The Golden Horn Photo

Photographer’s Note

The Golden Horn

The photograph shot over thirty years ago shows a wooden hulled-freighter, a type used in hauling construction material around domestic ports in and around Istanbul. The site here is the Golden Horn, a 10-km long inlet off the Bosporus and witness to three thousand yeas of history. In the past three decades the skyline of the city has changed a great deal, with many skyscrapers having risen on the horizon. The bridge seen on the right edge of the frame was long ago set on fire and destroyed by anarchists, and a larger bridge was erected to take its place. Just over five hundred years ago the great Renaissance artist-scientist-engineer, Leonardo da Vinci, just out of a job in Milan (after the city had been invaded by the French) had written to the Sultan of Turkey, Bayazed II, and offered his services as a military engineer. Among his proposals was to build a bridge at this very site. The Sultan, unhappily, had no use for a military from a minor Italian Republic, when he had the most powerful army in the world; moreover, he had no appreciation for a "universal genius." The bridge did not get built in Istanbul, but a replica of Leonardo's bridge was eventually built in Ås, Norway, in 2001.

I recorded the image on Kodachrome-25, a slide film no longer produced, but legendary for its rich colors and durability. The camera was a semi-automatic Miranda with a 50-mm lens. I had the film scanned into digital format just recently.

axiotea, cuneyt-sb, ahmetgedikli, gezgin37, delic, salvator, danos, nivaldo, PixelTerror has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

axiotea (16075) 2006-09-29 23:44

Hi Bulent,
The wooden boat looks great with its strong colors and have an interesting BG. Light and POV are good too. I made a small WS on your photo which is slightly tilted and hope you don t mind.
All the best,
Marilyn

[workshop] [compare]

cuneyt-sb (6559) 2006-09-30 4:23

Merhaba Bülent,
Resme bakınca bir şarkı aklıma geldi, Şimdi istanbulda olmak vardı anasını satıyım,
Uzakta olunca insan daha bir duygulanıyor
Ellerine sağlık , renkler çok hoş ve kompozisyon iyi
Ayrıca açıklaman için teşekkür ederiz

megafonreis (37) 2006-10-01 23:24

it is very nice to see such boats in Istanbul.. thanks Atalay

ahmetgedikli (21857) 2006-10-14 16:47

Merhaba,
Fotoğraflarınızdan nostaljik olanını seçtim. 34 yıl öncesinden çok güzel bir Haliç manzarası... Önde rengarenk balıkçı teknesi arkada karmakarışık binalar ve bulutu gökyüzü...Tam bir İstanbul klasiği. Selamlar, saygılar.
Ahmet

ryno (4610) 2006-10-18 14:23

Hi Bulent, this is a fine composition of one of my favorite places. A simple composition, but taken with great skill. I like the balance here and you've made the most of the boat's graceful lines & curves. It's difficult to believe the photo was taken so long ago, but when one looks closely, you can see from the background that it dates from another era. Aferin!

gezgin37 (3390) 2006-11-07 7:03

Merhaba Bulent bey.
Acikcasi thumpnail'i gorunce biraz heyecanlandim. Bu mavnalardan hala kalmis mi diye. Yazik ki artik yoklar. Artik Istanbul'da bu kadar canli ve guzel renklere sahip herhangi bir obje bulmak cok zor. Paylastiginiz icin tesekkurler...
Selcuk

delic (6735) 2006-12-26 15:15

Another great example of color. And they say K25 does not scan well. Thank you for sharing this wonderful image.

salvator (18797) 2007-02-06 3:35

Bulent Bey,
Such a beauty. The composisiton, the pov and the colors, the blue skies and the clouds are describable as superb.
Best personal regards. Salvator.

danos (32364) 2007-04-02 3:37

Merhaba Bülent,
very informative your note about the Golden Horn.I read it word to word.The record of the image is successful with this attribution of colours and lighting.Well done.
Regards,danos

erel (11538) 2007-04-18 13:24

merhaba bülent bey
teknenin renkleri ışığı ve netliği çok harika .tebrikler.
erel

nivaldo (13073) 2007-04-18 20:41 [Comment]

Show Comment

PixelTerror (86060) 2007-04-19 7:15

Hi Bulent,
I'm quite admirative having found this nice oldie of yours... why ? because I also have plenty of memories on neg & dia, not necessarily well composed by TE and general photography standards but showing nice places, and getting such a vivid output out of an 24 y.o. scan is something I still dream about ! The vivid colors and shapes of this beautiful boat make it stand out very well against the city bachground, and the curves give good fluidity to the image. Congratulations as well for your excellent notes which denote with no doubt a good writer talent.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

Guluzar (379) 2007-05-23 18:03

Bulent bey,
Fotograflarinizin hepsi birbirinden hos. Hepsinin farkli farkli guzellikleri var..bu fotografta okadar guzel bi acidan cekílmski, kendimi orda hissettim birden. Bu arada bizim ulkeleride gezdiginizi gördum :) isvec, o minik kizdaki yuz ifadeside super ..
elinize saglik

meltemi (9746) 2008-01-28 10:01

Hello Bulent,
you had a great light, as on the boat as in the far away downtown. I can also see it as two images in one: the first one made of the beautiful fishing boat moored on the dock and the other one of the distant buildings.
All that together convey a deep perspective.
The note, as always, very detailed and instructive.
Warm Regards.
Stella