DIfferent Lights, Different Lens by Hao Han Chen

Different Lights, Different Lens

By Hao Hen Chen

Both myself and my wife are avid photographers. We travel, wherever and whenever possible, to photograph and experience culture around the world at least once every year. This time round, we decided we would want to go to Istanbul and Santorini.

The challenge has been always to push our boundaries, leave our comfort zones to take travel photographs that are both unique and engaging. It is easy to take beautiful photographs when you are in a beautiful location. You point your camera, you release the shutter and you get a beautiful shot; except that shot will be similar to shots taken by thousands or more photographers before you. For a destination that has been photographed to death, there is a real need to find a new angle to things.

So, we endeavor to push ourselves to look beyond the norm and to learn to see things in different lights, and different perspectives (aka lens).

Preparation

To prepare for our travels, we spend weeks reading up on our destinations. For this trip to Istanbul, we relied on travel guides such as Rough Guides, Lonely Planet and Eyewitness Travel. We scour materials and research the destinations from DVDs, novels and movies to understand the history, the culture and the current affairs. And to help us prepare how we approach our photography, we looked up on works by Ara Guler and Alex Webb.

This background work helps us to approach the destination uniquely and in our own ways. In our opinion, this is important because books and prior works from fellow photographers offer a glimpse of what life was at the destination, which would take months or years for us to understand. We also view our photographs to be a continuation to their body of works as we attempt to document life as it is, and contribute to the ever evolving images of the destination.

Equipment

Hence, armed with this research, we packed the M9, a 5D, a 7D and an Xpan (with dozens rolls of films) and headed out on a 14 hour flight to Istanbul. Of course, we also had our notebooks with us, myself with a new Macbook Air 13″, which I found light and powerful enough to do on-the-spot editing, and my wife, a Sony Vaio.

My initial worry was the rolls of films that I was carrying. I had packed Provia, Velvia and Deltas for this trip but I was also expecting a dozen or more x-ray scans on my carry-ons based on our planned itinerary. As it turns out, my worry was unfounded, we never had any problems except for when we landed at Athens and had to put all our lenses and cameras on trays for inspection. There was also no fogging on the films although we had more than a dozen scans.

The Photographs – different lights and different lens

We spent most of our time at Istanbul, with only four days at Santorini. In the seven days at Istanbul, we had one sun lit day whilst the rest, we were shrouded in gloom and moody clouds. Luck was not really on our side (one of those times when weather was not on our side) and we despaired if we will manage a different angle of Istanbul in our photographs. To tackle this, we really had to dig hard into our creative juices.

Different perspective means having to get our hands dirty. Taking photographs at eye level is boring and one of the many ways that we found effective is to look for angles that give a dramatic view of our subjects. For the shot of the Blue Mosque below, I had literally gotten my hands (and body) dirty by lying flat on the ground. As there was a construction to repave the cobble-stone street just five meters away, you can imagine how dirty that was. I was also fortunate that I had to take this in one take and was rewarded with a curious glance from one of the construction workers. To make matters even more interesting, when I was done, I was greeted with a shout from one of the town council workers, “I love you MAN!! I’ve just swept the streets!”; me lying on the ground was somehow seen as a testament to how clean his streets were. LOL.

Above: Blue Mosque from Ground Up

Different perspective means learning to be patient and wait for your shots. My parents taught me the virtue of patience. Learning to be patient may sound counter-intuitive to today’s shoot-now rapid-fire DSLR era. But the virtue of patience rewards one with a different angle of subjects. At Santorini, we saw donkeys walking up the steep stairs and knew that would provide a different take from photographs of Santorini in your popular travel magazines. But alas, we waited and the donkeys never showed up. It basically took us almost 2 hours of waiting before they came up.

What is a photograph of Istanbul without a shot of a muslim in her traditional black abaya. It turns out to be a particularly difficult photograph to take, especially if you are looking for direct eye-contact. There are reasons to this and one of the reasons is the Quran’s requirement known as the Hijab that requires muslims to dress modestly and for women to lower their gazes (from strangers). To get the shot at Yeni Cami (below), I had to visit Yeni Cami several times and to coincide my visits with the muslim prayer times and what else, to wait patiently for such a scene to unfold.

Above: Donkeys at Santorini

Different perspective means going the distance. Sometimes, when we arrive at a destination, we get so caught up with the location and forget the surrounding areas that could provide better vantage points to our subjects. Walking away from the location helps us to see a different perspective. The Ali Ahmet Celebi Cami photograph (below) is an example. By walking away from the busy bazaar around Yeni Cami and across towards the other side of the Galata Bridge, I glanced back from the railings and saw a new perspective.

Similarly, with the shot of the boy climbing up from the rooftop of a church, we were at an Easter celebration at Santorini. I had followed the boy up the rooftop to see what he was up to. It turns out, the church bell was stuck and he had to free the ropes. When he climbed up from the walls, I saw a photo opportunity.

Going the distance could mean literally walking kilometers. The Blue Mosque shot from the tram station is an example. Walking away from the touristy Sultanahmet area, glancing back I peeked at the magnificent mosque. With some luck, I was able to get this lone man walking on the platform together with the Blue Mosque.

Above: Ali Ahmet Celebi Cami from the Galata Bridge

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Above: Boy Climbing from the Roof of a Church

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Above: Blue Mosque from the Tram Station

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Different light means revisiting the same location twice or thrice. The square near the Yeni Cami side of the Galata Bridge is crowded and offers a lot of opportunity for good photos. Visiting the square at different times of the days offered a different “feel” towards the whole atmosphere. Different times of the days offer different sets of hues as well. The following photographs were taken from the same area during different times of the day.

Above: Bus Terminal at Galata Bridge

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ABove: Galata Bridge and Yeni Cami

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Above: Yeni Cami at Dusk

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Different light means having luck on your side and taking the shot. Throughout the trip, we had only one beautiful day and it was the first day of the trip. We were jet lagged and were short on sleep but my wife was eager to hit the trails. As it later turns out, it was the only sunny day with clear sky and perfect lighting.

The shot of the reflection was due to light showers in the wee hours of the morning. Often times, we would be tempted to think we can return for such a shot given it was only the first day. Well, a week later when we did return, the traditional cobble-stone street was replaced with newly paved gray tiles (yucks!). Lesson learnt: take the shot and don’t wait for later.

Above: Reflection of the Blue Mosque from the Clobber-stone Street

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Different light means having courage to take blur photographs. Well, not exactly. The shot of the elderly lady (below) was accidental. It was purely right time at the right place but with no time to refocus. It was now or never. I am glad I took the photo because it is one of my favorites from the trip. I like the photograph because it captures the whole essence of Istanbul. The historical Istanbul, as always, at the crossroads between the old and the new; blurry because nobody knows the future.

Above: Elderly Lady Walking Past the Blue Mosque

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The rest of the photos. Enough said, here are some selected photographs that we hope will inspire you to look beyond the ordinary in your next travel.

Above: Beggar at Yeni Cami

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Above: Man at Yeni Cami

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Above: Pigeons at Yeni Cami

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Above: Boys Kicking Tin Can

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Above: Man and Anchor (stopover at Dubai)

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In closing…
We were amazed at the warmth of the Turkish and Greek people. Everywhere we went, we felt welcomed. At Santorini, we were blessed to have been invited to join an Easter celebration and experienced firsthand what we have read from books.

The M9 performed well. This was my first trip with the M9 and am amazed at the combination of the 50mm Summilux (Pre-Asph) and the camera. I had brought my M6 previously on trips but I had reluctantly left it at home in favour for the Xpan. The 50mm was tack sharp and colour reproduction was amazingly accurate.

Seeing things in a different light and with a different perspective is not difficult. We hope our sharing will inspire you to do the same – to see beyond the norm. We also hope you have also enjoyed the photographs.

For more photographs, please visit our website at http://haohanc.com/

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