Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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aster
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Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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Hello,

Yet again from early 20th century is this old Armenian Elementary School on a narrow Istanbul street. The building was abandoned after the structure proved dangerously frail for habitating any human beings, let alone any life forms. Only kittens play around it nowadays. The Armenian Church which was built by Armenian architects next to it is still beautiful (especially inside) and functions. The priest told me that I need the written permission of the Head of Patriarchal Churches in Istanbul to photograph the interiors...

Yildiz
Last edited by aster on Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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KevinBarrett
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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Wow! How interesting! I love the textures and the odd architectural treatments! Your exposures are great and the color-saturations lovely. The second image is cleverly framed and very comfortable to explore with the eye. I feel like I'd like to see where this building meets the ground though, and this is conspicuously absent in the first image. Got any more?
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aster
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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Last edited by aster on Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Birma
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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Hi Yildiz, I like #2 best, although it is a shame about that pesky cable. Lovely colour. (If that building was in the UK I would bet every window pain would have been smashed by vandals by now - well done Istanbul!) I guess it is always that same with old buildings, it is more expesnive to repair, than to build a new one and so no one will invest in the old structures. Thank you for taking us on a trip around Istanbul with the CZ16-80. I look forward to more.
Nex 5, Nex 6 (IR), A7M2, A99 and a bunch of lenses.
aster
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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Thanks Birma, :D

I tried but it's hard for me to clone that cable out of the photo, at least for now. Requires intricate handling and clean work and definitely more time.
I suppose in Istanbul people are kind of used to their environment and don't like harming them. You can see many structures that are abandoned for different reasons in Istanbul but the only harm comes from terrorists who plan on scaring the people. They set buildings on fire or inplant bombs to harm the innocent district people and terrorize their peace of mind. Still though, we have many historical buildings that require close attention and a share from the goverment budget and it's hard to meet their requirements all at the same time...

I'll try to bring you closer to Istanbul through my photos...as much as I possibly can. :)

Yildiz
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Dr. Harout
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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Thanks Yildiz. I am sure you know how much these pictures mean for me. Thank you.
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aster
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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Last edited by aster on Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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aster wrote:I'm glad you like them Dr. Harout, :D

A pity I need written consent to photograph the interior of the church, because it has a nice interior with embellished arches in Baroque style. Designed by the Balian family, as they were the emprical architects of the Ottoman Empire. Maybe you heard of them, they are the architects of the Dolmabahçe Palace also. The palace and the church were built around the same time with similar elements of design...
Oh yes I know the Balians and their story, and for many years that was denied... but that's another story.

I was leaning on whether to buy the CZ 16-80 or 70-300, and you have almost persuaded me to go for the CZ, despite having the 16-105.
Yildiz, have you ever considered a perspective control/tilt-shift lens?
And from the style you shoot I think you will upgrade to FF. You have style and good eye. :D
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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aster wrote:The Armenian Church which was built by Armenian architects next to it is still beautiful (especially inside) and functions. The priest told me that I need the written permission of the Head of Patriarchal Churches in Istanbul to photograph the interiors...
Yildiz
You mean from His All Holiness Bartholomeos, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch? He is the successor of the Patriarchs of Byzantium, and is accepted by all Eastern Orthodox Churches as the honorary Primus (first among equals) of the Orthodox World (=Provoslav, i.e. Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece etc). This is why he is the only one to have the title His ALL Holiness: the rest are simply; "His Holiness". Or you mean the Armenian Patriarch?
Is it hard to get one? I mean a permission.
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aster
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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Dr. Harout wrote:
aster wrote:The Armenian Church which was built by Armenian architects next to it is still beautiful (especially inside) and functions. The priest told me that I need the written permission of the Head of Patriarchal Churches in Istanbul to photograph the interiors...
Yildiz
You mean from His All Holiness Bartholomeos, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch? He is the successor of the Patriarchs of Byzantium, and is accepted by all Eastern Orthodox Churches as the honorary Primus (first among equals) of the Orthodox World (=Provoslav, i.e. Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece etc). This is why he is the only one to have the title His ALL Holiness: the rest are simply; "His Holiness". Or you mean the Armenian Patriarch?
Is it hard to get one? I mean a permission.
:D Well, it would be good to get the permission from His All Holiness. That would solve it once and for all and I'd never need permissions of the others then and just walk into any Armenian church and do observations and photograph the buildings!
But I guess I'll visit the Armenian Patriarchal quarters, offices or the like and perhaps will only speak to an official like a secretary for this kind of paperwork. And I don't even know if the procedures are difficult or not.

The fact of the matter is, I don't understand why I need a permission at all to photograph an Armenian church while I can just go into any mosque in Turkey and take any photo I like, even at prayer times. Nobody interferes in mosques and definitely no permission is required, common courtesy is all that's required with Muslims.

I'll learn more when I go to Unkapanı, that's where it's located.

Yildiz
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

Unread post by Dr. Harout »

Somehow I'm not surprised. For example, we have a Mosque here in Yerevan, but to take a shot you have to take a permission too, but what goes for churches here, take as much pictures as you like and you're the most welcome. Probably it's part of a convention (or whatever) concerning minority properties. Perhaps.

Sorry to post a picture made by Nikon Coolpix 8800

Image

Shot from the balcony of a dear friend (sadly departed).
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aster
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

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Dr. Harout wrote:
I was leaning on whether to buy the CZ 16-80 or 70-300, and you have almost persuaded me to go for the CZ, despite having the 16-105.
Yildiz, have you ever considered a perspective control/tilt-shift lens?
And from the style you shoot I think you will upgrade to FF. You have style and good eye. :D
Thank you for the complement. :D Just the kind of nutrition any photographer needs while going in search of improving oneself!

Nowadays, it's all about lenses; tilt-shift and all the rest, but I'm not sure about tilt-shift. Maybe I'll need all it will introduce into my photography but I was more busy-minded over the last Alpha-mount lenses which finally are on the market in Turkey now. The 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM has arrived and is much cheaper than the 70-200 mm F2.8 G, and 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G SSM is looking really good with the lowest price of the three. A900's been in Sony shops for a while now with all its accessories too.
The kind of subjects I shoot vary but I have a tendency to look for deeper detailing which in terms of digital photography is higher resolution, and consequently the A900. :) FF and 100% viewfinder would be good.

Incidently, if you're on the verge of decision-making for lenses I'm not the person to give the best advice because I never owned the 16-105mm and some person along the line warned me against it. I don't remember the reason though.

What I can do is share my experience honestly and lend a thought. The CZ 16-80mm of the most recent batch in Turkey is excellent. Excellent being;
Reliable: you can go on shooting until your wrists are tired and burning with pain and hands shaky but with the aid of SSS you can get sharp images even in low light. I did...
Fast: It uses the advantages/features of your camera model to its benefit all the time and makes the outcome better. Underexposure recovery in postproduction yields pleasing results. You can save any frame except for exceessive motion blur softness. I saved some ...

Good construction: this lens doesn't even make a whispering 'clack' sound when shaken, held in various positions. It just holds itself tight, even when at zoom is exteneded and you hold it pointing to the ground. I did and nothing loosened...

Range: it covers a good range. I don't miss the zoom of 18-200mm and don't carry it with me any more. This lightened my bag a little...

Detail: At 100% the details are rich, preserved and sharp...This is important because one can test one's sturdiness at camera and focus-holding. If you're good then you're bound to get each sand detail in your photo and be proud... :D

I would recommend them both, if you need a good zoom go for 70-300mm G. It would still be around for the A900 while the CZ 16-80mm can only be accomodated with your A700.

Yildiz
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Dr. Harout
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Re: Old Armenian School-Abandoned Structure

Unread post by Dr. Harout »

Thanks Yildiz. That's sweet of you. :D
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