The Spark: A Gift That Changed Everything
My journey with photography began in the most unexpected way—on my birthday as a teenager. My classmates pooled their savings and gifted me a FED-5 Soviet rangefinder film camera. At the time, I didn’t realize that this modest, mechanical box would ignite a lifelong passion. That gift became the first doorway into seeing the world differently, not just as places and people, but as fleeting stories waiting to be captured.
Growing Up in Vedi, Armenia
I grew up in Vedi, a semi-deserted valley town in the Ararat Valley of Armenia. Life in the mid-1990s was raw and unpolished—gritty streets, quiet corners, and a community shaped by both hardship and resilience. For me, it was the perfect visual classroom. Every alleyway, every gathering at the town square, every unspoken story etched into the faces of neighbors became an image in my mind. Looking back, I realize that the stillness of Vedi and its subtle rhythms shaped how I see the world through a lens.
Engineering Days and the First DSLR
After school, I worked as a telecom civil engineering technician. That role allowed me to travel across Armenia—remote towns, mountain villages, and borderland outposts. With my first DSLR, bought after months of saving, I never traveled without it. My photography during this period was a strange but authentic mix: landscapes merging with street and lifestyle shots, often unrefined, sometimes technically flawed, but always honest. I didn’t fully understand composition or narrative yet, but I was chasing something deeper, even if I couldn’t name it.
The Dubai Hiatus
Life took a sharp turn (upwards) when I moved to Dubai. The city, with its towering ambition and relentless pace, pulled me into a different chapter. For nearly 10 years, photography drifted into the background. My cameras gathered dust while I focused on work and building a new life. And yet, the itch to frame moments, to capture strangers and streets, quietly lingered under the surface.
A Rebirth in Saudi Arabia
It wasn’t until I moved to Saudi Arabia that photography came roaring back. I bought my dream DSLR, only to realize something profound—I am a rangefinder soul with an old heart. My true creative voice wasn’t with modern DSLR technology, but with the timeless simplicity of a modern and powerful rangefinder. And guess what, I admit I am lazy in nature, so it had to be digital. So I without naminga brand, I guess you know that it expensive. Well at least expensive as a hobby.
Let’s say an aggravated hobby.
This shift wasn’t about equipment alone; it was about reconnecting with how I wanted to see people, streets, and cities.
Street Photography as Transformation / Reaslisation
Since embracing street photography as my core practice, everything has transformed. My approach is sharper, my compositions carry intentionality, and my images breathe authenticity. What was once raw and searching has become deliberate yet still human.
If you scroll through my Instagram @haybreed, I hope you’ll notice the evolution:
- Candid street portraits that feel alive with story.
- Everyday life in Saudi Arabia, Europe, North America and everywhere else that I wander, seen through a poetic lens.
- Urban geometries and fleeting human interactions frozen in time.
- Each frame is no longer about documenting—it’s about feeling the soul of a place and its people.
In Summary
From a birthday gift in Vedi to rediscovering my passion decades later in Riyadh, my photography has always been about more than cameras. It’s about connection—to my past, to strangers on the street, and to the quiet poetry of everyday life. What began with a Soviet FED-5 has matured into a Leica-driven pursuit of authenticity. Street photography didn’t just shape my hobby; it has become the lens through which I understand my own journey.
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