Tag: travel

Travel Photography – Istanbul Series 1:- Hagia Sophia

A visit to Istanbul

On a three-day visit to Istanbul in February 2012 we walked miles, had sun, wind and snow and I photographed – a lot.  Istanbul is a feast for the senses with great people and centuries of history.

 

Hagia Sophia

This has been the site of a church since 360 (during the reign of Constantius II).  The current building was built from 532-537 and was the largest cathedral for in the world for 1000 years.  It is generally regarded as the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have “changed the history of architecture.”

It has a varied history –

  • Eastern Orthodox Cathedral (562–1204)
  • Catholic Cathedral (1204–1261)
  • Eastern Orthodox Cathedral (1261–1453)
  • Ottoman Empire Imperial Mosque (1453–1931)
  • Museum (1931-present)

The building today shows its age and its history but it is amazing and certainly a place to visit if you get the chance.

 

Photo trip to Norway

A spectacular place

Last week (5-11 September 2011) I was very privileged to travel to Norway with my daughter and son for 5 days of exploring the fjords and taking a few pictures.  We stayed in the village of Fresvik on the Sognefjord.  As the summer season had ended, there were very few people around and those that were, were taking time out before the cold dark months. 

Norway is a spectacular country, well worth a visit – especially if you can get there from London for the grand total of £18 return fare!

Images

Here is a selection of the images.  One of the striking things about Norway is the colour, especially the greens and the glacier blues.  The colours in the images are real (apart from the black and white images)!  The images have been processed in Lightroom with minimal enhancement, especially of colour saturation.