Photoessay: travels in hard light II

Trying the sun on for size

Monochrome, today. The variation of weather in Istanbul can be spectacular; one moment you have brilliant sunshine, and barely 30min later: hail. I suppose such are the joys of a maritime climate. Regardless of weather, Istanbul seems to be one of those places that has realities of so many different eras that it’s almost timeless; the modern overlaps with the ancient in the sort of organic way that can only happen over centuries – millennia, even – of continuity. I was there at the time of the constitutional referendum; there were fears that it might get ugly, but the reality is life would continue as normal – daily ups and downs being relatively minor blips in the grand scheme of things – short period transience and a sort of lack of definition for individuals, and a much slower erosion for the surrounding environment. What holds it together? The framework is left in the shadows, and only when you look closer (at these images, too) is it clear that things are not always as they seem.

This series was shot with a Hasselblad H6D-100c and 100mm. Post processing was completed using the techniques in the weekly workflow and Monochrome Masterclass.

Lantern and shadow

Evening bread

Eyeline and oversight

Beauty, concealed

Where’s mummy?

None may look in (Topkapi Palace harem courtyard)

Multiple personalities

Recent additions

Dog in mosque

Shadow economy

Fish under the bridge

Support

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Ultraprints from this series are available on request here

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More info on Hasselblad cameras and lenses can be found here.

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