My trip to Istanbul, Turkey

I was looking forward to my trip to Istanbul, Turkey. Interestingly, Istanbul is almost a semicircular city and is almost equally divided into to sectors- the European side and the Asian Side...

Tickets and the visa came in. I tried and booked a seat so that I can see the sunrise en route. It was less cloudy and so the drama up there was also less. Nevertheless, one from the morning is as follows:


After about 14 hours, we reached the Ataturk Airport. Strangely, we had to go cross-city and reach the other prominent airport of Istanbul, where we were scheduled to stay in the Airport Hotel.

On the way to the Airport Hotel, as we crossed the Bosphorus, we saw these whites. I still don't know what the building is...


The European side of the city keeps bustling with loads of activity. But the Asian side of the city is amazingly peaceful and if you are a tourist who loves the din, you should be staying on the European side. The Asian side is very peaceful...was a bit more than my comfort allowed. I love noise in any big city...
{Interesting tit-bit:-1: I forgot to mention that, unlike in India where the taxis go at perhaps 100 kmph at the highest, the average speed of the taxis is 120 Kmph. This was a bit discomforting at times but who cares, I loved the speed.}
{Interesting tit-bit:-2: The light starts from 0600 hours and stays until 2200 hours almost...this initiated discussions on Land of midnight sun...with too much light, my mind started planning ahead for the days to come. }
One view from Airport hotel Window:


So, bored with the peace of the location, we decided that we must move towards the European side of the city with immediate effect and checked into the Best Western The President Hotel. Located at - Tiyatro Cad 25 Beyazit. This full-service Istanbul, Turkey hotel provides easy access to nearby attractions such as the Grand Bazaar (just across the street), St. Sophia and the Bosphorus Seaway. Located in the heart of Istanbul's historic city center, the Best Western. Within walking distance of the hotel includes St. Sophia, Topkapi Palace (15 mins walk) and the Karakoy Pier. This hotel also has an indoor swimming pool, terrace restaurant and lounge overlooking the Marmara Sea. We couldn't have asked for more. After checking in, we went up to the terrace to just lounge around. We were blown away. the terrace gave a us a beautiful evening view of the Marmara sea and the breeze, the live music with Spanish guitar (this is my weakness) and the twilight was mesmerising. For the first time in 2 days, I felt really alive again.

View from Hotel Terrace restaurant: Yenikapi/ Karkoy (no idea which one) in the evening -And while I was looking through my glass someone far away decide to burst some rockets/ fireworks...was lucky to capture that was well.


Next day morning as we went up to the terrace for a smoke, the dawn was slightly cloudy...but the blue mosque was looking lovely. {The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923). The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. While still used as a mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque has also become a popular tourist attraction} .

Blue Mosque in early morning Glow:


I also tried to freeze the Blue Mosque in an early evening glow on one of those days. This was deja vu. Blue mosque in blue hue.

Sea of Marmara at Dawn:


{Interesting tit-bit:-3: I had never seen sea-gulls first hand and when I saw them, I was thrilled, I was seeing a bird which i had only seen on screen or read. I didnot like their voice though. They are also probably responsible singlehandedly to make the terraces of the beautiful sea-side houses dirty ;-) but they are beautiful birds. }


{Interesting tit-bit:-4: Since the sunset was taking place quite late, we could finish our work and come back while there was still light. There was this beautiful promenade beside the Sea of Marmara. We went for a walk-started from Balik Hali Hamami (Fish Market)(one of the cleanest fish markets I have ever seen in many travels of mine) and walked up to almost Kalyon Hotel and Restaurant and then walk back. Some shots from that promenade walk are as follows:

shooting balloons on Sea of Marmara promenade


Turning point lighthouse at Marmara Sea:



Evening on the Hotel Terrace


We got a half day off during the week and decided to walk down to the Hagia Sofia and the Topikapi palace.
Structure on the way to Topkapi palace:


On one street, there was this street which was laid out for sea food dinner. I am not sure if this is called the Kumkapi Cross.


We took some 45 minutes to reach the Topkapi Palace. This is the place from where the Ottoman rulers ruled Turkey. Photography was not allowed but it was not so strict. But I didnot get the inspiration to shoot any of those inside...Mysore Palace was more adorned that the Topkapi Palace. Slightly dejected as we walked back, we decided to pay a visit to the Hagia Sofia. There were so many mosques around that we lost which was which and in one of the mosques, we rested for a while. While resting, following are some shots:

Hagia Sofia -?:


Hagia Sofia Minaret:


Symmetry inside:


Woman reflecting


The street was lively all the time and the people very beautiful. Street food smelled so good that I kept salivating all the way. While at it, one for the road: :-) Lamps or lambs-both are enticing ;-)


Note: The turkish streets are full of two primary things as per me-other than the food and the cigarrettes- Blue eyes and many coloured lanterns/lamps. And yes, everyone, almost everyone smokes-men, women, children...Blue eyes are a way to ward off the evil- this is one thing that is very central to the turkish Culture. I was surprised to see them in the airports for the airports...

I wanted to write the journal with much more details but am slightly handicapped for time. will revisit soon with more details...hope u liked it...

My experiments with Lights

Total Internal Reflection is a concept that they taught me in Class VIII and I could relate to practically nothing at that point in time. The year was 1990. I remember that I had forgotten that comfortably.

Recently, while I was whiling away my time, I came across Fibres and the optics winked at me...presenting an experiment with them...hope u like it...

Pakhala goes Gourmet...as one of my friends mentioned

One of the dishes that the Odia people love is called 'Pakhala'. There seems to be a lot of enquiries on this and strangely very little documentation
1. Lets get the pronunciation right first…Pakhala : ‘Pa’ as in Punjab, ‘Kha’ as in khana, Now the tricky part…’La’-twist ur tongue to ur talabya like u say talabya Sha and try to speak ‘La’.
2. How to prepare:
a. Using single boiled rice: this is not the basmati variety…tho I have never tasted the basmati Pakahla myself…let me try it this weekend. J.
i. Use the rice to cook.
ii. Cool the rice. This is an important step.
iii. Then add water, add a wee bit salt, drop in a few leaves of dhania to get the essence. Water quantity should be such that it covers the entire volume of rice in the container and some more so that the rice stays submerged. U can keep this in regular containers. But keeping this in earthern pot gives it an earthy scent which is very potent and ferments faster.
iv. keep this set overnight only if the temp is around 30 degree celcius… keeping this more will make it very potent and might taste bad as well.
v. Serve it for next day lunch. This Pakhala tastes lovely with very small pieces of ginger and green/ red fresh chillies with salt to taste.

b. Using double boiled rice: This is my fav
i. Follow all the process above…just that this might need around 24 hours for the right taste Vs around 12-18 hours of the above.
ii. Since the size of the rice is bigger, make sure that u keep enuff volume free in the container where u keep overnight.
iii. Serve it for next day lunch. This Pakhala may not go well with very small pieces of ginger and green/ red fresh chillies but with salt to taste, it would be ready for consumption.

3. Side dishes:
a) Alu Bharta - boil potatoes, mash and add salt. After this there are 2 variants - 1 where you just add raw chopped onions and green chillies and have it like that. 2nd where you can also temper with mustard and dry red chillies.
b) You can also have Baingan bharta alongside or simple Baingan fry(cut round) and Alu fry too(cut long).
c) Tomato Poda/Roast tomato - you basically roast the tomato(the country kinds which are more sour) n the stove or in the microwave, mash and temper again with red chillies and mustard, chopped garlic and onions and green chillies.
d) Janhi (Ridge gourd) poda (Roast): Just take a Ridge Gourd and roast it up like a papad over open fire. Smash it over a plate and have with Garlic, onions, salt. Similarly, u can try Lady's Fingers' roast as well.
e) Cucumbers and salad always add to taste
f) Try adding some mixture to the mashed potatoes and improvise
g) I am not sure if u know ‘wadi’. This is made from rice and black grams and must be available in kirana stores…just roast, and eat with pakhala.
h) Try deep fried bitter gourd…this adds to the taste.
i) The Non-vegies can try fish fry, mutton kasha, chicken roast and boiled-egg/plain bhurji.
j) U can try a particular dalma also with pakhala…will teach u this next time J enjoy the siesta…

Hope the Deepawali brought you all immense joy and happiness. Some frames from yesterday's evening (17th Oct, 2009)

Flowers in the Sky:

Wow...What a blast!!!

One of the diwali actions...I loved the way the person was using the red flame to light some flower pots...taken from the balcony of our flat.

Diwali Sky-2009:

LED lights on our balcony: loved the dramatic lighting that they were creating:

Some from Diwali-2008: Last year's diwali also happened in Bangalore. We were staying that time at Palm tree place, Victoria Layout, Bangalore.

Diwali Sky-2008

Supernova:

Painting with Light: This would be considered as a failed shot...but the way the light has paited the frame, I really love the interestingness the frame brings about !!

Don't the following look like the millions of them all moving at great speed to the singular whole, the root of life !!! I have named the pic: Light Sperms ;-)

Flowers in the Sky, Standard Stuff:

Hope u guys had a rocking Diwali-2009 and enjoyed the series as much as I did making it.

Chao...

Ruminations 20K Kms up in the air

6:15 PM already and the sun is still high in the sky. somewhere down on earth, the sunset would have already taken place. As I stare outside the window (on one of the many flights that I was forced to take because of work-u see, we have to work for Roti, kapda, makaan and thodi si Chivas!!!), the idea suddenly cropped up, why not write on one of the many experiences that I have had with Aerial photography...

well, first step is to get on a plane...for that one needs to have a ticket. but this is where it begins...try and get a ticket for a flight approx 30 minutes before the sunset and 1 hours before the sunrise...Reason: the sunsets and the sunrises up in the sky happen later than the sunsets on the ground and sunrises happen earlier. So timing the flight well is important. don't worry if it is cloudy below...Up there, it is a different world altogether.

Next challenge is to get a good seat...So after aligning the directions as per Sunrise and the Sunsets, I am sure you would like to choose the window seats. Now the challenge is to get a seat which is not on the wings. Getting the panorama of the sunset/ sunrise while sitting on the wing seats is a bit difficult because the Wings almost always come in the frame. Choose at least 3-4 rows ahead and 7-8 rows behind the wings. That way the view is better.

Once the seats are done...you are all set for the action.

Some of my shots while travelling across India...


This shot was taken somewhere between Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The sunset up there had still not started. But the sun was such a magical angle that the whole river entering the sea looked like molten lava flowing in.I have named this shot 'Nature's Calligraphy' because of the way it looks. This shot was chosen to be exhibited in the Frames of Mind-2009 Photography Exhibition in Bangalore.





I was pleasantly surprised how the trnasluscence of the clouds look so pretty. This, I had never seen on ground.






And while one stares outside the windows of flights, u can also see other flights passing you by...some funny expereince that because even the skies are becoming increasingly crowded.



Interesting formation: Try and find out how Superman flies with arms outstreched.




Some selective lighting here. Seems like some clouds are more equal that others ;-)


I had never seen a sunset when sun looks like just a line like this...


A line of cloud making a transversal across the colour bands in the sky



Hope you liked the series as much I liked making it...More will follow soon...

Sonakshi growing up faster that I thought she would...

Sometime back, we had been to Golden Palms and Spa for a Sunday Dayout. This place is near Bangalore...

The massage felt really relaxing, the lunch was awesome, the grass was lovely...all all this without any worries of the world...

As I was observing Sonakshi playing around, I suddenly felt that she is growing up faster that I thought she would...Soon, she would be good to fly and fly away she will...to become a world citizen. A father's heart let out an inaudible sigh that day...

One from the sunday...

moving shooter and target

I have been off the grid for so long that one fine evening I just felt like holding my Gal. So, just set the 70-200 onto the road sat in a vehicle and held the shots. A few interesting ones that came up are as follows. These just came of the traffic and vehicle lights.

[Disclaimer: In real photographic technicalities, these shots would be called as failures...but somehow I loved the simple and complex patterns they made.]

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