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22
May 2012

The Light Within || Istanbul by Night

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The Light Within

The beauty of Istanbul’s Mosques at night reminded me of a conversation I had a few days ago.

I was talking with a good friend of mine about photography and he asked me, “I know you do Travel Photography for a living but what’s your favorite subject to shoot? Landscapes, architecture, conceptual stuff, naked girls, what?”

After lingering on the thought of naked girls for quite a few moments, I realized that I didn’t have an answer to his question, and that kinda startled me. I mean, excluding naked girls, I shoot all of those styles of photography but I don’t particularly gravitate towards any single one. So what is it then? What is the unifying subject that sparks my passion for capturing a moment?

And then it occurred to me, “It’s the light.”

The Light Within - (Istanbul, Turkey)

Filed Under: Architecture, Blue Hour Photography, Istanbul, Night Photography, Travel, Turkey
07
Feb 2012

Istanbul And Hagia Sophia At Night

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The Beautiful Hagia Sophia

After auditioning quite a few rooftop vantage points, this was my favorite view of the Hagia Sophia. There are many breathtaking views in Istanbul so it was a little hard to choose. I thought this one had a really nice balance to it though.

Hagia Sophia is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is also said to have changed the history of architecture. It’s easy to see why. ;)

 
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul

Filed Under: Architecture, Blue Hour Photography, Istanbul, Night Photography, Travel, Turkey
19
Jan 2012

Tourist Trap

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Daily Banana – Tourist Trap

This place may look creepy, but it’s actually inside the ancient Istanbul mosque turned museum of Hagia Sophia. This isn’t the best photo to illustrate the lavishly decorated interior of this famous location, but it’s still kinda cool. Plus, I really wanted to release something dark and gritty today. :)

Hagia Sophia is an epicenter for tourist activity, so I had to be incredibly patient to get this shot. And since they made me leave my tripod with security at the gate, I also had to shoot this one handheld. All in all it took me a patient 20 minutes to wait for an opening.

When tripods are forbidden, I shoot a lot of my HDR Handheld. Read more about My Tips For Shooting Handheld HDR

Inside Hagia Sophia Istanbul

Filed Under: Architecture, HDR Photography, Istanbul, Travel, Turkey
30
Dec 2011

Istanbul – Sultan Ahmed And The Sea

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Daily Banana – Sultan Ahmed And The Sea

With my trips to Istanbul this year, I really wanted to highlight some beautiful views of The Blue Mosque. Fortunately, there are plenty of rooftop restaurants and bars everywhere. And with all the genuinely kind hearted Turkish hospitality, it’s an absolute pleasure to seek out rooftop vantage points.

It’s hard to find a place that’s more inviting for photographers than Turkey. No matter where I went, shop owners would eagerly invite me into their stores to take pictures of their wares. In this case, my wife and I auditioned 15 rooftop views to find the right angle. Each place we went went, whether it was a hotel or restaurant, was more than happy to show us the view. When we found this one, I made a dinner reservation to secure the right table.

Whenever I find these great vantage points, I make sure to take full advantage of them. In this case I shot the scene multiple times as the light changed from a very warm golden hour to a very dramatic night shot.

I also had no idea that the Kurban Bayrami (feast of the sacrifice) festival was going on so I was totally surprised to find the additional lights wrapped around the minarets. Thank you universe. :)

Istanbul - Sultan Ahmed and The Sea

Istanbul - Sultan Ahmed and The Sea

 

Burning The Midnight Oil

Another cool thing about this photo is that I shot it a few hours before a live Google+ Hangout with +Catherine Hall. Remember that hangout? This was the photo I said that I was excited about.

The hangout started at 2am (my time) so I was a little groggy with Red Bull in hand. If you haven’t seen it yet it’s worth the watch. There’s some great commentary from +Colby Brown, +Mihailo Radi?evi?, and +Dave Cox

Check it out here: http://goo.gl/yJqPH

Elia Locardi Hangout Google Plus
 

Filed Under: Architecture, Banana News, Blue Hour Photography, HDR Photography, Istanbul, Sunrise and Sunset, Travel, Turkey
05
Dec 2011

Discovering Ortahisar

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Ortahisar, which means middle castle in Turkish, is a beautiful little town in the region of Cappadocia, Central Turkey. The natural rock castle is a 90 meter high prominent landmark that’s riddled with caves and tunnels. Some of the outside has deteriorated over time, revealing the network of tunnels inside.

I shot this on my first of 4 days in Cappadocia, Turkey. Unfortunately, it was also the only day with clear weather. The rest of the time the skies were densely overcast with a foggy and misty rain. The weather added absolutely nothing to the landscape and made it unfit for shooting. :(

Since I wasn’t able to shoot, I decided to scout instead, each day hoping that the weather would finally clear up. Though the weather never improved, I did find some amazing vantage points to take advantage of the next time I visit. I just hope the weather gods smile on me when I do.

Oh well, I guess you can’t win them all. ;)

Daily Banana – Discovering Ortahisar – Cappadocia

Discovering Ortahisar Cappadocia Turkey

Filed Under: Architecture, Cappadocia, HDR Photography, Landscape, Sunrise and Sunset, Travel, Turkey
05
Oct 2011

Beyond Galata Bridge

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Daily Banana – Beyond Galata Bridge

My favorite thing about Istanbul is the mix of old and new styles. No matter where you look, there’s a fantastic mix of architectural styles that almost creates a juxtaposed effect.

This effect is really evident when looking towards Yeni Cami Mosque from Galata Bridge. The Yeni Cami Mosque is ironically nicknamed “The New Mosque,” though it’s much older than any building in North America. It looks oddly out of place when viewed next to the neon low glow of Galata Bridge.

Yeni Cami Mosque from Galata Bridge
 

Banana Breakdown – Before and After

If you take a look at the before image, you’ll notice that there are dozens of fisherman casting lines over the edge of the bridge. This made me really nervous because it was really windy. A couple of them almost nailed me in the head with their hooks. I got my revenge by painting them out of the final photo! Take that!

The final result was achieved by blending a few exposures together by hand. — This is just a fancy way of saying that I didn’t use Photomatix. — Instead, I masked in 1 exposure for the water, 1 for the foreground, and another for the sky. It’s a really simple way of mixing the exposure values across different areas of the image without any heavy masking.

If anyone has any questions, just let me know.
 

(move the slider to compare before and after)
Yeni Cami Mosque from Galata Bridge
Filed Under: Architecture, Before & After, Blue Hour Photography, Istanbul, Night Photography, Travel, Turkey