Istanbul in black and white

17 Jul

I recently picked up an old Olympus OM-2 film SLR at a shop here in Budapest. When I was back in Turkey for about two weeks this past June, I shot a roll of Ilford HP5 Plus 400 black and white film in Istanbul. Here are some of the shots from that roll.

*Updated July 18 to correct that Ilford HP5 is an ISO400 film, not ISO100 as earlier stated.

Shop windows lit at night

Shop windows lit at night

A corner store in Galata

A corner store in Galata

The most hipster shot ever: a black-and-white film shot from an old camera of a cat sleeping on a Vespa with graffiti in the background in a Bohemian district (Galata) of Istanbul

The most hipster shot ever: a black-and-white film shot from an old camera of a cat sleeping on a Vespa with graffiti in the background in a Bohemian district (Galata) of Istanbul

Tram on Istiklal

Tram on Istiklal

A bookstore on Istiklal

A bookstore on Istiklal

Olives in the market at Kadiköy

Olives in the market at Kadiköy

The very, very cool Mavra cafe in Galata (you can see the famous sleeping Vespa kitty outside)

The very, very cool Mavra cafe in Galata

Below Galata tower

Below Galata tower

A very sad street kid on Galata bridge

A very sad street kid on Galata bridge

Ataturk outside an instrument shop in Galata

Ataturk outside an instrument shop in Galata

Phaeton on Heybeliada

Phaeton on Heybeliada

More Kadiköy olives

More Kadiköy olives

Tourists trying on helmets in the Aya Sofya

Tourists trying on helmets in the Aya Sofya

Taking a quick break

Taking a quick break

In the Blue Mosque

In the Blue Mosque

Lamps in a nargile/tea cafe

Lamps in a nargile/tea cafe

Sunrise on the Bosphorus

Sunrise on the Bosphorus

Chandeliers in the Aya Sofya

Chandeliers in the Aya Sofya

More chandeliers in the Aya Sofya

More chandeliers in the Aya Sofya

A little girl dancing for her family outside of the Blue Mosque

A little girl dancing for her family outside of the Blue Mosque

2 Responses to “Istanbul in black and white”

  1. Stefan Roch July 18, 2013 at 7:44 pm #

    Interesting, so we don’t only share a passion for coffee but also for analogue photography. Maybe it is the seductive quality of the combination of black and white ( http://sdrv.ms/13Qjz31 ;-). Anyway, nice to see some people are still shooting analogue, I had my last walk into the darkroom more than a year ago, I just did not have the time ever since.

    These are all very nice photos you made. I like the raw quality of the film and your eye for the details and particularly for various lighting conditions.

    Just one final comment from a photo geek to another, HP5 is a 400, not 100 ISO film 😉

    • sbutterfield207 July 20, 2013 at 5:57 pm #

      Hi Stefan! I really appreciate the feedback. I’m brand new to film – well, I had a Canon Rebel X about 20 years ago, but playing with the Oly for the summer is the first time I’ve shot analogue since then. And an extra thanks for the correction on the ISO rating of HP5. I was in the process of uploading scans from a couple different rolls of film, including a 100, and got some crossed wires. I’ve fixed it here now, anyway. Thanks for reading!

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