Shooting on holiday: Istanbul

Last week I was in Istanbul with my camera.  I pressed the shutter close to 1000 times in 6.5 days of wandering the city,  the most I’ve used a camera in months.  Initially I found myself out of practice.  I had to refamiliarize myself with the mechanics of the camera, with which buttons controlled which functions.  I then had to remind myself to slow down and think through my situation, what I was attempting to capture, and how I might best achieve this.  It was in many ways a frightening experience – My god, look at what I’ve lost!  On reflection, though, it was also inspiring – Look at how much I’ve learned and how much comes back with just a little thought and application!

Review: Istanbul Photography Museum

I had the good fortune this month to visit the Istanbul Photography Museum, located in what looks like a middle-class neighborhood only a few blocks from the major tourist sites in Sultan Ahmet.  The museum maintains an informative website with details concerning its sponsors, leadership, and supporters, and appears to be a joint effort between art enthusiasts and government offices responsible for the promotion of the same.  Opened in November 2011, it defines its mission as “providing exhibitions, collections, publications, photography archives, electronic and standard libraries, activities, and educational projects to further develop the Turkish art of photography.”  

We arrived just as one of the staff was unlocking the front door and were welcomed in without fuss or hesitation, directed up a flight up stairs and into a lobby with a display of books for sale.  A long corridor led off this space, with doors opening into five separate galleries.  During our 40 minute stay we had the facility entirely to ourselves (something of a departure from many of the city’s often crowded museums).  

P&P: Exercise 2: Thinking About Location

Portrait Hunting

I've been engaged lately with work on my MA and haven't had much enthusiasm for shooting portraits.  I have managed, though, to find the nerve to begin approaching people and asking for photos.  A few of these are included here.  As with most things of this kind, I found my fear to be greater than the reality.  No one has yet turned me down.  On the other hand, you may note there is only one image of a woman, and this I took without permission.

P&P: Exercise 1: Scale and Setting

I signed up for P&P in July.  I finally took my first portrait yesterday.  It has taken me that long to find someone I felt comfortable asking.

VJ is a nice guy, easily approachable, and I felt if anyone would agree it would be him.  He didn't exactly jump at the chance, but he agreed, and I got my first images.  While photographing he appeared self-conscious.  Other people were around and may have noticed.  The same was true of SH.  I've seen him about before, but I don’t believe we've ever spoken.  I approached and chatted him up a bit, flattered him on his dress, and then asked if I could take his photo.  Here is a good reason I don’t like this:  I would never have mentioned his appearance except as an inducement to get him to agree to being photographed.  Not that I was dishonest about his appearance,  I genuinely did appreciate it.  But it's not something I typically mention to anyone.  SH laughed nervously and ignored my request.  He relented after I requested a second time, but he was obviously uncomfortable, perhaps especially so as three women were off to the left chatting and paying attention.

However - after showing the images to the subjects, they both asked for copies!  Hopefully they will approve of the processed results.

Review: Dark Light (2009) and Everybody Street (2013)

I went out yesterday determined to start shooting portraits and came home with everything but.  I can't seem to find the courage to ask strangers to model.  I can't because I don't see myself giving that permission to a stranger asking the same.  I know there are people who wouldn't mind, who might be happy for the attention, or just curious about me or the situation.  It's getting to them through all those likely to say no that seems daunting.  It seems denial is one of my fears.  How to get over it?  I guess just to get out there and do it.

After returning home I tried fortifying myself with a couple of films.  Dark Light is 30-min HBO short about the most unlikely photographers, those with little or no sight.  Two of the photographers featured grew up sighted and gradually lost most or all of their vision in adulthood.  Their practice seems to be a means of coming to grips with loss, of in fact denying loss at all.  The third photographer was born blind and seems to practice more out of curiosity and exploration of the world.  He seemed genuinely more happy than the other two, who though they produced great work seemed tense, anxious, and fearful.

Everybody Street is a 90-minute review of New York street photography featuring interviews with living practitioners, as well as reminiscences of some of those past.  What struck me most was the difference in approaches between Jamel Shabbazz, who always asked permission from his subjects, and Bruce Gilden, whose practice involves ambushing strangers, not only with a camera but often with a handheld strobe.  I could not personally do what Gilden does, and he himself acknowledges the world would be a worse place if there were more like him.  The results, though, are obvious - many of Shabazz's images appear vernacular, as if taken by the very people who are their subjects.  Gilden's are more electric and idosyncratic.

Other take-aways ES:

Review: Uncommon Places, Stephen Shore, 2005; Stephen Shore : New American Photography, dir. Ralph Goertz, 2010

Uncommon Places is the book that said, yes, you’ve been here.

Not the places, mind you, though I may have been to a few.  But the mindset of the photographer.  Here is someone who did what I’ve been doing, practiced as I practice.  I intuitively get what Shore was doing, because I’ve been doing the same.  (And I wonder now why none of my tutors, coursemates, or fellow enthusiasts referred me to this earlier.)

Here is how Shore describes his work at this time: