Hand Made

10/20/10 - Day 306
Shot for today's Daily Shoot assignment #339: "Double your art today.  Make a photo of something you've created or crafted."  Truth be told, I did not make the rug in this image.  It was hand made about 80-100 years ago by the Yamut tribe located in Turkmenistan (Central Asia and formerly part of the Soviet Union).  It's one of the goodies we bought when in Istanbul.

Seven Bucks

10/16/10 - Day 302
This is NOT a commentary on the Turkish economy, which seemed very robust when we were in Istanbul.  Rather, just playing around with a leftover 5 TL bill while importing some images to Lightroom, I was able to get it to stand on edge with very little bend.  Using the multiple exposure function, I thought edge and flat would make an interesting composition.  Taken for today's Daily Shoot #335: "Make a photograph of an edge of something today. The edge of a knife, the waters edge, or some other edge."

What Does It All Mean?

10/11/10 - Day 297
Suffering major jet lag today. I thought one good night's sleep would overcome it...wrong! As such, didn't want to spend a lot of time tonight so I just shot one of the Turkish rugs we brought home from Istanbul. We're still learning the meaning of all the symbols.  Also posted for Daily Shoot #330: "red".

Sad Çikiş

10/10/10 - Day 296
After two wonderful weeks in Greece & Istanbul, time to return home. We were sad to leave; Hydra, Athens, Santorini and Istanbul are all amazing places that were coupled with memorable people experiences.

Special Delivery

10/9/10 - Day 295
Today we went to a section of Istanbul called Kadikoy which is located on the Asian continent. The open market there was incredible, with all the locals doing their grocery and other shopping. This delivery guy with basket on back, was scouting for customers.

Throngs

10/8/10 - Day 294
Yesterday I mentioned the amount of retail/shopping there is in Istanbul. Today we experienced throngs of people shopping like never before. Makes a shopping mall at Christmas back home seem like a ghost town. This image is taken in the Grand Bazaar, a rabbit warren of 4000 shops, all indoors. Not even Lin could scratch the surface. Truly an assault on the senses.

New District Watercolor

10/7/10 - Day 293
Notwithstanding the rain and chill, we covered a lot of ground today. We absolutely love Istanbul...a frenetic city with wonderful, warm people, great inexpensive food, and more retail than one could ever imagine. This image was taken in the rain on Istiklal Street, a main shopping/strolling drag in the New District.

For the technical-minded, this is SOOC.

900+500+80

10/6/10 - Day 292
We hired a private tour guide today to take us through some of the major Istanbul sights. This image is of the Hagia Sophia, started in 532 A.D. and finished in 537 A.D., which for c. 900 years served as the "eastern Vatican". With the Ottoman takeover, it was converted to Istanbul's most important mosque for c. 500 years. For the last 80 years, it has served as a museum.

While not in the greatest condition, it is an impressive space of amazing scale. It is said that the Statue of Liberty (sans torch) could fit inside the dome.