Day 4 - Extravert or Introvert?
January 14, 2024
This is Michael.
He sold me the lens I’m currently using, the Voigtlander 35mm f2 Ultron II. I replied to his listing on Facebook marketplace and really enjoyed the short interaction I had when we met up. We met up for a quick photowalk.
Not sure if he knows this, but before we met up I was fuming.
My partner knows this all too well, but to me, traffic is a tunnel to the part of my soul that bathes in a deluge of livid, expletive-riddled spittle. I cannot stand being unable to do anything about it, to accept that I need to simply wait, and have no choice but to enter sleep mode and frantically move the mouse to quickly inch forward with everyone else. I don’t consider myself the most structured person, but I always have a list of things I want to work on, and when a traffic jam prevents me from getting on with my day, I simply implode.
For this nearly hourly-long wait, however, I had my camera with me, which made it bearable. I even got through with a smile on my face. I also might have gotten my favourite shot of the day, which is the first shot in the above carousel (just wish there was some yellow in the bottom half).
Then we got to Hannam.
People who know me well know that I hate going to Costco because of the parking lot escapades. I wish could I actually frame them in my mind as escapades—at least there would be some sense of adventure that way—but in reality, I frame it as unnecessary chaos, a complete waste of time, an utterly primitive activity. Hannam in Lougheed is the K-lover’s Costco with the dial turned down a few notches. Not as bad, but still distasteful. Again, with my camera and more of that dimming-the-mind and navigating foot-traffic, we made it through.
Then we needed to go to Han Ah Reum.
Fuck me, that parking lot, my goodness. Nope. Lots of nope. Did not take a single photo and hightailed it home.
I can breathe. (Another favourite from the day)
Earphones in, camera out, sun shining, observing, waiting. I’ve realized how meditative this process is. How incredibly rejuvenating disconnecting can be. It is interestingly ironic, however, how many parallels there are to being stuck in automotive and foot traffic. The difference is not so clear to me yet, but I did want to note it down as I find it amusing.
Some more photos:
Spent some time walking around downtown and fired off more photos. Found myself in a conversation with two pleasant guys—it really is baffling how many conversations I’ve had with new faces since beginning this project.
Which conveniently brings us to the title of today: extraverted or introverted?
I used to be a clear extravert and have incrementally become an introvert over these past few years. I’m trying to figure out what the value of this distinction is, as you will most likely need to navigate between the two modes regularly anyways, but perhaps it’s because in my day job and during this project, I have seen flashes of my younger self, ecstatic to fully lean into being E. One could argue that knowing which one you identify with will let you know what kinds of activities you will find truly restful, yet there’s an element to fluidity to that for me too. Some days, it’s raucous laughter with friends. Others, it’s sitting in silence rhythmically tapping out my thoughts. An observation that may shed some light: I really enjoy these solo walks because of the pure freedom I’m allowed. I can enter and leave conversations as I please, follow my feet and the rest of my senses. No strings attached. I can withdraw into a corner, take a photo, or witness a moment or partake in a moment. Just me. Rather than a question of nature, perhaps it is more a matter of choice. Have I been in too many situations these past few years where I have felt powerless to choose whether to not to engage with someone? Is that why I continue to grow away from extraversion?
I suppose my extraversion is on full display when building new relationships. I love investing the time to truly know someone. This walk with Michael was another opportunity and I’m glad we met. Definitely a bit harder to just flow into photography though, which is something I’m curious of. I want to see if this is also a skill that will improve over time as I’ll be meeting another photographer soon.
But anyways, here are some photos from the walk, beginning with my favourite. I just love the colours and the proportional relations make everything on the ground floor look compressed, which I find interesting.
I bombarded Michael with a ton of questions about rangefinders, film, etc.. Great gear talk of course haha, and I ranted a lot about creativity in general. Spoke about this project a lot and what I hope to gain out of it. Also spoke about the day job-side of things over beer with no connections to photography/creativity, which was fun. The last shot was taken with the Reflex Labs Mini Flash—very cool little gadget! We ended the walk agreeing to shoot again on a warmer day, and when we had more light. Meeting at Revolver for coffee might not have been the best decision in terms of maximizing daylight, but got to hear some incredible stories so I’d say it was well worth it.
And of course, some more shots on my own to end the night:
I think I’m getting a much better feel for the camera now and starting to get images that I’m happy with. Forgot to mention that I shot this day with contact lenses and wow it’s so nice to be able to see the frame lines! Feeling energized and looking forward to the next day is a new and very welcome state.
Final shutter count: 7318
-J