Photo Essay: Istanbul – 35mm

I know how to operate a DSLR camera (digital baby!), and am confident I can get decent results from my camera in my usual travel shots. I even have the luxury, like most these days, of taking as many digital shots as I like when I travel abroad. Generally I’ll come away with 500-600 photos after a 10-day trip, and can even view them all before I’ve even boarded a plane, or train, on the way home.

Quite often, however, I only come away with three of four shots from a trip I really treasure, and would hang on my wall. I took this as a sign of the general laziness I had begun to approach my travel photography, and decided to test myself as a photographer with film.

In actually taking the time to set up shots, and being more conscious of all the important elements of photography(light, film speed, shutter speed, etc) with only 24 shots on a roll of film, I knew from the start I would view my trip differently back home, when I had returned to a more normal life.

I was happy with the results, and although there are some hints of modern Istanbul in the final images, I felt the black and white film style showed a glimpse of how Istanbul was seen some decades ago, and some travellers set of photographs. Although these shots could be much better - having never used this camera or type of film before, I feel the travel photos I take with this camera in the future will only yield better results, and create stronger (what I call) “postcard” memories from my travels.

- Daniel

See the rest of the film shots from Istanbul on Flickr