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Chapter Forty One: Life in Istanbul, October 2014
On July 3, 2015 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
It’s been a while since my previous post looking at people sitting down in Istanbul. Here are some more photos from the same trip, looking at some of the stuff the locals get up to on a daily basis.
Selling pomegranate juice. Costs around a Euro, but freshly squeezed and tastes good, as long as you’re not too worried about the hygiene…..
Washing feet. Essential if you plan on praying in the mosque……
….. and it’s not just because they like to keep the carpet clean
Fishing on the Galata bridge. Literally hundreds of people lined across the bridge trying to catch fish. The Golden Horn is pretty well stocked, so success is almost guaranteed, and you’ll either end up with a tasty meal for later, or you can sell the fish to the restaurants trading below the bridge. The restaurants then serve the fish in a roll (balik-ekmek), which tastes pretty good. Just don’t try the turnip juice, which doesn’t. The Galata bridge is also a good spot to see dolphins, and there were 3 or 4 playing around whilst I was there.
Roasting chestnuts. The Turkish seem to have a fascination for roasting chestnuts, and they’re available all over Istanbul, whether it’s the middle of the day……
… or the middle of the night, together with a tasty cob of corn.
Selling flags. The Turkish flag seems pretty popular and well loved, and this guy was doing a brisk trade each time I walked past him.
Ever wondered where to buy a plastic mannequin? Well look no further…..
In my eyes, pigeon are vermin. Nothing more than rats with wings, noisy and filthy. But they seem pretty popular in Istanbul. Outside the New Mosque it’s even possible to buy a small bag of pigeon feed to make sure they don’t go hungry. The guy selling the feed at the back of the picture had an old analogue SLR hanging in the back of his cabin…..
If you can fit it on the back of a handcart, you’ll be able to find someone somewhere willing to pull it around for you.
This guy was trying his hardest to sell the prayer carpet over his shoulder. Or maybe it was a magic carpet? In any case, it wasn’t very popular with the punters, and he didn’t have any success in selling it when I was there.
All images taken in Istanbul with the Leica M-E and the Summilux 50mm ASPH lens.
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Chapter Forty: Sitting down in Istanbul: October 2014
On February 5, 2015 by Simon Leech With 1 Comments
- Travel
Whilst reviewing my post trip images from a recent trip to Istanbul, I noticed that, at least in terms of the photos I was happy with, Turkish men and women alike seem to have a lot of time to spend sitting down. Whether it’s reading a newspaper, drinking coffee, visiting a mosque, earning money, or just pondering life, they certainly like to rest their feet. Rather than do a ‘normal’ post trip report, I thought for now I would just share some shots of a nation of perchers…..
The story starts in the Grand Bazaar. In the afternoons and at the weekend a bustling market full of bargains to be made, but at 10am on a Friday morning, it’s time to relax…
…and have a cup of turkish coffee (no doubt paying less than the 12 Turkish Lira that I was charged when I attempted to do the same…..)
Of course, if it’s nice weather and you want to top up your tan, where better to sit than outside with a newspaper?
There’s always money to be made selling bird seed to tourists outside the mosque. But not on a Friday. Then it’s hard enough work trying to stay awake whilst the pigeons fend for themselves.
Once inside the mosque walls, it’s worth sitting down again to contemplate the day’s prayer
If you’re not the praying type, there’s bound to be someone who wants to buy some chain. But probably not when everyone else is praying, so until they come out, why not just sit down again and have a rest before the post mosque rush begins?
You can be sure your wife is doing the same somewhere….
…because it’s hard work shopping
For the guy who is busy selling his stuff for ‘free’, a generous friend with a cup of coffee never gets ignored
And finally, security is important. And how better to guard stuff than by sitting down. Whether they’re pigeons….
…or big bags of ‘stuff’.
All photos taken in Istanbul with the Leica M-E Rangefinder, using a combination of the 50mm Summilux ASPH, and the 90mm Elmarit-M during the Leica User Forum One Challenge weekend. Despite what the light hearted fun of this blog post might suggest, there’s a lot that can be achieved by sitting down, even if it is just for a few minutes 🙂
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Chapter Thirty-Nine: Leica Factory Visit, Wetzlar, Germany: September 2014
On January 15, 2015 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
Back in October 2013, I visited the Leica factory in Solms together with some members from the Leica User Forum. At the time the visit was significant as Leica was about to close the facility in preparation for a move to their new factory in Wetzlar, and we were one of the last groups to visit.
Although Leica was originally based in Wetzlar, they had left the city in 1986 for larger premises in an old furniture factory in neighbouring Solms. Whilst the factory was functional, and completely customised to Leica’s needs, its appearance didn’t befit the image of the Leica marque, and it was becoming too small to deal with the rapid growth that Leica has experienced.
So, to coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the first Leica camera in 1914, Leica opened a new facility in May 2014 to provide a new manufacturing and administrative base for Leica Camera AG. The facility has been built to provide visitors with a complete ‘Leica Experience’. Alongside the factory itself, which can be viewed through windows, there is also a gallery area with rotating photographic exhibitions, a number of show cases showing the key cameras from Leica’s history, and a display cabinet containing one of everything Leica has ever created. There is also a Leica shop, and Leica Customer Services in the same premises.
I had the chance in September 2014, during a visit to Cologne, to make a day trip to Wetzlar to check out the new building. The 60 million euros that the project cost has certainly been well spent, and the campus is impressively architected. All of the interior walls and floors are white, and this gives the entrance area a very spacious feeling. After walking around the gallery area, and viewing an exhibition entitled ’36 aus 100′ showing some of the images that have made Leica famous over the last 100 years, I wandered through the tunnel at the back of the gallery area to look into the factory.
There are four or five windows that you can look through, each looking onto a different part of the manufacturing process. Each window has been created interactively and buttons can be pressed to provide information on each particular step of the manufacturing process.
Once you have passed the factory windows, you are presented with the display cases containing all of the Leica products from over the years, both the camera optics, and the sport optics (spotting scopes and binoculars). It was interesting to note that although the new Leica M60 and Summarit lenses had been announced some weeks previously at Photokina, these were not yet on display, although the Leica M100 editions were.
Upon exiting the tunnel you are presented with the Leica shop, a large area selling all of the current products, including the Leica cinema lenses, which was the first time I had seen them, and a large studio which was presumably used for testing the Leica S range.
There are also two restaurants on the campus – Cafe Leitz (mainly a coffee shop) and a restaurant. We finished our trip with a visit to the restaurant – it is accessible for visitors as well as the Leica staff, and prices and food quality are very good.
All in all, a very enjoyable day out, and worth a visit if you are in the neighbourhood.
Photos in this post taken with the Leica M-E Rangefinder, together with the 21mm Super-Elmar, 28mm Summicron and 50mm Summilux lenses
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Chapter Thirty-Eight: Ngaben Cremation Ceremony, Ubud: July 2014
On January 5, 2015 by Simon Leech With 1 Comments
- Travel
In Bali, as with other communities that practice the Hindu religion, it is normal to cremate the dead. Ngaben, the name for the cremation ceremony in Balinese, is the funeral ritual that is performed by the people of Bali to send deceased relatives to the next life. The ceremony itself is often very expensive, and, whilst it is normal for members of the upper castes to perform the funeral ritual within three days of the passing of a relative, lower social classes will typically wait until the next mass cremation ceremony, opting to bury the bodies for a number of months until the next mass ceremony takes place.
In Ubud, mass ceremonies take place a couple of times per year, and we were fortunate to be invited to such a ceremony during our travels. The cremation ceremony is not considered a sad event, as the Balinese believe in reincarnation so the body will only be temporarily absent as it passes on to the next life. The ceremony we attended was for around 80 deceased from three villages who had passed on over the previous couple of months.
Cremation is considered a family event, and young to old all take part in the celebration of the deceased’s life.
The exact date of a cremation ceremony is decided upon after consultation with a specialist in Balinese holy days. The ceremony itself consists of a number of parts. First the body is exhumed (in the case of cremations that are taking place some time after the time of death), and placed inside a coffin. The coffin is then put inside a decorative paper mache sarcophagus, or inside a wooden temple structure.
After this, the coffin is transported by relatives from the house to the location of the cremation. This can often be a couple of kilometres of walking, and, on a hot Balinese summer day, is hard work.
Additionally the procession never travels in a straight line in an effort to confuse the evil spirits and make sure they don’t travel with the deceased on to the after life. Watching, the procession almost seems choreographed.
Once the coffin arrives at the cremation, it is placed in line with the other sarcophaguses, and the family sit down to wait until the cremation starts. Whilst they wait the families feast, and wander around the food stalls and market stalls that are assembled.
It seems that in Bali the chicken has a very big role, and again chickens were being used as part of Ngaben. Poultry was tied to the sarcophagus, and released once the coffin had arrived. I was told that it was good luck if you were able to catch one of the released birds.
As soon as all of the coffins have arrived, and with the fire service in attendance, it is time to start burning the bodies. The ‘honour’ of lighting the first coffin is down to the relative of the most recently deceased – at this event this was a lady whose husband had passed away just the day before. Rather than using matches, the fire is fuelled by a complicated, and not particularly safe looking, gas installation.
It was certainly a very interesting experience, and, since it is seen as a celebration, we were welcomed by the locals. People didn’t seem to have a problem with me taking photos, and many were happy to pose. Out of respect I wore a traditional sarong and Balinese head dress.
Photos in this post were taken using the Leica M-E (digital) and Leica M6 (film with Portra 160). Lenses used were Summicron 28mm, Summilux 50mm, and Elmarit 90mm.
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Chapter Thirty-Seven: Gabor Dancing at the Royal Palace, Ubud: July 2014
On November 23, 2014 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
Gabor dancing is typically a presentation or welcoming dance, and is demonstrated every evening at the Royal Palace in Ubud, Bali. During the day there are teams of ticket sellers competing to get you to buy a ticket for one of the evening performances that take place in and around Ubud. Since we were staying close by to Ubud centre, we chose to visit the performance at the Royal Palace opposite the market.
We arrived at the Palace early and were lucky to get seats in the front row of the seated area. This put us at a distance of around 5 metres from the stage, so it was an ideal opportunity to use the Elmarit 90mm lens that I had purchased just before our trip. Most of the images in this post were shot at either f/2.8, f/3.4, or f/4, and using ISOs ranging from ISO800 to ISO1250 (which I have found to be the highest safe colour setting on the Leica M-E).
The dancers are typically young ladies in the role of the princesses, young children to play the deer, and an older man to play the role of the evil King. The dancers depict the story of Sita, sent into exile, and Rahwana, the evil king, who is enchanted by the beauty of Sita, and sets out to capture her. The role play is very dramatic, and involves dancing and fighting. The rest of the story can be found elsewhere, such as here, so I will just use this post to display some of the images I made.
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Chapter Thirty Six: Tajen – Cockfighting in Bali: July 2014
On November 6, 2014 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
Continuing with our travels in Bali, I was given the opportunity to visit a Balinese cock fight, or Tajen. Please be aware, this is a fairly barbaric event, and therefore some of the photos may upset you. It was pretty sickening to see the birds fighting and dying, but it was an event that I was glad I was able to experience.
Bobby, the taxi driver we were using in Ubud, is a friendly guy, and he was happy to spend his time showing us all the normal tourist attractions on the island. I had been discussing my photography with him, and expressed an interest in getting some photos that were a little bit different to the ‘normal’ Bali vacation images. One evening he mentioned that there would be a village cock fight the following morning, and asked if I would like to go. Thinking it would be an ideal opportunity to get some good reportage shots, I said yes.
Cockfighting in Bali is big business. The village cockfights happen a couple of times per year, and are visited by thousands of people. It’s an opportunity for local bird fighters to take their prize cocks to fight to the death against other cocks. A practise that is fairly barbaric and illegal in the rest of the world, but tolerated in Bali (tolerated in as much as pay a bribe to the local police chief, and he’ll turn a blind eye). There is also a religious aspect to the cockfighting – they are also practiced inside temple grounds as an ancient ritual of religious purification to expel evil spirits. Unfortunately this was not such an occassion.
The trainers condition their birds, feeding them the best food and grooming them daily until they are about two years old and ready to fight. Cocks have national aggression for other males, so once the time has come, the trainers stick steroids down their throats, tie blades to their legs, and put them into the ring to fight.
Like a boxing match, the umpire decides how far the fight will go – either until the bird is killed, or, more usually, until the bird is injured and can’t fight on. At which point the losing bird will be killed, his right leg cut off and presented to the winner, and the rest of the bird goes to the soup pot. During the fights the spectators are going wild, shouting to encourage the bird that they have bet upon.
Also like a boxing match, significant money is exchanged in the form of bets – the trainers receive appearance money, with more going to the winner, and the spectators can bet at predetermined odds on their favourite bird.
It’s a social event, and outside the ring there are vendors selling food, drink, and clothing, giving the gamblers an opportunity to spend their winnings if they were lucky, or drink away their sorrows if they were not.
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Chapter Thirty Five: Balinese Names: July 2014
On October 23, 2014 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
I don’t know this man’s name, but I would have a one in four chance of getting it right – I’m pretty sure it’s either Wayan, Made, Nyoman, or Ketut.
In Bali, everyone is given a birth name, based upon the order that they are born. So the first (male) child will be called Wayan, the second Made, and so on. The birth name is what is used in everyday life, but a given name may also be chosen which is typically more familiar, and may be based on a personality, or a family’s personal preference – for example our driver was called Made, but liked to go by Bobby when dealing with tourists.
So I never got to find out the tattooed man’s name. He spoke no English, and was only interested in shaking my hand and trying to sell me a bottle of local beer from his roadside stand. I settled for some iced water, took his photo, and wished him a good day…..
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Chapter Thirty Four: Denpasar Badung Burung (Bird Market), Bali: July 2014
On October 20, 2014 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
(Some readers may find the images in this post distressing) The role of the pet in Balinese society is fairly well pronounced. Almost every family owns at least one dog, probably a small run of chickens to provide eggs, and a songbird to provide song. The dog plays a very important part in the family – it protects the compound from human intruders, but also evil spirits, and natural vermin such as snakes and rats. It also delivers an important role as garbage disposal unit – eating the leftovers and keeping the village clean from food waste.
Of course, wherever there is a need to be fulfilled, there is always someone ready to fulfil it. And when it comes to providing Balinese families with pets, the somewhat barbaric animal markets are there to deliver the goods. During our trip to Denpasar we were able to visit the Denpasar Badung Burung bird market, and experienced the sometimes distressing conditions that these animals are kept in.
Despite the conditions that are evident from the photos, our driver assured us that there is a swift trade in buying and selling, and therefore the animals only stay in the market before they are purchased by a family and then taken home to live in better conditions. However this seemed hard to believe looking at some of the animals. The market traders are competing with one another for trade, taking an extra step or two to make their animals more attractive to potential buyers – take for example the brightly colored chicks, painted to attract the attention of children, and often given away as prizes at village ceremonies. The color quickly disappears, and the chickens grow into the family ecosystem, providing eggs, and, ultimately, meat.
Songbirds are also very popular in Bali, and men will spend hours standing at the market trying to find the bird with the most perfect singing voice, whether it be from the ‘official’ sellers with their cages, or the brown paper bag trade near the edges of the market.
One of the problems that has stemmed from the pet keeping industry and the pet markets is the introduction of otherwise protected and/or endangered species into the markets. Probably the best advice is not to buy from such markets, and there are organisations in Bali, such as the Bali Animal Welfare Association, who are working tirelessly to publicise the impact that the poor conditions inside the markets are having on the animals.
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Chapter Thirty Three: Denpasar Pasar Badung (Market), Bali: July 2014
On October 7, 2014 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
One of the memories that every visitor has of Bali is the food. Nasi campur, chicken sate, babi gulung, and all mixed with herbs including lemongrass, garlic, and sambal. Traditional Indonesian recipes with a little Balinese je ne sais quoi to make it unique. Supermarkets are fairly sparse in Bali, and refrigeration doesn’t seem the norm, so it’s up to the restaurant owners to get up at the crack of dawn to visit the local market to pick the produce they need to feed their diners.
When we were planning our hotel transfer from Nusa Dua to Ubud we were given the opportunity to stop off in Denpasar on the way. I had read about the two main markets in the city – Denpasar Pasar Badung (the traditional food market) and Denpasar Pasar Burung (the bird market, more on that in a future post) – and was eager to check them out, so we said yes.
I had expected the food market to at least have a faint sense of organisation, but as soon as we entered I realised I was very wrong. It was huge, dirty, and it stank. We arrived mid morning so the market day was already in full swing (this particular market stays open 24 hours a day), but the shelves were full, and deliveries were coming and going to keep up with the demands of the shoppers.
The market building itself is three floors. The ground floor is the busiest (and the dirtiest) and holds all of the fresh produce – fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish. And the occasional live cockerel for those who like there ayam as fresh as can be. The meat and fish isn’t stored in any kind of refrigeration unit like you might see at a western market, but instead is just piled up on benches, occasionally surrounded by ice cubes. On the second floor you can find spices, and dried foods, and on the top floor it is fairly quiet, with vendors selling cooking utensils and various fabrics.
The market is a very local affair, and there weren’t actually that many tourists wandering around. Instead the paths through the market are full of restaurant owners bartering with the sellers to get the best prices. There are however a number of ladies wandering the floor looking out for tourists, and when you get found you will be followed around, as they try to offer their services as a personal guide. Politely saying no 5 or 6 times seemed to be the best way to get rid of them.
Let’s just assume she was very tired from working the night shift 🙂
Back to the state of the market. It must be hard to keep it in clean shape when it never really closes, but it really was a filthy mess in some places. Some of the workers try to keep their areas clean with a hose, but this just seems to move the dirt around, and I’m sure some of the splash back from the hose was ending up on the produce. However this is where the restaurants source their food from, so I guess it is acceptable – we certainly didn’t suffer from any stomach problems whilst we were in Bali.
Pigs trotters. Wasn’t entirely sure if they were stacked up here waiting to be thrown away, or whether they were waiting to be displayed on a stall….
Outside of the market there is a warung area with vendors selling food.
All the images in this post were taken with the Leica M-E Rangefinder using the Summilux 50mm ASPH
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Chapter Thirty Two: Jatiluwih Rice Fields, Bali: July 2014
On October 2, 2014 by Simon Leech With 0 Comments
- Travel
One of the features that Bali is best known for are the rice terraces. On Bali there are a total of five rice terraces covering a surface area of 19500 hectares. The rice fields are irrigated by a cooperative water management system known as subak, dating back to the 9th century. It is this system of irrigation that has positioned the Balinese as the most prolific rice growers in the region, and the terraces are certainly worth a visit. The Subak System makes up the cultural landscape of Bali, and has earned the island a place on the Unesco World Heritage List.
I chose to go along to the Jatiluwih rice fields on the west part of the island (Tabanan regency)as part of my tour with Yande. The rice fields are fully operational, and you are pretty much guaranteed to see some activity in the fields when you visit. Even though the fields are used by agriculture, the tourism industry hasn’t missed the chance to earn some money from visitors, and there are ticket stations along all of the main roads entering the rice terrace area, and you are obliged to pay if you want to drive any further.
It was interesting to see how the rice fields are managed, and it is still very manual labour which basically involves standing knee deep in a field of mud for long periods of time. However the workers I photographed seemed very happy to be there, and were equally happy to have their photos taken.
The colours were very lush, and I was able to take some nice photos.
It was interesting to see the extent of the manual labour – on different pitches I saw men working with manual tools, with oxen, and with motor driven machines.
Simple shelter for the workers to rest in.
Not sure how road worthy this bike was, but I’m sure it’s a great feeling driving to work every morning…..
With the exception of the two wider landscape shots which were taken with the Summicron 28mm, all the images in this post were made using the Leica M-E and Elmarit-M 90mm lens.
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