The Square-Eyed Documentarian

In the twisted paradise of Sri Lanka's coastal sprawl, a strange ritual is taking shape – one crazed photographer carrying oversized square glasses to hand to unsuspecting locals before immortalizing their bewildered expressions. This isn't just another tourist with a camera fetish; this is 0xDariush deep in the throes of creating his 'Nounish People' collection, a fever dream of cultural documentation that's rapidly taking shape on this tear-shaped island.

The evidence emerged on February 27th – a haunting image of a statue trapped behind black bars, its face obscured by those signature square frames. "Thought it'd be a rare shot for my Nounish People collection, so I added the noggles 3,2,1 📸!" he declared to his digital congregation, foreshadowing the strange cultural alchemy that would follow.

Beach Drummer's Initiation

The real madness began on the beaches, where our intrepid documentarian found himself amid a group of shirtless locals pounding drums and passing drinks with the casual camaraderie that transcends language barriers. The resulting image – a bare-chested man sitting cross-legged on a rock, oversized black frames devouring half his face – captures that bizarre moment of cultural collision where ancient rhythms meet digital-age absurdity.

"Walking on the beach, I heard drums and local chants and found a group of young guys enjoying the day," Dariush reports, like an anthropologist who's wandered too far off the academic reservation. "I asked to record their music, they handed me a shot and a cigarette, here, that means a lot!"

And isn't that the whole twisted point of this experiment? Those strange moments of human connection that happen when you hand someone a ridiculous pair of glasses and watch as their entire demeanor transforms. There's something both absurd and profound happening in these encounters – a temporary suspension of cultural barriers through the shared experience of looking absolutely ridiculous.

The Professional Volunteer

The collection expanded with manic intensity in the weeks that followed. By March 5th, a new portrait emerged – a dark-skinned surfer holding his board on a beach with black and tan sand, yellow frames perched on his face like some sort of tropical bird that had mistaken his head for a landing pad.

But the real alchemy happens when the sun goes down. "My me time is kinda different," our chronicler confesses. "I go to parties and festivals as volunteer photographer with some pair of noggles which gives me the opportunity to take nounish pictures of beautiful people!"

The resulting nightlife documentation has the frenzied quality of someone shooting on the edge of madness – blurry faces illuminated by blue light, oversized frames catching the flash like alien eyes. These aren't the perfectly composed portraits of a sober professional; they're the raw documentation of someone embedded in the beautiful chaos, dancing for hours "with my noggles on" between shots.

Book of Faces

This isn't just digital ephemera disappearing into the void. Each portrait, each strange cultural encounter, is building toward something more concrete. "Previews from my upcoming physical book featuring portraits of people wearing noggles during my travels," he explains in his mission statement, revealing that this madcap documentation has a final, physical destination.

The process continues with almost religious fervor. By March 9th, we find another victim of the traveling noggles – a blonde, mustached man sitting cross-legged in shallow water, yellow frames dominating his face as he reads from a green book. The composition has the surreal quality of a religious painting reimagined by someone who's been awake for three days straight.

The Cultural Translator

"Meet Dong!" comes the latest transmission on March 7th. "While walking in the Galle Face sea area in Colombo, capturing photos as I waited for sunset, I noticed him shooting with an old analog Mariya camera."

The resulting portrait shows an Asian man wearing those signature square frames, standing against a backdrop of modern skyscrapers. Behind the absurdity of the oversized glasses lies a genuine moment of connection between two photographers – one analog, one digital, both seeing the world through their own unique frames.

"We started talking about film photography, our favorite films, and cameras," Dariush reports. The Vietnamese photographer's Instagram bio is quoted with a reverence that suggests our chronicler has found a kindred spirit: "I spent my entire life trying to capture the decisive moment. But every moment in life was the decisive moment."

In these strange encounters, filtered through ridiculous eyewear and cultural barriers, something genuinely human emerges. Each portrait tells a story that transcends the gimmick of the noggles – stories of surfers, drummers, readers, and fellow photographers, all momentarily united in the bizarre brotherhood of the square-eyed.