The reason I didn't let him eat that choc Day 41

In this photographing daily, a few of the images are bound to be personal, right??!!
Yes, I've painted that painting and it was a gift for him. Thank you love for being my shelter and my wings.

Translations Day 40

Since I was stuck at home waiting for the technician... I went conceptual again. Original idea was identities - which little pieces of us form our tangible identity? This progressed into musings about the "nude" look and how nude is not really nude (in the magazines it really isn't since the models wear some "nude make up" ;-D ).

Anyhow I tested my photoshop skills in my 1st ever add-like treatment. I didn't do that much yet the difference is astonishing [for me, I'm no pro guys!!]. I also made a valuable discovery - when sharpening with Nik software I pushed the structure slider towards -40 which gave me the fab skin treatment (I prefer it to low opacity blur layer in PS I decided: in most of head shot portraits I converted I did not need to resort to masking, which saves a lot of time and nerves ;-D)

I feel proud at the moment. 1st wobbly baby step achieved. More unsurprisingly I'm loving my PS again. It was gathering dust till recently. Then I used it for corrections of optical mistakes. Then selective colouring. Tryptich. Now this. Aha, eventually I should get to composites. Oh, this is fun!!

In case you're interested: both photos were taken using only daylight - facing window on overcast day - and overexposed in camera.

left photo before

left photo after

Delipidated but still in use - walks through the hans Day 39

To provide some reading while I'm trying to sort out my internet I've pasted a link: http://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/17/travel/istanbul-s-caravan-stops.html?&pagewanted=all
Thank you for your patience!

The day was miserable and that reflects in my photo attitude. Amost no clicks and even those sad and murky..

Optimism returns with the sun Day 38

Here comes the sun mmmmmm here comes the sun... :-D
Overlooking Sarıyer and Bosphours straights

Dalya beach

My favourite friend today ;-)

Eh, I don't know, I had a touristy day today - 1st time I'm seeing snow in Istanbul Day 37

Hubby chose tonight. He went for the photo of the touristy area with the most snow in it. I guess he was sightseeing through my photos ;-) Kids had no school today due to snowfall. Considering that the clean up of snow was quite efficient I'm assuming it's due to fear. Then again, most cars and buses (!) have no winter tires and the situation is so bad that apparently cars were not let onto the highway(s) without snow chains mounted on!! Seriously. I promise there was hardly any snow left after it's been forcibly melted by all the salt they've been dispersing. I'm wandering if my undercarriage will melt next ;-)

Anyhow I dragged my teen along (to get some fresh air ;-D) and he wouldn't be caught admitting it but I suspect he quite enjoyed it. I was almost giddy with all the snowflakes and peacefulness, absence of cars, absence of crowds, even absence of fishermen. I've never seen Galata bridge so empty. Even the three pictured here left immediately afterwards. I think I was too giddy and touristy and ended up with stupid mistakes. I mean composition?? Eh, it will have to do. Maybe tomorrow my brain will not convert into a snowflake as soon as I've left my warm home...

So enjoy the touristy view. The mosque complex taking most of the view is called Yeni Camii (i.e. New Mosque) and it's not new at all since it was built in 1600s. The other building squeezing in from the right is the Spice Bazaar or Egyptian Market. The photo is taken almost on the middle of the Galata bridge crossing the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus.

The Spice market (the stairs on left belong to New Mosque):

The background mosque in [the following] picture of the spice market is the Rüstem Paşa Camii. Rüstem Paşa was the son-in-law of Süleyman and also Grand Vezier (twice!). The inside and outside of the mosque has the most exquisite Iznik tile work - much better than Sultan Ahmet. The mosque also predates Yeni Cami as it was built in 1561 - otherwise it would have been called the Yeni Cami I guess! (...and the Yeni Cami's real name is Yeni Valide Camii, but no one seems to know that any more - since so many of the sultan's mothers built mosques this one was distinguished at the time as being the new one built by a sultan's mother....). Thank you so much Linda [who supplied this info], I for one definitely did not know about the New mosque's full name.

The clean-clean time (this expression I picked up from a lovely Turkish lady) - the white stuff flying around is salt, obviously :-) The background is part of the New Mosque

The roads are so bad snow chains are needed?!

Actually it depends on the area but here we're waaaay out of the city

Ups, I was feeling rather monochromatic today LOL

Patience my dears your time will come Day 36

I was feeling (photographically speaking) very soft and pretty today. Maybe since I was "stuck" in my cozy home admiring the whiteness outside... Or to compensate for the harshness of yesterday. Who knows?

Anyway, I ended up with quite some soft photos and a few new greeting card motives ;-D In the end I chose the one that actually tells a story. I know that had I chosen one of the rest, I'd get more comments (maybe ;-P) since they're prettier but in the end I prefer to be meaningful *ironic sigh*

This is my porch and our bikes. In ordinary circumstances there should be no snow there. I somehow really like this scene...

The greeting cards ;-D

Are we compelled to find some sort of beauty in reality because reality is actually nasty??!! Day 35

Snowstorm in full blast. It was even difficult to walk. The strong winds were also terribly cold, actually freezing enough for snow to stay on the ground even near the sea. Then again, local populace was too excited. It really wasn't the doomsday they forecasted (sometimes I think media love to exercise their power by creating panic). Slight dusting of snow, more like a bit of an overdose on icing sugar.

Sea did go wild. The beach is gone, the sand enjoying a roller coaster rides in the waves, making them yellowish in appearance. Yucky actually. But seriously, yucky is what the sea spew back onto the land. And then deposited it nicely in an interesting arrangement. Beauty out of nastiness?

On the right photo, things hanging onto the fence are plastic bags. Hundreds of them. They get deposited by bigger waves crashing onto the fence. Photographically speaking these bags are quite blurry -  motion blur due to really strong wind. But you see what I'm noticing - the havoc wreaked by us and not the flooded beach places and missing fence. The latter are in my opinion yet another telltale sign of human stupidity concerned only with short term profit. Why should I cry over that?

I promise, the only creatures enjoying themselves were the seagulls!

Oh yes, I kept the photos authentically dark. Such was the weather...