shooting through the haze: a kahramanmaraş photo diary
okay, so i've been dragging my tripod through kahramanmaraş for three days now and my back is screaming but my memory card is full, so worth it? maybe. the weather's a total diva - i just checked and it's clinging to 14.12°c with humidity that's made my film grain go as soft as over-steeped tea. feels like 13.47? try my camera shivering inside its bag. but hey, at least the pressure's steady at 1014, so no dramatic skies to ruin my already shaky handheld shots.
i shot the ancient mosaics at zeugma but had to go handheld because the humidity was fogging my filters. the light here is all hazy and forgiving, like a permanent golden hour filtered through a dirty sock. perfect for moody portraits, a nightmare for anything needing sharpness. i keep mumbling the weather stats - 72% humidity, grnd level 957 - it’s the kind of air that feels like you’re breathing in damp wool. my sensor’s never been so lovingly wiped.
the bazaar is a riot. i got lost in the spice alley for an hour, chasing the red of paprika and the gold of turmeric.
that shot? caught a seller shaking cumin - dust everywhere, but the light caught it just so. my lens ended up coated. note to self: bring a brush and a bandana.
"the museum guard swore the roman glass is cursed - photograph it and you'll have a week of bad luck," i overheard a tourist hiss to her friend near the exit.
i laughed until my lens fogged five minutes later. maybe there's something to it. i shot the glassware anyway, but the shots came out weirdly soft. coincidence? probably.
later, i found a çay house behind a mosque. mustafa, the owner, poured me tea in tulip glasses and rambled about seljuk sieges.
i captured the steam and the faded tiles, but was so zoned i forgot to ask about the famous baklava. rookie.
"skip any cafe with an english menu - they dilute the coffee," a fez-wearing elder told me as i fumbled with my aperture.
followed his tip to a basement hole-in-the-wall where they roast beans on-site. the aroma alone was a shot. posted the pics and a local food blogger dmed me: "you missed the baklava at çelebi. opens 7 am, gone by 9." check the yelp rant about the line total fumble.
neighbors? if you itch for bigger chaos, adana's mad traffic and kebab smoke are a quick dolmuş east, but the drivers are maniacs. a trucker i shared çay with muttered about the coastal road to antakya - cliffs galore, but watch for wandering goats. here's a local forum screeching about road conditions i noped out of renting a scooter.
"that riverside park? tripod after dark and the police will think you're mapping for spies," a graffiti artist chuckled while tagging a wall near my pension.
heeded that. stuck to daylight. the city's gritty edges are perfect for street shots. running a 35mm wide open - bokeh heaven, but the dust is murder on my sensor. maybe i'll get it blow-cleaned in gaziantep if i dare the border whispers. saw this gear-hack thread on dpreview about humidity - useless without a rocket blower every ten minutes.
hiked the castle ruins at dusk. terra cotta roofs and minarets against a soupy sky.
a historian showed me roman aqueducts hidden in the stones. this place has been scraped over for centuries - you feel it in the grit under your boots.
leaving tomorrow with a roll probably full of museum glass and baklava crumbs. but that's the gig, right? chase the light, and sometimes it chases you back - even when it's 14 degrees and you're huddled in a cafe editing on a dying laptop, sipping bitter çay. read this nutter's blog about hidden hamams almost went, but ran out of hours.
i just checked and it's...still clinging to that damp hope you like that kind of thing. pack a rain cover, bring an appetite for ımam bayıldı, and ignore anyone whispering about curses.