At the Crossroads of History: Istanbul’s cultural mix delights the senses

“Marlboro cigarettes, alcohol, women?” the cop asks, his jovial smile framed by the omnipresent symbol of Turkish virility—a brimming mustache.

We are six friends packed into a Toyota minivan on an adventure through Turkey’s rugged western landscape. The guidebook puts the speed limit on the motorway as 120 kilometers per hour (about 75 mph), and we’ve been sticking to it.

“Yes, yes, but on this section,” explains the officer in charge, peeling himself lazily from a lounge spot in the shade, “here, on this part, it is only 80.”

Likely story, but when we suggest he charge the fine to the rental car company rather than take cash, another officer offers an alternate solution: “Marlboro cigarettes, alcohol, women…or photo?”

Photo? You bet. I break out the camera. The cops pose with pleasure. And off we go. When it comes to ripping off tourists, the Turkish police have a lot to learn from their Mexican counterparts.

Pirates of the Aegean

Our Nikon moment happens during the daylong drive from Istanbul to Izmir, a midsize port on the Aegean where we’ll board a 40-foot gulet boat (Turkey’s version of a Pirates of the Caribbean ship) for four days of coastal cruising and village hopping.

“It’s Europe, no, it’s the Middle East, no, it’s Europe!” my friend shouts as we drive south on the way to meet our boat. Everything is a contrast of East vs. West — ancient fishing villages brimming with bountiful farm markets abutting shabby high-rise apartments, monuments to concrete and rebar. We can never quite grasp where we are and we like that.

The chic way to travel the Aegean is by chartered boat. We, however, are on a budget, and our fare is less than $300 apiece (on the Blue Cruise by V-Go Yachting). Once aboard, we meet our 12 shipmates, the captain, the first mate and the cook. Everyone is delightful and from a variety of countries, making for interesting conversations over meals.

The cabins are small and down below, where the swaying of the boat is accentuated. The first mate, a young shy man, suggests in halting English, “Sleep outside on the deck. There are mats.” The deck is expansive and accommodates us all. I fall asleep in the warm night on a blue pad that sucks me comfortably in like a sponge. In the morning, I wake to the captain’s voice.

 “Today you eat, you suhwim, we go town. We suhwim, you eat,” he says in an accent that is a mélange of French, Spanish and English.

And tomorrow, we ask.

“Yeeesss,” he says, pointing out our course on a tattered map, “we eat, we suhwim, we go to other town if you like, you suhwim. The map, eet doesn’t go there.”

I gaze at the sea—deep, blue, somewhere between cobalt and cerulean, gentle, the temperature of a cool bath—and think, I could get used to this.

One afternoon we make port at Kas, a small seaside town that matches Santa Barbara for boutiques, restaurants and inns. Fruit stands abound. We shop for costume Ottoman hats in a small bazaar and wrap ourselves in thick bath towels that would be the envy of any luxury spa.

In a nearby fishing village on Kale Island, a cafe welcomes us by its comedic name, I Am Here. Fresh orange juice quenches my thirst from a hike up to ruins of a nearby castle. A village matriarch, an elderly woman with the face of an apple doll, strokes one of the town’s ubiquitous cats. The cat purrs, and so do we, lulled by the languid, welcoming tempo of life here.

Istanbul, City of Many Cultures

After the boat drops us in Antalya, we return to where we began—Istanbul, a city in which Turkey’s ancient history and collision of empires is wrapped in a modern topcoat. The magic of Istanbul is the duality of old world and new, the mingling of Western culture and Eastern traditions, a tug-of-war between ancient and modern that remind you it was once the center of the world.

My grandmother used to sing, “C with an I with a Con-stan-ti. With an Ople and a Pople and that’s how you spell Constantinople.” In her generation, Turkey was wild and exotic. Today, Istanbul, like San Francisco, is urban, modern, architectural and culturally rich, and possesses a goliath structure as its landmark. The Bosporus Bridge—the Golden Gate Bridge’s transcontinental twin—traverses the Bosporus Strait, connecting Asia and Europe in a mile-long marriage of steel. Nighttime views of the city lights and gleaming Bosporus are sought after on balconies of posh restaurants such as the axiomatically named 360 Istanbul. With panoramic views, the 360 offers high-end dining and tasty libations. Cocktails and wine are taxed heavily in Turkey’s Muslim-influenced culture, but are in high demand.

Turkey is no longer the travel bargain it once was. Istanbul’s prices are on par with the euro and $8 beers or $50 cover charges in clubs are not uncommon. If you want a meal of Mediterranean and European cuisine like lamb and couscous, dates and roast duck in a polished restaurant, be prepared to pay. But there are also plenty of less expensive options if you’re willing to venture down a cobblestone alleyway and into one of Istanbul’s many hookah bars, which serve up a Turkish version of dolmas and kebabs for a few dollars.

On the Asia side of the Bosporus, which is mainly residential, my friends and I ate at the trendy Ulus 29, a bird’s nest of tables overlooking the Bosporus. The view came with a price — a jaw-droppingly expensive wine list that could rival most restaurants in Napa Valley.

Istanbul’s exotic past is best explored at the famed Topkapi Palace. This Ottoman-influenced landmark is a World Heritage site. Standing guard to one of the world’s largest diamonds and home to the Harem, a magnificent tiled ruin, the palace is a reminder of not only Turkey’s more formidable past but also its ongoing old-vs.-new paradox. Green-and-blue tiled fountains line the corridors where hundreds of ladies-in-waiting to the sultan and their children lived under the watchful eyes of barely clad African eunuchs charged with keeping the women in and the men out. It is easy to see here in the Harem how mystifying this land must have been to Western European visitors.

On my final day in Istanbul, some of my friends head out for a traditional Turkish bath, but I choose to meander through the lavish Grand Bazaar, eyeing spices, gold bangles, vibrant colored jewels and belly dance outfits. I munch on a piece of lokum, a squishy jelly candy also known as Turkish Delight.

I stroll over to the Blue Mosque and wait for prayers to conclude. A man is selling fez caps at a street stand. “It is the Middle East,” says my friend, who in our two weeks in Turkey has grown a mustache in tribute to Turkish manhood. Yes! We have decided—for now.

Later that night at Riana, an open-air Miami-style club perched under the Bridge to Asia, I mingle among the fashionista crowd of young Turks sipping raki, a licorice-flavored aperitif, and dancing to the “untz, untz” beats of DJs. My gold sequin top shimmers like the Bosporus beyond. “It’s Europe!” I declare — and head back to the dance floor.

How To Take Your Food Photography to The Next Level

What makes a good food photo?

Showcasing the dish’s best traits is essential to any successful food image. Its colors and textures are the key details that make you want to take a bite, so you want to have them all clearly in focus.

Food photography trends change as often as fashion trends and the more you can familiarize yourself with what industry leaders are doing, the more successful your images will be. Take a look at the websites and feeds from companies like Williams-Sonoma, Martha Stewart, Food & Wine, Donna Hay (Australia), Bon Appetite, Sur La Table, etc. and see what color schemes are of the moment. Is it the light bright or is it moody and based in shadow? Is the food messy and broken up, strewn about the plate, or is it tidy, tight and neat? Does the food have a homemade appeal or does it look highly constructed by a professional chef? Is the look attainable or aspirational? Are the props simple or highly stylized? Is the food the focus or is the scene and story that the props create more significant? As you continue to pour though these publications and ask yourself these questions, your eye will become stronger and your own imagery will improve.

In the 1980s, the ideal aesthetic throughout editorial magazines were overly stylized, heavily propped, studio-lit photography. That has been replaced with beautiful natural light food photography, in most cases. Of course, companies like McDonalds, Hidden Valley Ranch and others continue to use studio light for food photography, however, trendsetters and magazines alike produce food imagery with a more natural and organic feel. Trends in food photography also mirror trends in cuisine, so you can look to top restaurants as well to get a sense of what will make your imagery a success.

For best results with your food photography, natural light is key and indirect daylight will give your food a bright even look. Find a table by a window on an overcast day or a shady spot on a sunny day. If you are in your home, you might need to find a room that isn’t your dining room or kitchen. If you are in a restaurant, you may want to find a spot outside or request a table by a window. If you aren’t lucky enough to have your light filtered by a giant cloud, then you can use white drapery, or hang a piece of silk or other photography diffusion tools on the window to cut the severity of the light and create stunning imagery.

Composition

Composition is key to the success of any image. In a well-composed image, the viewer can immediately understand what the subject of the photograph is. In food photography, the subject can be anything from the main dish to a small detail in the dish, like tomatoes in a salad, or even the person who made the dish.

Using the “Rule of Thirds” will make any image stronger and more translatable to the viewer. Imagine the frame (what you see through the viewfinder) divided into a nine-part grid. In this guideline, your subject can be placed along the lines or at their intersections. The eye is naturally drawn to the intersection points and those are the areas of most impact in an image. An image is always strongest when the subject is on a “power point” or intersecting point in this grid, rather than centered in the frame. So ask yourself: What’s the focal point of interest in the dish that you are photographing? Place that focal point on one of the grid’s “power points” and draw the viewer’s eye to the point of interest in your frame.

In additional to the use of Rule of Thirds in composition, you will need to decide on an angle to photograph the food. Some dishes are better photographed from bird’s eye view overhead, like a flat pizza or a cutting board full of ingredients and utensils. A juicy burger is best from eye level to really give notice to the stacks of lettuce, tomato, and meat. You might consider a 45-degree angle for a scene like a cup of tea and frosted cookies to showcase the side of the cup and also the design on top of the cookies.

Keep your camera level and keep any strong lines in your camera straight as well. This will help the focus of the image fall onto your subject, rather than be distracted by the lines.

How you position food in relation to the light source is very important. Ask yourself where the “front” and “best” side of the dish is. Rotate the food around until you have gotten its best feature or angle to the camera. Where is the food’s best “face?” Find its most flattering side and if you are in a restaurant or working with a chef, they will always have an opinion on this. Take photographs from multiple angles and look at each of them. What looks most appealing to your eye?

Travel Photography 101

Travel photography can provide some of the most inspiring and intriguing imagery. Photographs trigger our memories, help us to illustrate a story, and show us a sense of place. When we travel, those memories can often seem richer, more vibrant, and more significant to us than when we are at home.

First impressions aren’t something that we only get when we meet new people. Each minute impression that you get from seeing a new country, a new town, or a new restaurant is something that you can express visually. When you travel (or play tourist at home), what are your first impressions of the place? What colors, scents, or sounds stand out? Each of these experiences can be expressed through the visual medium of photography.

When you hear the sound of horse hooves clacking against cobblestone streets or the deep horn of a passing ship in the sea, you can bring those memories and experience to life through your imagery. When you smell fresh baked bread wafting down a street, or feel the warmth of the sand beneath your feet, each of these moments tells a story and creates a sense of place. Bringing that sense of place through to your photography is what makes a travel image a lasting moment, rather than a fleeting snap shot, and your memories will be so much more vibrant for it. Not only is it important to capture the literal look of a place in travel photography, but for strong and memorable imagery, capturing the ambiance is important as well.

Knowing your place first

Before any trip, even one that you plan to do spontaneously, doing a bit of research to understand the customs and traditions is helpful. Photographers working for editorial publications will always do their research to know key items about a location before they arrive.

It is always important as a photographer to “gain access” for the best shots. Access can mean many things, but the more you know about a culture and the friendlier you are, the more doors (figuratively and literally) will open for you. Some of the most incredible photographs happen because you took a moment to say “hello” to a stranger, and they welcomed you to their world.

Knowing niceties in another language can always be useful, and knowing how to not offend in another culture will put everyone more at ease. Learning how to say, “please,” “thank you,” “Where is the bathroom?” and “This meal is excellent!” in another language has gotten me seamlessly though hundreds of trips with a smile.

Contemplate these questions and let them guide your photography:

• What made you go to this place?
• What season are you in? Is there something that only occurs during this time of year? How can you photograph the seasonality of your visit? Is there snow? Fallen leaves, or blooming flowers?
• How is this place similar to your home and how is it different? Can you illustrate these differences and similarities in a visual way? Try to look intelligential, thoughtfully, and thoroughly, and truly see what makes this spot so unique.

When you arrive, notice your first impressions and write them down. Use this list as a preliminary checklist for your photography. What is the temperature, what do you smell, what can you hear, what can you feel? Capturing a photograph to illustrate each of your five senses will set your imagery apart.

What you see can be anything from shapes and colors to specific architecture, to people dressed in a certain way. How is this different from or similar to what you see at home? Show these differences through your imagery and imagine having someone look at your photographs without you there to explain them.

Do you smell hot baked bread? Find the bakery and the baker, offer to purchase a piece, if you can afford it, and take it all in. In many cultures, people have little in the way of money, and offering to purchase something from their shop or street stand is an appreciated gesture when you ask to take a photograph. You are getting something and giving something in return, and that is often greatly appreciated.

What you hear surely comes from something that you can see. Find the source of that sound and make an image. Is it clanging bells? Show those bells in motion to illustrate the idea that they create sound. You can use Shutter Priority (Tv mode on a Canon EOS camera), a slow shutter speed, and a tripod to slow the movement down, which helps visually express the ding-dong of the bells.