Advanced Night Photography Workshop, Istanbul

The night-lights in Istiklal

The hanging shopping bags are advertising Istanbul's annual Shopping Festival

Following our night photography shoot with Cenk of Fototrek (see my blog about it here), he ran an advanced night photography class for our photography club. Whereas before we had used tripods, this class we handheld our cameras - much more demanding. Following an introductory class where Cenk talked about camera settings, and gave us a list of shots we should try, we spent an evening shooting in Taksim Square, and down Istiklal, one of the most famous avenues in Istanbul.

A Kebab chef, preparing a chicken kebab

Istiklal is such a fun street, full of shops, food vendors, street musicians, restaurants, cafes, bars, nightclubs, in fact everything you need for a night on the town! So there was plenty for us to photograph.

The beautiful, red vintage tram which runs along Istiklal

A woman admires the flowers, and flower headdresses, for sale in Taksim Square

My night-shot of Taksim Square

A roast-chestnut seller in Istiklal

A chef, in a restaurant window, with his reflection

Delightful desserts in a restaurant window

This guy was selling mussels, and gave one to this girl to try

Sandwiches, waiting for the hungry passers-by in Istiklal

A famous chocolate shop in Istiklal.

(This man looks as if he is deep in contemplation, but he is actually watching TV, 

while he waits for the next customer)

Lottery ticket salesman

We ended in the "Cicek Pasaji" or "Flower passage" a rococo style building, dating from 1876, 

famous for its restaurants, fish market and small shops.

Thanks once again, Cenk, for a great workshop!

Elizabeth Coughlan

Fototrek Workshop Istanbul

Galata Bridge, over the Golden Horn, where our practical photography session took place.

I love learning about my passion, photography. So I was delighted when I had the opportunity to take a photography workshop with Cenk Gençdiş of Fototrek, Istanbul. The first session was in the classroom, where we reviewed basic information, such as White Balance, ISO, Exposure, Shutter Speed and Aperture. We then moved on to camera settings, where Cenk gave us tips on how to make menu adjustments so we could get the best images from our cameras.

Our instructor, Cenk Gençdiş of Fototrek

Our next session was a practical one, where we got to practise all we had learned the previous day. We met in a restaurant under the Galata Bridge, and our photo shoot was held all under, over, and around the bridge. Our main task was to use our cameras' manual settings, and make sure the exposure was correct. We are so lucky to be living in Istanbul. This amazing city is a photographer's dream.

We all worked hard, practising what Cenk had taught us

Everyone was keen to do well!

One focus was on framing the shot...

...and the Galata Bridge is just perfect for framing!

This plane flew overhead, so I couldn't resist taking this shot.

A fisherman on the bridge, with the Suleymaniye mosque in the background

A sweetcorn seller by the Galata Bridge

İçli Köfte

After all our hard work, Claudia took us to one of her favourite restaurants, where we had delicious İçli Köfte, and Mercimek Soup. A perfect end to a perfect day!

I am so looking forward to next week when we will learn about the many different fields of photography, like Portrait, Landscape, Nature, Architectural, and Night photography. I am especially looking forward to practising portrait photography in Cenk's professional studio.