A visit to Istanbul
This is the sixth and final blog derived from a three-day visit to Istanbul in February 2012.
Here is a small selection of shots taken around Istanbul – three days is definitely not enough time.
Tag: market
Travel Photography – Istanbul Series 5:- Bazaar hunting
A visit to Istanbul
This is the fifth blog derived from a three-day visit to Istanbul in February 2012. When (not if) you visit Istanbul, you must visit the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market in the Old City, – and do also spend some time in the poorer, non-tourist shopping precincts of the city, preferably on a Saturday when it is really busy. Photographing these scenes and the people in them has to be discretely done which is difficult with a Canon 1DMkIII and Canon EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens – hand-held with only available light.
The Grand Bazaar
You thought the Shopping Mall is a modern concept – think again!! The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 4,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and half a million visitors daily. The grand bazaar began construction in 1455 and opened in 1461. It is well known for its jewellery, pottery, spice, and carpet shops. Many of the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by the type of goods, with special areas for leather coats, gold jewellery and the like.
Today, the grand bazaar houses two mosques, two hamams, four fountains, and multiple restaurants and cafes. The sprawling complex consists of 12 major buildings and has 22 doors.
The Spice Bazaar
The Spice Bazaar is one of the oldest bazaars in the city and is the second largest covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar. The bazaar was (and still is) the center for spice trade in Istanbul. The structure was completed in 1660 and is an “L”-shaped building, consisting of 88 vaulted rooms. The streets surrounding the market are also occupied by hundreds of small shops selling almost anything.
One day in Zimbabwe
Getting out and about
I have just spent a week in Harare – the capitol of Zimbabwe. I spent the whole week in meetings but had one day when I could take out my camera on a field trip outside the city. (One of the meetings was on the 16th floor of a building – with no working elevators! A day after I had made the climb the newspaper carried a story of a woman who had had a miscarriage climbing the stairs in the same building – a heavy price to pay.)
Climbing out of the pit
I was in Zimbabwe as a consultant to support the drafting of a new national water policy. In about 2008 the country hit the bottom. Following the economic collapse with hyper-inflation, everything ground to a halt. Wide spread unemployment meant that people could not pay their bills, local authorities had no revenue to provide basic services, infrastructure collapsed… Without electricity water and sewage pumps don’t work, raw sewage is routed directly into rivers and dams from which drinking water is drawn, massive cholera and typhoid epidemics result… And yet somehow the people continue, they have no other option. Today, although the situation has not changed much, there is hope and a sense that the corner has been turned. The resilience and energy of ordinary people on the streets and in the markets is inspiring.
Some images – Life goes on
Royal Photographic Society Licentiateship Award
I would like to announce that the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) awarded me the distinction of Licentiateship on 25 May 2010. This is the first rung on the ladder of RPS recognition as a photographer. The award was made on the basis of a portfolio of images which I submitted for accreditation. The portfolio was a set of images of African markets taken over a couple of years of travel in southern Africa. The images capture some of the colour and vibrancy of African street life in Uganda, Mozambique and Malawi, as well as some of the poverty and hardship. The portfolio can be seen on the Royal Photographic Society web site and the Season Images African Travel Gallery.
Photographing markets
Late last year I spent a couple of afternoons at the Borough Market in London. I have always found markets to be intriguing places. The traders are usually full of character – self made individualists most of them who are by nature fiercely proud and protective of their independence. The Borough Market in the South East of London has been there in various forms for hundreds of years. Today the market as a whole is run by a non-profit organisation (although all the traders are there to make a living). The market has a wide variety of produce and is well worth a visit.
As with most photography, the objective is not merely to produce a picture of the subject but to capture the essence of the place – to portray the life, texture, colours, personalities etc. which reflect the character of the place. Continue reading “Photographing markets”