The 2014 Ultimate Money-Making Photography Workshop, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Day 2 and Day 3

 

One of my assignment photos. The Rail Runner, that runs between Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

It is painted with a cartoon image of the state bird, the road runner.

On the second day of our workshop, we were given an assignment to go out and photograph Santa Fe. We could choose whether we were shooting for stock photography, or for travel photography, and we were given detailed assignment sheets to get us going. Santa Fe is such an amazing city that we all had lots to choose from.

San Miguel Church is said to be the oldest structure in the USA, dating from 1610

Later that day, we had to bring our three best images to a photo critique. This was such a positive experience as, not only did we have a professional to critique our images, but we got to see the images from others in our group, and hear the critique for them too.

The New Mexico State Capitol is the seat of the US government in the state of New Mexico. It is unique because of its round design, which is supposed to resemble the Zia Sun Symbol when viewed from above

The third day was in the lecture hall, where we got to hear from all the different presenters. Wow, what an information overload! I now have lots of notes, and access to all the videos online, so I can review everything at my leisure.

It wasn't all work and no play, however, as the video in the article on this link will show you. (Unfortunately, you can't see me. I was at the back of the room on the left in the video.)

Here is the miraculous stairway

The Loretto Chapel, built in 1873, is no longer a church, as it is now privately owned, and has been turned into a museum. In its day, it was a special place of worship because of the miraculous staircase. The story goes that the church needed a staircase, and one day a carpenter named Joseph appeared and voluntarily built the staircase without using any nails, or a central support beam. As soon as the staircase was finished, Joseph disappeared, and was never seen again.

Santuario Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe was built in 1781. This historic church is now an art and history museum.  Among its artistic treasures works is the oil painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe, dated 1783, and signed by Jose de Alzibar, one of Mexico's most renowned painters.

The statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, with people's offerings

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, built between 1869 and 1886, was built with stone from local quarries. In the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, there is a wooden statue of the Virgin known as Our Lady of Peace, or more popularly known as La Conquistadora. The statue was first brought to Santa Fe in 1625, and was returned to the city by the armies of Don Diego de Vargas during the re-conquest of 1692.

First Presbyterian Church, , dating from 1867, the oldest Protestant Church in New Mexico and Arizona.

It was built on the ruins of an earlier Baptist Church.

Everyone tries to get a photo of this!

Well, at least everyone who remembers the '60s does!

...and I loved this wall art. So much better than most of the graffiti I see!

by Elizabeth Coughlan

The 2014 Ultimate Money-Making Photography Workshop, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Day 1

Sunrise over Santa Fe

April was a particularly busy month for me, as I attended The Ultimate Money-Making Photography Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My first stop was Denver, where I stayed with my wonderful friends, Efrain and Cathy Padró of Padró Images, before moving on to Santa Fe.

Having fun photographing the sunrise in our pj's!

In addition to showing us how to make money with our photography, this workshop was also about having fun and learning to play. This helped us to get to know our fellow attendees, to relax, and enjoy one another's company.

Here we are constructing our fort (one of our play tasks)

The talk on Photo Booths, and our subsequent experimentation is also testament to that. If you look carefully at the photos in this link, you will see me having more fun!

My main reason for attending this workshop, was to learn about making and editing travel videos, and I wasn't disappointed. I loved Tom Reissmann's presentation on the first day of lectures, and looked forward to his extra one-day video workshop. But more of that in another post. Here is Lori Allen's take on our first day. 

This shop is still going after 400 years!

Santa Fe itself was amazing, even though I suffered from a horrible allergic reaction to the blossoming juniper trees that festoon the city. It is full of quaint shops, wonderful art and culture, and lots of quirky, but lovely, people. Santa Fe is quite unique!

This is the Santa Fe burro...

...but this is a faster way of getting around!

by Elizabeth Coughlan

The Carpet Museum, Istanbul, Turkey

 

We photographed the beautiful carpets in the Istanbul Carpet Museum

Our intention on this trek was to photograph the stunning display of tulips in Gulhane Park, but unfortunately it was hosing down with rain, so we decided to head inside to the newly opened Carpet Museum instead. Despite one Tripadvisor reviewer finding this museum boring, we found it fascinating.

This 14-15th century carpet is from Eastern Anatolia, from the Ulu Mosque

This is one of the richest carpet collections in the world. It includes many carpets that were donated to mosques and mescids (prayer rooms). According to Islamic tradition, the donors were assured a privileged place in the afterlife, especially if their carpet was renowned for its aesthetic and artistic qualities.

This 14th century carpet is also from Eastern Anatolia, from the Ulu Mosque

One excellent addition to the museum is the description and meanings of the various symbols found woven into the carpets. Once we saw this, we shot off in all directions to see if we could identify the symbols on the carpets themselves.

Here is a sample of some of those symbols
(Click on the image to see a larger size) 

See if you can identify any of them on the images displayed here. Then you will know the purpose of the original weaver in making this work of art. (You might need a magnifying glass to read my sample!)

Design from a 15th century carpet from Central Anatolia, from the Teberrukat Warehouse

Design from a 14th-15th century carpet from Eastern Anatolia,  Ulu Mosque

Design from a 16th century carpet from Uşak, Ulu Mosque

Design from a 16th century carpet from Western Anatolia, Ulu Mosque

The museum door is to the left of the main entrance to Topkapi Palace, and is located in the İmaret (Soup Kitchen), added to Ayasofya in 1742-43 during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I. There are three separate rooms housing the collection, and the final one is the old bakery (fodlahane) for making bread to give to the poor. 

...and the old ovens have been preserved in the third exhibition room

by Elizabeth Coughlan

The Charcoal Burners of Thrace, Turkey

A Charcoal Burner tending the smoking mound

We spotted the smoke rising from the forest, and knew we were near our goal. We were in Eastern Thrace, on the ridge between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea; an hour and a half's drive from Istanbul to the area around Çatalca, where charcoal is still made from wood in the traditional manner.

Charcoal has been made in this area since Ottoman times, and the manner of burning has been handed down from father to son through the ages. The traditional way of producing charcoal is very labour intensive. It could also be considered unhealthy, because of the clouds of smoke billowing over the workers. But, we were assured, the charcoal burners of Thrace lead long and healthy lives.

First, a circular area needs to be cleared in the forest... 

...and the wood cut to precise lengths...

...before being stacked around the edges of the clearing.

The wood is then carefully arranged, beginning with the thinnest sticks...

...and then larger logs are added, while being careful to maintain the shape.

Once the mound of logs is complete, it is covered in hay and soil..

...and set alight from the centre by dropping in burning charcoal. 

It is then left to burn for a whole week before it is ready.

The burning mound is carefully monitored by the workers both day and night

They live in nearby huts until the burning is complete

Some huts appear to have been there a long time!

The finished charcoal is stacked, ready to be packed for sale.

It takes seven tons of wood to produce about one ton of charcoal. There is a ready market for it in Istanbul, as charcoal is used widely in Turkish restaurants, and in many homes, for grilling meat, fish and vegetables. 

This was such an interesting day, and a most enjoyable one. I love learning about Istanbul and its history.

by Elizabeth Coughlan