Istanbul for Photographers

Istanbul is an exciting place for photographers. Just imagine all the colorful bokeh you can get at the places like Grand Bazaar or a Blue Mosque! Here are few places that are worth bringing your camera to. But first let's start with a short stopmotion that shows them all!

And now onto the photos of my favorite places to photograph:

#1 Grand Bazaar

Bazaar offers lots of cheap (read "low quality crap from China") trinkets that try to present themselves as something made by Turkish artisans. It's fun to photograph, but probably not worth the buy. The best shop I found at the Bazaar was a Belgian Godiva chocolate shop where I got delicious skewer of chocolate covered strawberries. I also bargained few scarves for my girlfriends, which ended up costing more than the same merchandise in SF Chinatown. But the bargaining was fun.

You will see lots of caterers carrying turkish tea to the shop owners. The black tea is very bitter, but tastes delicious with one cube of sugar. There is a good chance that a shop owner will offer you some tea while trying to convince you to buy a carpet.

#2 Topkapi Palace

Topkapi palace was a home to many Ottoman sultans. It has an unusual layout for someone who is used to seeing European castles and palaces. It looks more like a monastery than a palace but worry not. There are lots of great things to photograph. Its Harem for example.

The Harem contains lots of rooms, courtyards, and even Sultan's private apartment. This is the top of his bed:

And this is Sultan's ceiling:

Another interesting building within the compound is the old Imperial Council hall. This is what the entrance looks like:

Once you enter the imperial council hall, you'll see these gorgeous ceiling paintings:

#3 Hagia Sophia

This former church turned into mosque turned into museum challenges your exposure skills. The bottom part is covered with bright chandeliers, and the top part is dark. However, one can not use a tripod and thus can not create a good HDR image that would expose every part of the church evenly. I suggest you bring a bag of beans or a bag filled with packing noodles, and use it as a makeshift floor tripod. I made a mistake bringing my tripod and had to leave it in the security booth. These shots are all done hand-held.

#4 Basilica Cistern

This underground wonder took our breath away. Tripods were not allowed, which made me use my do-it-yourself makeshift tripod which consisted of laying the camera on the floor and propping the lens with my lip balm. As you can imagine, tourists were walking by me wondering why I am kneeling on the floor and waiting during for long exposure to end.

At the very back of the cistern, you'll find two columns with medusa heads at the base.

#5 Blue Mosque

This mosque is fully operational and you can enter it only outside of the prayer hours. You won't need much time to take few shots, as you are not allowed to roam around the whole mosque. All visitors must stay in the back part of the mosque which is separated by a railing. The admission is free, which is another plus.

#6 Streets of Istanbul

You will most likely spend more time in the streets of Istanbul than inside of the tourist attractions. Take advantage of this and practice some street photography. My favorite streets were around Beyoglu district, just on the other side of Galata Bridge.

Winter fruit is offered on every corner. Make sure to get a delicious pomegranate or orange juice.

Confused tourists make great subjects!

When you walk the Galata Bridge at night, you can prop your camera on a curb and get this shot:

Istanbul is definitely a must-see place for photograpers. The next time I visit this city I will make sure to bring a super wide lens, to allow me to capture the Grand Bazaar and mosques even better. If you visited Istanbul, I'd like to see your photos. You can share them in the comments below.

Comments

[Pierre]

Hi Petra,
Your picture are wonderful! Nice work!
From Québec,
Pierre

[Ellen Ward]

Hi Petra,

Thank you so very much for this blog. I am an amateur photographer who will travel to Istanbul for my first time next week. I planned originally to take my tripod for the long exposures, but thanks to your blog, I understand now that it's probably not a good idea. I will have to come up with a good fix. Your photos are beautiful! Thank you for sharing them and also for the advice. I would be happy to share with you any decent photos that I can get when I return.

Thanks again,
Ellen