Turkey in Medium Format

[chasfreeland]

I travelled in mostly western and central Turkey in 2008, using 2 Mamiya 7ii, 6x7, cameras. Loved the results, especially B & W, taken with Ilford HP5. I've noticed that you were using quite a variety of color films, both Provia and two or three different C-41 films. Were you just experimenting? Why did you elect to carry not only lots of gear, but also lots of different types of film? Judging from the posted pics, I would say the Ektar and Provia films were best for your landscape photos, even the interior shots taken with Provia look good to me. How do things look from your end? What's your opinion?

 

[bagdadchild]

Thanks for the great comments on the photos!
Andy, I am also a sucker for cats! The New Mosque in Istanbul is certainly relaxed about cats!
Doug, I greatly appreciate your comment! During the trip I realized I was indeed carting too much gear. Especially since I was picking up stuff like kilims and clothes along the way. I did rent a car to reach the eastern parts of Turkey, while I relied on public transport while in Istanbul, Ankara and Cappadocia. Without the car I wouldn't have reached all those locations that I did. The car even brought me and the two travel companions I picked up along the way up the Nemrut Tatvan volcano overlooking Lake Van, where we camped in near freezing temperatures (in July!) among howling wolves.
Chas, I did experiment a lot. I had been shooting film for less than a year when I went on the journey and I wasn't sure about my film preferences (I am still not sure!). I think there are some of the shots I shot with color negative film that wouldn't have turned out nearly as nice had I shot them with slide film, for example the photos of the white gorge at Çavuşinor the grapes with parts of the scene dominated by shadows. In fact I did have some second thoughts about Ektar and landscape photography especially with blue skies which can look funny after scanning. I think Ektar is a very nice film but less suited when you want natural looking blues. Provia 100 is the film I had been using the most prior to the trip. It is a very good film for general landscape photography although nowadays I am mostly trying out other slide films like Astia and I have some Velvia 100f which I haven't tried yet. Provia indeed worked extremely well for the interior shots. Provia may sometimes turn a quite bluish color cast when shot outdoors but indoors it was great with vibrant colors and sufficient latitude. When I took those photos I was afraid about the windows but once I had scanned the slides I realized blown out highlights can look great. All the Fuji pro color negative films are very good, as are the Portras which I have also tried. I found the pro400H to be a very useful film producing somewhat more vibrant colors than the 160 speed versions. It was in fact very windy during most of the trip so the 400 speed films were generally much more useful for landscape photography. Your Mamiya 7ii is such a marvellous camera. I held one in one of the used gear shops the Hayyam bazaar in Istanbul. It was so light and nice compared to the clunky P67! I was thinking of buying one but instead I invested in a Contax G2 system. Autofocus and automatic metering is just great!

 

[bagdadchild]

Uçhisar, Turkey
Ektar 100

Kurdish wedding
HP5+ @1600 (hand-held 1/30th sec)

Cathedral, Medieval Armenian city of Ani, Kars Province, Turkey
HP5+ (hand-held)

Ortaköy, Istanbul
Astia 100f (hand-held)

Ararat-Kars Highway
Provia 400X

 

[chasfreeland]

Thanks, Bagdadchild, both for your response to my questions and for your latest postings. I quite like that Ektar shot taken at Uçhisar. And the HP5 pictures are also quite nice. That film really works for me, too, in 6x7 format. Prints beautifully. But Turkey is marvelous for photography. I must say, one of my favorite places.

 

[Andy Kibber]

These just keep getting better. The last group is great.

 

[Doug]

...Andy, I am also a sucker for cats! The New Mosque in Istanbul is certainly relaxed about cats! ...

I was told of a myth that Ataturk was reincarnated as a cat, thus the Turks' affection or at least tolerance for cats. Not so surprising to see one lounging around the çeşme of the cami.

 

[paulfish4570]

lovely photos, fascinating geography ...

 

[daninjc]

Great Pictures. I travelled through the turkish kurdistan region about 10 years ago - What a surprise to see pictures of places that I got to love so much. But of all the beauty of that land, the people I met there were the most unforgettable part.

 

[dng88]

The picture is beautiful. In particular, the Ektar picture is awesome!

I just got a Pentax 67 myself and it is a good system. I hope that I have it earlier. Just now selling rangefinder things to finance more lens. One thing I note though is its light touch to colors, compared with my Hasselblad. It is a bit like Rolleiflex T vs Yaschica 124G.

Do you have any experience of this with Velvia.

BTW, what lens you are using?

 

[viridari]

Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful photos. I've worked almost exclusively with B&W film but this is giving me some inspiration to try color if I can ever get out of my small town to somewhere so photogenic.