Istanbul scenes

[condyk]

A few more from my short Istanbul trip - taken with the D700 and Zeiss 25mm 2.8 and 50mm 2.0.

http://www.buzzdns.com/washstand.jpg
Washing area outside Blue Mosque ... in the rain!

http://www.buzzdns.com/hallspace.jpg
Upper corridor, Hagia Sophia!

http://www.buzzdns.com/twinicons.jpg
Interior section, Hagia Sophia

http://www.buzzdns.com/mosquedoor.jpg
Entrance door, Kucuk Ayasofya Camii

http://www.buzzdns.com/finchshoe.jpg
Goldfinches and Leeches for sale!

http://www.buzzdns.com/boats.jpg
Boats moored at the fish market!

http://www.buzzdns.com/mural3.jpg
Roof and wall mosaics, Chora Church - a great place despite it being tricky to find!

http://www.buzzdns.com/smallman.jpg
Ok dude, if you don't wanna move I'll gladly include you!

[garibaldi]

Very nice pictures of the mosque and church, you did a fine job with the exposure.

[Bob_A]

I already thought you had enough great shots Dave, but man you keep delivering the goods!

Excellent photos as always. I can only wish that I can get 2-3 shots for the entire year that are as good :)

[condyk]

Cheers lads, y'all are very kind.

Bob, you know it's just the gear that makes the difference. I did do a bit of Tri-x post-processing thing on most of these and that helped too.

[::John::]

Heya

The roof deterioration was sad to see on some of the shots.

Nice, clear pix, though - and always interesting to those like me who may never get there.

Loved the fishing boats - that ones a cracker.

[flayzeraynx]

you were very welcome to our country :)

[sparker1]

These are so good and so representative of Istanbul when i saw it. The gray weather just seems right for that city.

[darosk]

Fabulous shots! I love the texture and colour - compelling mood.

[Bob_A]

Cheers lads, y'all are very kind.

Bob, you know it's just the gear that makes the difference. I did do a bit of Tri-x post-processing thing on most of these and that helped too.

LOL I better go get a new lens or two then! Only thing is, I haven't found the auto talent function on my D700 yet. There are a lot of buttons though so I'll read the manual again.

[advaitin]

I do love the look you've achieved. Could you pass on a reference to "tri-x post-processing" of digital color?

If there is a description of the technique, I'd like to try it, especially as I expect to be shooting a bunch of Italian churches soon.

[stathunter]

I do love the look you've achieved. Could you pass on a reference to "tri-x post-processing" of digital color?

If there is a description of the technique, I'd like to try it, especially as I expect to be shooting a bunch of Italian churches soon.

I am with you-- I did a google search to get an understanding and found out it is an old school kodak b&w film......... would like more info on the post processing technique.

By the way OP== thank you for sharing your photos-- nice work. I would love to visit Istanbul..............the closest I have been is RedBull. :)

[Harm]

Very nice shots, well done

[troyer16]

Excellent post processing, what about a sepia or BW for the first shot though?

[hawkeye60]

Great shots, it makes me want to go back. Maybe someday...

[condyk]

The roof deterioration was sad to see on some of the shots.

Yeah, I agree in many ways but the place goes back to AD 537 so I think overall it adds character. I'd hate to see some updated Disneyland style refurb job. A bit like getting a face-lift. Can't help be uncool. It is in process of restoration at the moment and thankfully seems they are doing it properly. A guy posted a shot here just a while back of the interior space, but now the same area if completely filled with scaffolding right to the roof.

you were very welcome to our country :)

Cheers man ...

These are so good and so representative of Istanbul when i saw it. The gray weather just seems right for that city.

Fabulous shots! I love the texture and colour - compelling mood.

Cheers lads :D

LOL I better go get a new lens or two then! Only thing is, I haven't found the auto talent function on my D700 yet. There are a lot of buttons though so I'll read the manual again.

Ok, it's all in the PP - Bibble ;)

I am with you-- I did a google search to get an understanding and found out it is an old school kodak b&w film......... would like more info on the post processing technique.

By the way OP== thank you for sharing your photos-- nice work. I would love to visit Istanbul..............the closest I have been is RedBull. :)

Very nice shots, well done

Excellent post processing, what about a sepia or BW for the first shot though?

Great shots, it makes me want to go back. Maybe someday...

Cheers y'all ... glad you found these interesting :D

On the PP the key is really the light and the contrast in the scene being the best start point. You can shoot the first shot in bright mid-day sun and the whole image is washed out, or you shoot in conditions that allow the depth and texture to come out. Secondly, the Zeiss lenses are about as good as it gets for contrast and natural colour. Third, and it's a cheat, I have the 'Andy' plug in for Bibble Pro which offers all kinds of B&W film, paper and processing emulations and combinations - I use mainly Tri-x Pan or Portra film, Kentmere - Art Deluxe paper, then select the full and R options. I do it by eye and go with what I like. For B&W I just leave the RGB option unselected.

[Bob_A]

Ok, it's all in the PP - Bibble ;)


AHA! i knew it! :lol:

[silverhalide]

A few more from my short Istanbul trip - taken with the D700 and Zeiss 25mm 2.8 and 50mm 2.0.

http://www.buzzdns.com/twinicons.jpg
Interior section, Hagia Sophia


Nice shots. I really liked the Church of the Chora. Beautify mosaics.

I assume this one's taken with the 25mm f/2.8. What was the exposure info? How did you manage to even out the exposure between the top and the bottom of the frame?

I had trouble shooting the Hagia Sophia -- I was fighting dim light and longer exposures (no tripods allowed), alternating with dealing with the dynamic range between the shadows and the shafts of light.

[condyk]

Nice shots. I really liked the Church of the Chora. Beautify mosaics.

I assume this one's taken with the 25mm f/2.8. What was the exposure info? How did you manage to even out the exposure between the top and the bottom of the frame?

I had trouble shooting the Hagia Sophia -- I was fighting dim light and longer exposures (no tripods allowed), alternating with dealing with the dynamic range between the shadows and the shafts of light.

Yeah, Chora was a great spot. Interesting area to wander through as well rather than get a taxi to and fro. The 25mm is a wonderful lens and doesn't get the reviews it deserves compared to the rest of the Zeiss line. I dunno what the exposure info was as it doesn't record EXIF given it's a fully manual lens. My guess is something like 800 ISO and one notch down from wide open. Dunno the shutter as I always use AV these days. The fairly even look is probably due to a tad of highlight recovery and fill flash in Bibble, then the 'film emulation' PP style. I agree with you the lighting is terrible in most of these indoor venues. The D700 is awesome for indoor use and higher ISO, while the 25mm is very good with flare and some of the excesses from use of spot lights and horrible low energy bulbs are handled better than most lenses would manage.

[Lars Finkelstein]

Number 2 is great!

[BLS]

What a nice set, Dave!

I'm especially fond of the composition & lighting for the washing area and the boats.
I also like the presence of people in your shots -- for me at least, they bring life and added interest to the shots.

[condyk]

Cheers guys ... Barb, I always used to avoid people in my shots as I was interested in focusing on the buildings specifically, but I changed my mind a few months back and feel they're now important additions to a scene. For some shots I even waiting for people to arrive :-)

[BLS]

Same with me, Dave!

[Albedo]

http://www.buzzdns.com/mural3.jpg
Roof and wall mosaics, Chora Church - a great place despite it being tricky to find!

This is such a good exposure - that kind of lighting would give me a headache (and I'd probably either blow out the two windows or make the whole shot too dark).

This - on the other hand - is perfect. And my favourite shot too! Can I ask what the settings were (just out of interest).

Thanks

[condyk]

Thanks Alb ... that's very kind. To be honest I can't remember the settings and because the Zeiss is strictly manual only it's not recorded in EXIF. The windows were a little blown as you'd expect. I did some highlight recovery and then cooled the over-exposure down around the window with selective curves ... I think. The 25mm is good wide open but usually I use it one click down on the aperture ring indoors. I'd likely have been at 800 ISO which the D700 handles no problem.

[silverhalide]

I dunno what the exposure info was as it doesn't record EXIF given it's a fully manual lens. My guess is something like 800 ISO and one notch down from wide open. Dunno the shutter as I always use AV these days. The fairly even look is probably due to a tad of highlight recovery and fill flash in Bibble, then the 'film emulation' PP style. I agree with you the lighting is terrible in most of these indoor venues. The D700 is awesome for indoor use and higher ISO, while the 25mm is very good with flare and some of the excesses from use of spot lights and horrible low energy bulbs are handled better than most lenses would manage.

Thanks for the info.

[fly9]

very nice series.

[wayne_eddy]

I particularly like the image with the boats, #7 and a few earlier ones.

Correcting for the lens distortion would make many of the images more pro looking.

[condyk]

Which ones would you correct and how. I have already corrected those where I felt it necessary, but don't like to over-correct.

[Olli]

Very lovely set, Dave. (Päivi has been telling we should one day see Istanbul, and as you showed, very interesting views.)

[condyk]

Well worth a trip. I really think you guys would enjoy it. Familiar enough to be comfortable and easy to get around, but different enough to be constantly interesting.