Washington, DC

Healthcare is again at the center of debates in Washington, DC. I wanted to capture a description of the moment with symbolism rather than through photos of rallies or marches.

Here is my take. It was on the National Mall in Washington, DC when I saw this woman in a wheelchair with her dog wrapped in a blanket, on her knees. In the back you can see the almost symbolic and blurred Washington Monument.

She is looking at the Monument, as millions of other citizens are.

November 30, 2017

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2017

Armenian Diaspora: the “Salmon Syndrome”

There is a “salmon syndrome” concerning cultural inheritance. At some stage of life, many of us seek that inner river to go back to. Because through our lives we have pursued a path to where we were going but never forgot where we came from.

I came across a book of ethnophotography by Scout Tufenkjian, an Armenian photographer who traveled many of the 85 countries where 8 million Armenians constitute the Armenian Diaspora. The book was published in 2015 on the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.  Her photographs are about the spirit of survival and the dignity of an ancient people who never forgot where they came from (https://www.amazon.com/There-Is-Only-Earth-Armenian/dp/1595910832)

I have traveled the globe for more than four decades and sometimes explicitly, other times by accident, I have looked for that inner river to go back to. Reading Tufenkjian’s book brought back the joys of the “salmon syndrome” – not as the last stop in that river of identity but as a responsibility to swim in it.

Here are a few of my moments in that river.

Singapore. I have worked as a health care professional in Singapore for a decade. When I first visited this one-city country, I was asked about my cultural inheritance. The next day, I was escorted to the Armenian cemetery and chapel which are amazingly well preserved for almost two centuries.  I have written about my first visit here: https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2013/04/singapore.html

One of the statues in the cemetery remains my favorite. Time has not erased the pain depicted in sandstone.

I was also told that the national flower of Singapore, an orchid hybrid, was the world’s first cultivated orchid by a Singaporean woman of Armenian descent Ashkhen Hovakimian (Agnes Joaquim) (b. 7 April 1854, Singapore - d. 2 July 1899, Singapore). It is called Vanda 'Miss Joaquim'.

São Paulo, Brazil. Another big center for the Armenian Diaspora. There are many Armenian churches in Brazil, and the one on Santos Dumont Avenue is my favorite. It has the classic lines of Armenian churches one sees in the mother land and stands in stark contrast to the surrounding modern building. I wanted to capture its silhouette while driving by.

Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is another city I have visited many times. At every visit I take a few hours to walk around the Recoleta Cemetery. While Evita Perón’s humble resting place is what attracts many visitors, I looked for Armenian names…

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The first time I was there was in 1979 and it was a city in construction. Today, it is one of the most architecturally impressive cities in the region. The famous Bedouin  silhouetted 992 foot tower was designed by Richard Tenguerian, an Armenian from Syria. That was the first piece of information I was given by my host when visiting the tower! My view of the tower is shown here: https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2014/05/riyadh-new-york-and-architectural-musing.html

Armenopolis, Romania. This is probably my most memorable swim in that inner river. I wrote extensively about that experience here: https://vahezen.blogspot.com/2016/03/armenopolis-romania.html

In short, I was lecturing in Budapest when a woman from the audience approached me to ask if I had visited the Armenian church in Armenopolis (Gherla). When I said no, she convinced me that should. So the next day I drove 12 hours to see the church. I never regretted that long drive but hoped to have taken pictures of the empty church..

There are many other memories of moments when the “salmon syndrome” had expressed itself, often uninvited. Among them is the surprise celebration of my 50^th birthday in Vienna that my Austrian friend had organized. More than a dozen Armenians came to the church with homemade Armenian food. I did not know a single one of them! Details here: https://vahezen.blogspot.com/2014/02/birthday-in-vienna.html

So, Tufenkjian’s book may contain frozen-in-the moment photographs of the Armenian Diaspora, but it helped me leaf through the pages of my past decades with sounds, faces and feelings that are still very active and alive.

November 26, 2017

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2017

Veteran’s Day Parade through the Eye of a 1954 Canon Lens

Prescott is a small city in Arizona where many veterans have retired. While parades are relatively small, the respect and devotion shown to veterans is vast and continuous.

I took my 1954 Canon rangefinder and one roll of ASA 100 film to capture a few moments. While there were hundreds of digital cameras shooting non-stop at any moment of the parade, I looked for my usual “people moments” to describe an angle other than what was going on the main streets of town.

After all I had rolled less than 20 frames of film in the canister and I needed to use each frame with a purpose.

Also, this time I did not use a yellow filter on the Canon 1.8 lens. I wanted to let the off focus areas be less sharp and dreamy. I also took the shade hood off to allow old-fashioned flare do its trick -- this lens can provide unexpected bokeh on sunny days.

The Super Man was surely picturesque, especially for B&W photography. But I wanted to have all in the foreground and those in the background as blurred as possible. So, I set the aperture to 8 and the speed to 125.

This next frame was almost perfectly constructed for me to just click. The man in the wheelchair has a Chicago Cubs sticker, his face is solemn, and in the background is the City Hall as a rectangular and natural frame. The parade participants are just behind the man but the old lens did its magic in making them feel distant and in a fog.

Needless to say that on such a day, patriotism is front and center to all expressions, speeches, songs and parade programs. I found this man’s T-shirt perfectly describe the atmosphere in town.

But, there is no street photography without a facial expression of surprise! This time, I had two faces look at me as if wondering who still uses mechanical cameras and film! 

These two lap dogs actually seemed to express the surprise of quite a few people who stopped me to ask “Is that really a film camera?” A young woman came to me and asked to see the Canon rangefinder. “I have never seen a film camera” she started. “My father had told me about these.”

… That made me feel real happy, indeed.

So, these photos represent what I saw at the parade. Oh, of course there were marching bands, horses, WWII Jeeps, and other old cars. But I am a street photographer of people, and had less than 20 frames of film to shoot!

November 12, 2017

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2017