More Yezidi
Yezidi child, Shamiram, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005
Now that the weather in Armenia has improved, it’s time to get out and about after being stuck in Yerevan for almost the entire winter. That’s not to say I haven’t been into the regions for the past five months, but that I’ll be going more and more often now. Edik and I are planning another trip to Berd this month, and on Thursday I should be off to Aragotsotn to stay for a few days with another Hetq journalist in the Yezidi village of Alagyaz.
Yezidi child, Shamiram, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005
However, the main reason for going back to the Yezidi will be to follow the continuing research on Armenia’s largest ethnic minority by Nahro Zagros, an Iraqi Kurd from the UK currently in town. I’ll likely post some images Friday or Saturday, but in the meantime, previous posts about the Yezidi in Armenia can be found here.
An interesting thing, though. Some Armenians say that the popular singer Tata Simonyan is Yezidi. Anyone know anything about this?
Yezidi child, Barozh, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005
BTW: Unrelated to the Yezidi/Kurds in Armenia, I’m really beginning to miss film. All the above shots were taken with a Nikon F5 on color negative film and I don’t know why, I prefer them to the shots I’m getting with a [digital] Canon EOS 20d.
Then again, if I was shooting with a Nikon D2x maybe I’d feel differently.
I’ll try shooting both film and digital in Alagyaz on Thursday and Friday, I think. Maybe I can understand why Nikon surprised everyone in this new digital world by releasing the F6 film camera in 2004.
Comment by Onnik — May 2, 2006 @ 2:14 pm
Do you develop your own films or is there a trustworthy vendor in Yerevan?
Comment by nazarian — May 2, 2006 @ 6:56 pm
see, i told you so
Comment by artyom — May 2, 2006 @ 8:15 pm
Artyom, I did agree with you about the film thing on your site, I’m sure. The main issue for me is time, to be honest, and also in very low light conditions when I generally find myself shooting at 800, 1600 or even 3200 asa equivalent. There digital really comes into its own.
Nazarian, no I don’t process my own film unfortunately. Would love to set up a b/w darkroom here but water supply makes that impossible. Instead, negs are processed in a shop nearby and I scan into the computer at 22 megapixel equivalent on a Nikon Coolscan.
That’s where the time factor comes into play
Incidently, I guess my main concern with the eos 20d is simply that it feels like a toy compared to a F5 or D2x. Technically, the focusing on the Eos 20d is sluggish compared to my F5, and I’m not too keen on the greater depth of field on the smaller digital sensor. Then again, that’s the same for the D2x as well.
However, the idea of splashing out $3,000 for a full-frame Canon Eos 5d or $7,000 for a Canon Eos 1ds Mk II is a little outrageous, especially as those price tags are for the camera body only.
Still, I was deeply jealous of the Turkish Zaman journalist who had two Nikon D2x’s around his neck at recent events in Yerevan. Was tempted to shop him into the Dashnaks on the 23 April march so I could grab his cameras in any ensuing confusion.
Just kidding
Anyway, will be interesting to double up some shots on Thursday and Friday to compare.
Comment by Onnik — May 2, 2006 @ 8:59 pm