Global Post: Turkish Brothels

Photo © Nicholas Dynan-All Rights Reserved
One of my favorite online news provider is Global Post, not only for its cutting edge news reporting and analysis, but also for its frequent "off-the-beaten-path" features such as the one of Turkish transsexual brothels by Nicholas Dynan.

It also periodically publishes Full Frame which features photo essays and conversations with photographers in the field (including myself).

The Turkish transsexual brothels which, we are told, can be located in the busiest streets of Istanbul, and are the work place of some of Istanbul's transgender and transsexual sex workers.

To the best of my recollection, only one attendee of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul last June presented work relating to transgender issues. Pedro Gomes, who attended my multimedia class, produced Esmeray, an audio slideshow about a transgender feminist-sex worker-actor.

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Mervyn Leong: Hammams, Spreader of Warmth

Here's a lovely audio-slideshow by the gifted Mervyn Leong W.Y. which you can either view on Vimeo (click above) or via his website here. The quality of the latter is better.

Mervyn attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul (he also attended last year's in Manali), and participated in Rena Effendi's Telling A Human Story Through A Compelling Portrait class. I spent time with Mervyn as he prepared to photograph inside the less-than-hospitable-for-photography interiors of the hammams, and can vouch for his meticulous planning, and how he took pains to wrap his camera, lenses and audio gear in saran-wrap (to protect them against moisture and steam).

An engineer by profession, Mervyn took photography and photojournalism more seriously a couple of years ago, and has made impressive strides in his work. He's also endowed with an encyclopedic knowledge of gastronomy, cooking and food in general.

I think that Hammams: Spreader of Warmth is a very well made audio slideshow (I particularly like the opening image of the slideshow, which is almost a painting), and the audio tracks are well sync'ed. You'll find it a delight to watch...and like the patrons enjoying the turkish bath, you may feel equally relaxed and refreshed.

The hamams in the Ottoman culture started out as annexes to mosques, and quickly evolved into institutions and eventually into monumental structural complexes in the mid 1500s. Typical hamams consist of three interconnected rooms: the sıcaklık which is the hot room; the warm room which is the intermediate room; and the soğukluk, which is the cool room.

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Mugur Vărzariu: Pillars of Faith

Photo © Mugur Vărzariu-All Rights Reserved
Photo © Mugur Vărzariu-All Rights Reserved
Photo © Mugur Vărzariu-All Rights Reserved
Mugur Vărzariu is a photojournalist based in Romania who attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul, and was in Adriana Zehbrauskas' On Assignment class.

It's a testament to Mugur's intrinsic talent that he started as a photographer less than four months ago. Yes, you read that right...less than 4 months ago, and he also just won the ‘Leica for AICR’ People Photo Contest, where one can read his interview.

He tells us that his first choice for a photojournalism project was to document faith, and to stress through his imagery that, despite the difference in the names or sites of worship, people’s faith is the same. Largely self-taught, he also attended a workshop in Italy with Paolo Pellegrin.

Mugur graduated in economics, and worked in marketing strategy (or brand positioning) for 15 years, when he helped position hundreds of brands. This, he believes, has helped him position his own craft...and from what I've seen from his work at the Foundry and on his website, he has succeeded.

I predict we'll hear and see more of Mugur Vărzariu. Have a look at his website, and you'll agree with me. The above images are from his Pillars of Faith gallery.

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My Work: Belly Dancing In Istanbul

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Due to the distance between the historic Sultanahmet district and Kadikoy where the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop was based, I wasn't able to photograph much of Istanbul...except for some grab shots with my new GF1.

However, some of us did manage to take some time and attend a folkloric dance program in Sultanahmet, where we were allowed to photograph at will.

The above photograph was made at the Hocapasha Cultural Center in Eminönü during a wonderful performance. The dance was under black light or UV light...and was minimally color corrected.

I used my Canon 5D Mark II and a 70-200 2.8 Canon lens....and yes, my Foundry class attendees; it's a vertical!!!

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Turkish Yogurt War: Image Rights

Photo Courtesy The BBC
The BBC reported that an elderly Greek discovered that his image was being used to sell Turkish yogurt in Sweden, and considered not only a personal affront, but a breach of his right to keep his image and likeness from being commercially exploited without permission or contractual compensation.

Minas Karatzoglou claims that his likeness was used without his permission by Lindahl's Dairy of Jonkoping in southern Sweden, and has commenced legal action against the company for compensation for the amount of $9 million.

On a prima facie basis, this appears to be a simple matter of some photographer not having the requisite model release...however there's more to that than meets the eye, because Karatzoglou is an ardent Greek nationalist who harbors deep-seated rancor against Turkey for its occupation of Greece. His grandfather and great grandfather took part in the War of Independence, which began in 1821, which ended centuries of Ottoman rule, and led to the formation of the modern Hellenic state.

In fact, Karatzoglou wears a panoply of 19th Century flintlock pistols and a curved dagger, which he claims have killed Turks.

The Swedish company claims that it bought the photograph of the mustachioed Karatzoglou from a Spanish photo agency, and that it has all the appropriate rights it needs to use this picture commercially.

I wouldn't like to be in the photographer's (or the head of the yogurt manufacturer's) shoes if he had to travel to Greece. These flintlock pistols seem to be in good working order.

I've posted my thoughts and recommendations on model releases in a 2008 post titled POV: Model Releases.

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Global Post: Whirling Dervishes

Photo © Nichole Sobecki/GlobalPost-All Rights Reserved
Global Post features an article and photographs by Nichole Sobecki titled Death of Rumi Breeds A Lively Dance relating to the most celebrated mystical poet of the Islamic and Sufism, and how the Mevlevi religious order founded by the poet celebrates his life 800 years on, with performances by Sufi whirling dervishes.

The Dervishes are Sufi Muslims who have chosen an ascetic way of life, and were known their extreme poverty and austerity, very similar to the Hindu sadhus.

Sufi whirling is a non-passive form of meditation which is practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order. It is a dance performed within the Sema, or worship ceremony, through which the dervishes seek to reach the source of all perfection by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning around in repetitive circles.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
When I started taking photography seriously a little over 10 years ago, I attended a Sema dances at the Galata Mevlevihanesi in the Beyoglu area of Istanbul. I recall being seated next to a professional photographer, who intimidated me with his air of utter confidence. He started photographing with a bunch of top level Nikons, and so did I with my shiny new Canon Elan II (I just checked and used models are sold for $70). The above photograph was one of my better results, which I am quite sure was a fluke. Whatever it was, I think Nichole Sobecki's photograph is much better.

As the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop will be held in Istanbul, I wager that documenting the dervishes at the Galata Mevlevihanesi will be one of the students' project.

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My Show Off: Whirling Dervishes

Photograph © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Here's another of my weekly Show-Off features with an example of my personal photography on The Travel Photographer's blog. Click on the photograph to view it larger size. I used one of Lightroom 2.0 standard presets to accentuate the photograph's colors.

It was photographed in Istanbul while Mevlevi dervishes perform a sema ceremony with a traditional orchestra at Istanbul's Galata Mevlevihanesi in Beyoglu. The sema is derived from Jalaluddin Rumi's habit of occasionally whirling in ecstatic joy in the streets of Konya. The whirling dances are just one of the physical methods used to try to reach religious ecstasy in Sufism.

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