Konica Auto S3

I took these with a Konica Auto S3 that I acquired several years ago, but have not had a chance to shoot before. The meter was a little off because the battery I used was not exactly the same as the original and I did not compensate properly by adjusting the film speed. I complicated things by shoot a roll of expired Ilford Dia 200 slide film which, being slide film , is not that forgiving and ended up with thin negatives that were almost impossible to scan. Anyway here is the best I could make of them the first one is at the Princess Islands and the others are near the statue of Fuzuli from the earlier post.  Very impressionistic, but not quite what I was aiming for.

Istanbul Ferry on Film!

I shot these images with my Bronica medium format rangefinder, the RF645 in the ferry to the Princess Islands using some expired Fuji Provia film.  Much more blues, cyans, and magentas then with the digital, and the Bronica lens is not as "magical" as the Leica 50 Summicron, but I like these just as much, only in a different manner. A good reason to carry more then one camera, don't you think?

Red Shouldered Hawk

The Red Shouldered Hawks that hunt in my yard occasionally have returned again this year. There are actually two of them , a mated couple, but I never can seem to get them both in the frame at the same time.  Here is one of them. I admit to not being able to tell which one is the male and which the female. I will leave it to the experts!

Mike Stern!

On the flight back from Munich to the States I saw one of my all time heroes: MIKE STERN!  I have been a major fan of his since he showed up on the cover of  Guitar Player magazine in the 80's. Mr Stern is an amazing jazz musician who plays guitar in a variety of styles that are melodic and passionate and funny and clever and informed. I spoke to him briefly on the plane and while waiting for our bags and found him to be a very nice man and a gentleman.  I thanked him for all the music and inspiration as well as all the time he spends on planes and in taxis so we can wake up in our cities and see him and then go to work the next day. He even wished me well before he left the baggage claim area!

It is amazing when you meet one of your all time heroes and he is just as nice a person as you expect him to be! Maybe even nicer! Dreams do come true (sometimes even on a plane from Munich!) I was thrilled for days!

Time to Head for Home

It was a lovely trip to Istanbul with memories I will always cherish. Hanging out with Ekmel and all of the other people I met in Turkey was great and I was sad to come back home even though I have people I love here too.  I was welcomed at RDU by a brass ensembles playing Christmas music although it was just 2 days before Christmas, so it was not totally surprising!

Back to Acibadem

On the way back we took a  ferry, got thrown out of a taxi for having garlic breath, and stopped to buy sweets. It was a nice evening, and cold, but it did not stop the Turks from being out about their business.

Manti

Dinner that night was manti, and borek .  Manti is a Turkish Ravioli or tortellini with yogurt and tomato sauce and borek is a fried, meat filled pastry.

it was soooo good!

Ortakoy

We then headed to Ortakoy for shopping and dinner. It is a nice community off of the sea road and it was getting colder so I bought a hat to keep my head warm from one of the street vendors. It is a very compact place with lots of shops and restaurants and in sight of the bridge across the Bosporus.