling a story, the two men standing up are also in a dialogue - reminds me of the picture on this blog's opening page of the two elderly men in Bilbao.
Maybe that hints to a composition I like to find for my photos...

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico

Sometimes empty streets tell the story of its people, especially when you know they are looking at you from behind the curtains or dark, small windows since they do not want their pictures taken.
A pueblo is a North American Indian village and New Mexico is the home of pueblos. Most are still inhabited and the pueblo of Acoma is a continuously inhabited village in the region, perhaps since the 8th century. Among the favorite visiting places of tourists, this village is similar to others in its offering of pottery, silver jewelry, and picturesque hiking. Indeed, the village is built on an enormous rock which one has to climb through narrow passes where only one person fits at a time.
During the day people stay inside avoiding the desert heat and makes the pueblo look deserted.
Taken with a Nikon F2 and a Nikkor 24mm 2.8 lens.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Amsterdam

For French speakers, Amsterdam is the penultimate port where the drama of life is depicted in Jacques Brel's famous song. For others Amsterdam is where anything goes. And for the rest of the world Amsterdam is dams, raw herring with onions, music, great food and beer.
And all of these characters of the city have been captured in songs, on film and in history. On my many trips to Amsterdam, I have tried to find an angle that would be less observed and a picture composed to reflect the poly-culturality of this amazing city.
This one may come close to my goal: Tibetan musicians were playing their zen music in a tunnel linking two major streets in the center of Amsterdam. Contre-jour, wanted to get the feel of the tunnel, the arches, the musicians. After waiting a few seconds, the musicians stopped playing, put their instruments down, and I thought I missed my shot. Then a group walked through the sunny entrance giving that eerie feel of aliens... And it felt like the Tibetan musical cords had called them in!

The second picture is of the same tunnel, taken later in the day. When people are gone, there is no street photography! It also makes the point, I think, that anticipating or immediately reacting to a natural composition is the first requirement of street compared to landscape photography where you have time to compose, retake, and experiment with light. When you are walking the streets and if you "see" a story, it does not matter what camera or what lens you have. All that matters is that you have a camera with you!
Taken with a Nikon F and Nikkor 50mm 1.4 lens.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Siena

Siena is among the most visited cities in Italy. Surrounded by Tuscan landscape, it is a charming medieval city with a distinct character. In addition to the medieval Duomo, it has a shell-shaped city center the Piazza del Campo. Surrounded by trattoria and bars, it is the spot for soaking sun rays on a lazy afternoon.
Siena is also known for its horse race, the Palio. Held twice a year, horses are raced around the Piazza del Campo ridden bareback and carrying the code of arms of the various districts in and around Siena. It is more than a horse race, I was told it is like the passionate competition one would equate with a football Derby match in Europe,
I took this picture on the Piazza del Campo, where a Japanese bride was photo-testing her gown. Of course the background of her picture was the Duomo and its adjacent tower. While bridal pictures lend themselves to natural B&W capturing, they can also be, well, boring.... I did wait for a few minutes to capture an unposed moment, and it did come when the photographer, a Japanese young man wearing an expensive Italian suit, turned his camera around and started endlessly clicking for photos of tourists.
The bride gave up posing, and I clicked.
Taken with a Minolta Autocord Twin Lens Reflex camera.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Nazaré

Nazare is a lovely small Portuguese town with magnificent cliffs over the ocean. There is a table top rock protruding out of the summit of the tallest cliff and legend has it that a warrior, riding his horse, jumped from that rock to the ocean chasing a departing ship. Legends have a way of interpreting what we cannot understand!
Fishing is among the main activities and I assumed this lady was a fisherman's wife. Well, she was selling fresh sardines on a warm day.
When I looked over the cliff, a couple was walking on what it seemed a popular sandy beach. They were more than 500 meter away and down from where I stood. I had my Nikon F2 and the 1969 Nikkor-Q 200mm f4 tele lens. The softness of the picture may represent the gentle dialogue the couple was having.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Bilbao

Perhaps the most old-fashion street picture I have taken in the past few years. The crowd is there with its many faces celebrating the good performance of a street music band. The man having a drink was the violinist and he was indeed quite good.
The negative has been "tortured" by time and darkroom chemicals, yet the grain and imperfections give it an oldness which goes well with B&W photography. In fact, looking at the sideburns of the man in the far left of the frame, one could have thought this was from the 1970s.  A simple illusion leading to 20 years' error in estimating the date!
Taken with a Nikon F and a Nikkor 105mm 2.5 lens.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Albuquerque

This is a "mood" picture like the Fado shot from Lisbon. A group of us went up the sandy hills outside the city on horseback to watch the sunset. I was the only one shooting black & white, and of course the only one with a non-digital camera. I learned that it is not easy to adjust the meter lightmeter, focus, and click when on horseback! Years later I tried the same thing while on a camel in Morocco and again got bad pictures.
But I will keep this one because I like the grain and mistyness of it.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Prague

My first visit was more than a decade ago and the romanticism of the city charmed me immediately. But as all cities, it is the attitude of its inhabitants that makes a bridge revitalize a river, or shade an embrace under a medieval statue.
The castle dominates the city where Franz Kafka is tenderly remembered. I like the brisk walk to the castle followed by a sampling from local breweries. One can eat a king’s feast of fowl and game there too.
The most famous bridge of Prague is the Charles Bridge circa 1357, over the Vltava river. It is the place to see artists, walk at a slow pace among visitors from the world, and eat good street food. At both ends of the bridge there are jewelry shops where the old art of working with gold is delightful to see.
I took this picture on a gently raining evening on the Charles Bridge with a Nikon F3 and a Nikkor 50mm 1.4 lens, wide open. The group was playing eclectic music from central Europe. I would have gotten emotional if there were a violin!

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

New York City

Always fun to walk around Times Square. These two early morning photos are of people that I do not know, as always. But they are graceful, and my Mamiya Sekor 80mm 1.9 medium format lens liked them. I do not know why the couple in the first picture decided to replicate an historic kissing pose, but I am glad they did. As for the bride, she was all grace. The arms of the kneeling man give a sense of flying and the tail of her dress seems already in the wind.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Hayderabad

I was in Hyderabad when the bougainvillaea were in bloom and the city was filled with night blooming Jasmine perfume. Unfortunately I am not too keen on mosquitoes so my evening sorties were carefully planned.
A typical street scene. As always, the unplanned makes for better pictures, and the facial expression of the man seem to go along with the cow's attitude -- too hot at noon!!
Taken with a Yashica Electro 35mm camera.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Edinburgh

Just a jolly good time in front of "Dirty Dick's". I was among the few men, that evening, wearing long pants...
And Rose Street has many a pub with great beer, mediocre food, and very memorable names!
Taken with a Nikon F and a Nikkor 50mm 1.4 lens.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Seoul, S. Korea

A short stop in Seoul airport, during flight changes. The flight attendants got on the rolling carpet and they were extremely graceful. Followed them for a second with my Pentax K1000. And magic! One of the flight attendants turned around to look at the sleeping lady.
Her chiseled facial features and attire seem to put us in a different time. The adverse lighting, defects on the printing paper and lens flare do not seem to distract us from the story of the moment.

©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2013

Tokyo

Taking pictures in the streets of Tokyo is like taking coal to Newcastle.
I took the train from Tokyo to Kyoto. The ceremony of cleaning each train before the next trip was amazing: ladies in uniform would arrive in an athletic cadence, line up exactly at their spots next to each coach, and wait for the whistle from their coordinator. When the train arrives and passengers have exited they will rush in, clean and be out with the next whistle. The train is now ready and spotless!
The second picture shows the sweeps of the volunteer elderly who keep their city clean and manicured. I could not resist to think that this was the "Witches' Landing"... A bit of Western imagery cannot hurt.
Both taken with a Canon rangefinder Model L3 and Jupiter-12 lens.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

San Jose and Tortugero National Park

Costa Rica is a country where outdoors sports remain very attractive for tourism. Many of the villages outside of San Jose are rural and do not have paved roads. As a street photographer, I wanted to capture the villages and their dirt roads but needed a story and a context. At one village this young girl walked to me and asked if I would buy the puppy. Not sure if she was serious, although was holding the pup out toward me. "A picture instead to remember your puppy?" I said. Did not have much time for focusing but did get a story, the dirt road, and the village. This was the main road passing through the village and its people.

The two men in the second picture represent the overall jovial attitude from what I have seen, within humble settings. The third picture is more of a pensive one: was the man wondering what he would do if he had wings? This was taken from the inside of the church at the center of a slightly larger village than shown in the first picture. I suppose in Italy it will be called the Duomo...
The fourth picture thematically follows the second one, as at first glance the man seemed standing up in clouds, faceless.
I wanted to take a medium format camera on this trip but was worried that all the harsh travel (hiking, kayaking, frequent rain showers) would damage my favorite Mamiya 645 and Minolta Autocord. So, these were taken with a Yashica 12, which did hold its own.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Auschwitz and Birkenau

There are no people in these pictures; or there are a million people.
A cold and rainy day during a trip to Krakow. The rail lines ending before a forest of birch trees were somber and even more so under the rain.
Taken with a Nikon F2 and Nikkor 105mm 2.5 lens.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Malaga

Malaga is a wonderful city to walk around. The main boulevard is surrounded with well groomed trees giving the much needed shade during summer. The red roof tops and limestone statues remind you that the Mediterranean attitude is always cherished.
This man had the perfect posture for not only making me think of the missing link, but also to wonder "Are we evolving or returning to a primordial state?"
Taken with an Olympus OM-1 and Vivitar Series 1 35-85mm lens.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

London

The first picture is from just outside of London. I had never seen a civic strategy of asking people to stick their chewing gum on a board! Extremely creative, and British par excellence!
Taken with a Voigtlander Vito B.

The second is a perfect example of a technically "bad" picture which still has a charm to it. Evening shot with all the flaring of an uncoated Serenar lens on a 1948 Canon II-B rangefinder camera. It was also the last frame on my film and the corners were masked with the tape holding the film!

The pigeon atop the boy's head which seems to have a halo, at the shadow of Big Ben: Chiaroscuro!

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Mumbai

A picture has to tell a story for me- I am not keen on the technical characteristics of a picture unless there is a story behind it. The first one was taken from a car: did not have much time to make any of the adjustments to the Yashica Electro I had with me on that trip.
As a healthcare professional, this picture tells me a lot of stories!
The second picture has a distinct story. I stayed at a hotel I think called "Sun and Sand" (it was 1998, and I am not sure if I recall every name and detail...) which had a large overlook to the beach and the ocean. I was   on that overlook whem I saw this family. And when the father saw me, he grabbed his daughter and did, what seems like, acrobatic tricks. I took one picture, he stopped the "show", came over and asked for money for my taking a picture! Another well rehearsed model of entrepreneurship! Photo with the same Yashika Electro.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Buenos Aires

I make a point of going to the ancient cemetery in Buenos Aires on each visit. I was amazed to find so many mausoleums of Armenians - it felt like a small world indeed. Of course, Evita Peron's tomb is among the ones many search for. I say search, because it is not easy to find and is quite humble compared to many which surround her's.
Here is a street photographer's take on a cemetery shot: a black cat in front of Evita's mausoleum made it a street picture!
Taken with a 1969 Nikon F and Nikkor 24mm lens.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013

Bellagio

A charming village on Lake Como. The Alps surround the lake with their white caps, even in early summer. The village is hilly, quiet and a true respite from the daily hassles of the world. You can get there only by ferry, and have to climb hundreds of stone steps to get anywhere. Atop the village is the Rockefeller Foundation Center, and Bellagio is also known as the home of George Clooney.
While the village is amazingly picturesque and Lake Como capricious and inviting, its inhabitants are well dressed, drive expensive German and Italian cars, and chose appropriate wines for their lunch. Still, I was able to find a moment to remember on film. This man reminded me of the mythical Centaur, this time just waiting for his wife to decide which stretch-pants to buy.

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2013