La Vida Es Un Carnaval

Youthful

2012-01-29T15:52:00.000-05:00

Youthful days of the new year: children's books on 23rd street, cookies and hot chocolate with Miss Elaine, C.'s eyes, and the Chinese youth hanging out at a mall in Flushing, Queens.

'Steal Everything'

2012-01-29T15:23:00.000-05:00

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speaks directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.

Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don't bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: 'It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to'." -- Jim Jarmusch

Here are a couple of art pieces (taken with Instragram) that had inspired me recently. Oh, New York, you are full of inspirations!

Leggy art from a show at Chelsea

A robot at the Rubblebucket concert at Bowery Ballroom

Maurizio Cattelan show at the Guggenheim

Ostalgia exhibition at the New Museum

Dream within a dream

2011-11-27T18:30:00.001-05:00

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream" - Edgar Allen Poe

India for me is exactly what Poe says above. It is a dream within a dream, a face within a billion faces. It is dirty in the body but clean in the soul, it is sadness and happiness, it is colors best expressed in black and white, it is history in the most modern sense, it is family and values and tradition marked with a bit of corruption and bribery. It is difficult, but beautiful.

Pictures below were taken on the streets of Hyderabad hoping to reflect a snippet of life there. I hope you enjoy them.

Recipe for a Hindu wedding

2011-11-27T17:56:00.003-05:00

I was in Hyderabad, India, last week for C.'s cousin's wedding. All the colors, traditions, food... It was simply beautiful.

I am no expert in these kind of weddings (or any kind of weddings, as a matter of fact), but if I would have to make a recipe for it, it would involve:

Some young people...

Some elderly...

at least one hyperactive child...

a happy groom and bride...

some mehndi (henna) in the hands...

women singing and holding candles for the bride groom...

a candle for the souls of who are not there...

much turmeric...

a beautiful venue with lots of flowers...

groom on a horse...

family dancing...

and most importantly, genuine affection between the couple.

Les rues de Montreal

2011-10-30T16:57:00.000-04:00

The first week of last September, C. and I ventured out to Montreal by car. It took us about five hours each way, but it was so worth it. Montreal is such a quaint city, where people are friendly and outgoing. Great jazz, fantastic architecture and amazing street art. Since Berlin, no other city had impressed me this much with their streets. Below are a few examples:

Staycation in the city

2011-10-27T00:08:00.000-04:00

Mr. C at the famous Blue Bottle Cafe in Williamsburg

Reading at a Union Square bookstore

Looking through my window onto Jones Street after the rain

New bags hanging from my closet

A street shot in Williamsburg

Textural wall in Wiliamsburg

A toy graveyard in Williamsburg

Strand bookstore

Iced coffee at the Blue Bottle

Reading at a Union Square bookstore -2

Reading near Rockefeller Center

Hello out there!

2011-10-26T23:47:00.000-04:00

Well, hello! After nearly four months of hiatus, here I am again. This mid-summer to fall break was filled with many travels ranging from Montreal to Istanbul, very happy (and special) occasions, and of course, a lot of photos to share with you.

Without further adieu, I will leave you with some photos I have taken at the beginning of this month on the streets of New York (using a traditional 35mm black and white film and my Canon AE-1).

Dia Beacon

2011-07-04T17:39:00.000-04:00

So vast, so big, so quiet, and oh so beautiful. The place was definitely worth a visit.

An amazing Louise Bourgeois piece. I love her.

Now off to a rooftop party to watch the July 4th fireworks, yay!

Old MacDonald had a farm

2011-07-04T17:22:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, C and I ventured out of the city borders to visit the Stone Barns Farm at upstate New York, where they raise organic food for the famous Blue Hill restaurant in Greenwich Village. The farm functions also as a non-profit education center, hence it was filled with children. We had a great time taking the live stock tour and eating the farm's amazing food at the Blue Hill Cafe before heading out to Beacon to see the world famous modern art museum, Dia:Beacon (pictures on the next post). Such a fantastic and out-of-the-ordinary day it was!

the farm's main courtyard

Baby turkeys

An organic lunch, yum!

The amazing man who organized the entire day of adventures

A rare thing

2011-06-26T18:40:00.000-04:00

This may sound extraordinary to some of you (especially for those who do not live in NYC), but it is actually quite rare for C and I to have a breakfast at home on the weekends, since we almost always have brunch with friends or by ourselves discovering different places in the city. This weekend, however, we made an exception and had both breakfasts at home. The first one was traditionally Turkish and the second one was more American (?). Either way, it was quite enjoyable to prepare breakfast together and to avoid huge lines to get a seat at a restaurant.

Ingredients: olive bread, tomatoes with olive oil and oregano, black olives, feta cheese, hummus, dried apricots and Turkish tea

Playing with our food: our initials

C reading the Economist

Ingredients: granola with soy milk, acacia honey and bananas, brie and crackers, blue and raspberries, mango and strawberry kefir

We also went to two wonderful concerts this weekend. The first one was Thievery Corporation and the second one was Sade with John Legend. They were both amazing. I hope you all had a great weekend too.

Ground Zero

2011-06-26T18:23:00.000-04:00

For our final class of Street Photography, we were at the World Trade Center area downtown. I was not feeling very motivated that day, and hence, my pictures did not come out very well. I hope you still enjoy them though.

Black & White

2011-06-26T17:22:00.000-04:00

Going back to New York, here are some shots I took at Union Square a couple of weeks ago. I enjoy black and white images much more than colored most of the time. What is your preference?

Family Portraits

2011-06-26T16:20:00.000-04:00

The first weekend of June, I flew to Istanbul for literally three days. Unlike expected, my short trip was not exhausting, but refreshing and fun. Furthermore, seeing the beautiful, loving faces of my family made it even better. I feel like, as I grow older, I become more and more fond of my family. They are the best!

During my visit, I shot several portraits of my family. Let me start with my parents, the two most wonderful people in the world, who taught me what unconditional love is.

To me, this is what true love looks like

My parents dressed up for my cousin's wedding

And from here, continue on to pictures of my twin sister, Deniz. Do I even have to say that she is the most special person to me?

The whole family dressed up (it is me in the pink dress)

Next is my grandmother, the ever smiling and the most giving, selfless person I know.

Next are my beautiful cousins, aunt and uncle. I love you all so much.

Banu

Pelin

Cengiz

Pinar

A loving mother

Bora

Poyraz

Alev

Taylan

And finally, a couple of shots of the most beautiful city in the world: Istanbul!

Seaside houses of Arnavutkoy

Bosphorus

The journey

2011-06-20T00:11:00.000-04:00

On a rainy Saturday, C and I ventured out to MOMA PS1 in Queens. Interestingly, there was just as much to be seen on the way there as in the museum, where we were not allowed to take pictures. As they say, what matters is the journey, not the destination.

Red Square

2011-06-19T23:28:00.000-04:00

For our second class on Street Photography, we met up at Times Square, where there was a tint of red everywhere I looked. Enjoy!

People's Park

2011-06-19T19:48:00.000-04:00

After the Portrait Lighting class, I started taking a 6-week course on Street Photography. Here are the images from the first class that was held at Madison Square Garden. We were basically set free to walk around and shoot whatever we fancy, which was very pleasant giving the nice weather and the nice people at the park.

Summery Sunday

2011-06-19T18:47:00.000-04:00

These days, we experience the perfect summer here in the NYC. As Sezen Aksu says: "Bakarsin umdugundan iyi gecer yaz" (which can be roughly translated as: "Who knows, maybe summer will be better than you expect it to be"). I really hope so. Optum...

An early evening at Union Square

2011-05-14T19:18:00.000-04:00

It was last Wednesday evening during which we went out around Union Square and took our last portrait photos for the class. Some of us posed as usual, but we also got to capture the faces of passer-by's, who were nice enough to pose for us. While I will miss this class and my fellow classmates, I registered for a new photo class at NYU that focuses solely on street photography. I am psyched! I truly don't know why I waited so long (being interested in photography for nearly 10 years!) to take classes. They have been massively educative so far. Well, it is never too late, right?

Faces

2011-05-11T11:17:00.001-04:00

Faces, a set on Flickr.

Portraits of my photo classmates taken at Riverside Park. The tunnel light was fantastic. Have a good day everyone.

The mimes and lovers of cherry blossoms

2011-05-10T00:04:00.000-04:00

We were at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden last weekend for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was the perfect spring day filled with sunshine, flowers, Harajuku girls, mime dancers and friends. What more could a girl want?

You gotta have style

2011-05-08T23:54:00.000-04:00

And when it comes to style, my beautiful friend Elaine is a master. Here are some images from our stylish and fun outing in Soho today. I hope you all had a great weekend.

Moi

2011-04-26T00:16:00.001-04:00

Class4, a photo by Taking Pictures of People - Spring 2011 on Flickr.

My beautiful salsa girls

2011-04-25T23:55:00.000-04:00

My amazing friends were over at my place last Saturday to get their pictures taken by the very unprofessional me. I had neither a reflector nor a key light, but they were very patient with me nevertheless. They are all so gorgeous! Thank you, my beautiful ladies. :)

Soyeon

Evie

Erica

Evelyn

Nancy

Class portraits continued

2011-04-25T23:38:00.000-04:00

In the next classes, we studied both indoors studio and outdoors natural lightning. Light, light, light!

Annie

Ya-ting

John, his light-meter and Rob

Steve, the storyteller

Tilda, a great model with her red accessories

Portrait Photography 101

2011-04-25T23:05:00.000-04:00

Hello blog world, yes, I am still alive! I am well aware that it has been nearly two months since I last posted, but I have many images to share to make up for the lost time. Three weeks ago, I started taking a photo class from NYU focusing on portrait lightning and I have to say that the class has been quite enlightening for me so far. I had never realized the importance of the lightning in a photo until this class. Although I am still yet to master it, I am learning more and more about it every day. Here are some images I took of my fellow classmates during the first class followed by a natural light shot of C. Pictures from the recent classes are coming next.

My beautiful Danish friend, Signe

a character shot, as John says

Our teacher, John Hart

What a smile!

Larry with John's green sweater

C on the train to his parents' house

America's Richest...

2011-02-26T14:46:00.000-05:00

in coffee, aquatic bioluminescence, fantastic beaches and salsa, that is. Yes, I am talking about Puerto Rico. Here are some images from our trip there. More to come in the next post.

waiting for our flight

PR's best coffee

the story of coffee

"Man has to be like coffee: good, strong and warm."

Streets of old San Juan

Inside a poetry shop

A beautiful courtyard in San Juan

old San Juan

The graveyard by the ocean

View of the city from the graveyard

Young love in PR

A Small Tribute

2011-02-24T23:41:00.000-05:00

I would like to humbly dedicate this post to my parents, the two most amazing human beings in this world, who I had the privilege to be raised by.

Even though I have been living away from them since I was eighteen, not a day passes by that I feel their unconditional love and support over me. I know that no matter what happens or what I do, they will always have my back and I can always count on them for being there for me. Ever since I was a kid, they showed an immense passion and respect for the person I was becoming to be and I greatly admire that about them. I have never met any other individuals so selflessly giving and so loving. I can only hope to become a parent half as good as they are one day and I love them all so much.

Instagram

2011-02-22T17:05:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, I can't believe it has been a month since the last time I have posted here. Sorry about that. Nevertheless, I have many images to share. Let's start with the pictures I have taken during the last month, both in New York and Puerto Rico, using the fabulous Iphone app called Instagram. You should definitely check the app out, if you happen to have an Iphone, folks. Enjoy!

vacation patterns

C's cat in Puerto Rico

lights of a spa/bar in San Juan

San Juanita

Don San Juan

Puerto Rico cemetery

My winter boots in NYC

C at the airport on the way to PR

My beautiful Chinese tiger :)

Chilling

Lately

2011-01-22T18:11:00.000-05:00

Let's see, what have I been up to lately? There was my parents' visit, a thesis committee meeting, a new haircut, 26th birthday celebration, and many more... It is constantly cold and snowing outside and I am desperately in need of a sunny beach vacation. Enjoy the pictures taken from my Iphone using the Instagram app, folks. And stay warm.

(My Instagram ID is carnavalgirl, if you are intrigued to check out more of my photos)

Spring in Midwinter

2011-01-09T15:41:00.000-05:00

The Narcissus orchids that my amazing parents gave to me last week are in full bloom right now. It is springtime on my windowsill despite the frigid cold outside.

Once upon a time

2010-12-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

in the streets of Istanbul (and a bit on the beaches of the Black Sea region)...

Catching some sunshine

2010-12-26T22:57:00.001-05:00

Since we are stuck inside the house due to the snow 'blizzard' in New York City, I am keeping busy by scanning some old films, one of which was taken in 2002 in Istanbul at a children park near my home. I hope the smiles in the faces of these children will bring you a bit of warmth and sunshine.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T18:47:00.000-05:00

to all of you whether you celebrate it or not. :)

Last year this time...

2010-12-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

I was in India. Happy holidays, people.

My first

2010-12-13T23:23:00.000-05:00

My passion in photography started with this first roll of film that I took in Warsaw, Poland (and at home in Istanbul) during the summer of 2001. I was only sixteen years old and had just returned back from a month of partying in Spain. I was so tired and burned out that the two quiet weeks in Warsaw doing nothing but sleeping, reading and walking around the Chopin Park were the best thing I could wish for at the time. Never would I have imagined those two weeks to spark such a fire in my heart that would become so grand for the rest of my life.

My Mexican Suitcase

2010-12-12T22:44:00.002-05:00

Like the suitcase revealed in Mexico of Robert Capa's negatives on Spanish Civil War, I have been lazily sitting on a folder of about 50 rolls of black and white film from the last 7-8 years without knowing what to do with them or what they might even contain. Hence, C.'s wonderful early Christmas gift of a negative scanner (it is an Epson V500, the best one for a budget out there) was the best thing I could ever get.

Here are some of the images from the first roll of negatives I scanned today. They were taken during the winter of 2004 in Istanbul. It is never too late to open up the treasure chest. I am sure I appreciate it more now than I could during that time. Enjoy my dears.

Home Sweet Home

2010-11-28T23:55:00.000-05:00

After having lovely guests for the last three weeks, C. and I spent this Sunday cleaning and re-decorating the apartment. Here are some parts of our place that I love the most (including the man himself :)...

Girls' Night!

2010-11-28T23:27:00.000-05:00

My beautiful ladies and I had a lovely night last night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn eating yummy sushi, going to an amazing concert of Manner and chatting. Sometimes all you need is good ol' time with your girlfriends. :)

Miscellaneous...

2010-11-27T00:15:00.001-05:00

images taken from my Iphone last week (excluding the last two images from Halloween) that were modified by iPhoto. Que usted disfrute.

Love is in the air

2010-11-14T19:32:00.000-05:00

This is the last post of the day, folks! I am not a fan of putting pictures of myself here, but Yasemin captured some nice/funny images of C. and me yesterday. So, I couldn't resist. I hope you had a good weekend, too.

A touristy day in the city

2010-11-14T19:25:00.000-05:00

My very good friend and true soul mate, Yasemin, has been visiting me from Turkey this week with her friend, Fulya. So, we spent yesterday having a New York brunch at Grey Dog, strolling around West Village, drinking beer at the Biergarten of the Standard Hotel, walking in Highline Park, visiting the annual chocolate show and sampling many many amazing chocolates, having dinner and going out in the Meat Packing District. It is such a bliss to have such good friends that you can savor up the city with!

United Colors of Polaroid

2010-11-14T17:30:00.001-05:00

New York is definitely one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world. Random images of my friends (taken with my iPhone's ShakeItPhoto app) is just an evidence of its eclectic identity. As you can see, in order, from the images below, lovely faces from India, Korea, France, Turkey (me!), Jamaica, Paris (because it is almost a country on its own), Argentina, China, Ghana and New York may fill up your daily life easily in this beautiful city.

Chelsea girl

2010-11-14T16:59:00.001-05:00

On a lazy Sunday last October, my Chelsea-girl-at-heart, Washington-Heights-girl-in-reality friend, Elaine, and I had a fabulous day at the Chelsea Market. Starting the day with some shopping at Anthropologie, we sampled many things ranging from interesting flavors of salt to brownies, and finished our day with yummy hamburgers. Sometimes all you need for a great day is a good friend and some delicious food. ;)

Songs of Hima

2010-11-14T16:27:00.000-05:00

We were together again for another amazing musical performance by Hima Bindu recently. This time it was at Caffe Vivaldi in the Village right across from our apartment. Enjoy the pictures...

Lomo in the Village

2010-11-02T22:56:00.001-04:00

Oktoberfest!

2010-10-18T00:11:00.001-04:00

Oktoberfest in Munich... once in a lifetime experience...

I confess that I didn't know any of these guys before we sat down on their tables. However, once everybody had enough to drink, it was easy to make friends. ;)

Straßen von Berlin

2010-10-17T23:31:00.001-04:00

Streets of Berlin... full of graffiti and self-expression. Here are a few to inspire...

Live to tell the tale

2010-10-10T20:08:00.001-04:00

A month has passed, since I have last posted here and so much has happened during this time. While I will be posting pictures from wine tasting in Northfork, strolling in Chelsea Market, and attending Oktoberfest in Munich (!) within a couple of days, here are some images from the East Side Gallery, the world's largest open-air gallery of paintings done on the remnants of the Berlin Wall. It is incredible to think that it was only about 20 years ago that a wall was separating such a wonderful, eclectic and historic city. As Marquez says, these paintings "live to tell the tale".

A Fashionable Weekend

2010-09-12T00:48:00.000-04:00

It was 'Fashion's Night Out' in the Big Apple last night. All the shops in Soho were open until midnight serving drinks and playing DJ music...

hundreds of sawing machines were displayed in one of the stores...

Chanel was offering free manicures and make up in its store. Sirin and I tried on their red lipstick...

After a busy fashion-filled night, I had lunch with Virginia on the 'oh so fashionable' Elizabeth Street in Soho. Oh, what a fashionable weekend!

A ferry ride and a new phone

2010-09-05T19:56:00.000-04:00

I finally gave in ad bought an Iphone this weekend. It has some fantastic photo apps including 'ShakeIt' (like a polaroid, that is :)), 'CrossProcess' and 'Hipstamatic'. Here are some images I took with it at home and in Governor's Island, where we went today for an art fair and a bike ride. In fact, you can see the tiny Statue of Liberty from the field pictures. I hope you guys had a great weekend also.

Creeping In...

2010-08-31T19:38:00.003-04:00

My committee meeting (an annual talk you give to your thesis committee about how far you are into your thesis) is in less than three days! Trying to stay calm... Oh, September, welcome! You are still my favorite month.

Sunday thru my window

2010-08-15T18:49:00.000-04:00

Apart from a couple of outings and running errands, it has been a relaxing summer Sunday here. I am really into yellows and greens these days. I hope you are enjoying the last bit of the summer as well, folks. Cheers!

P.S. Don't you love the purple door across my window. Such a color contrast with the yellow flowers.

Bodrum Ephesus Sirince

2010-08-10T00:16:00.000-04:00

Imagine

2010-08-09T23:55:00.000-04:00

Imagine a small town on the coast of the most turquoise sea with white houses... Imagine a castle overlooking at the islands where the mythological gods of Ancient Greece once played tricks on the poor mortal creatures called humans...

Imagine blue...

Imagine white and green and many others together...

Imagine where sleep is the sweetest...

the reading is the most comforting...

and a place where every mischief is welcomed...

Imagine mortals rebelling against gods in the most ancient theaters...

and finally, enjoying each others' company in the most beautiful place in the world...

Imagine Bodrum!

It's all in the way you...

2010-08-01T14:19:00.001-04:00

... smoke a hookah (the traditional Middle Eastern water pipe with flavored tobacco) that tells a lot about your character.

Or maybe not.

Either way, it is fun to capture one's facial expression as the smoke is coming out of their mouths.

One can be...

Soft and sweet like Soyeon

Thoughtful and steady like Marcello

Smooth and powerful like Michael

Suave and all-in-the-moment like Chris

Trying-to-show-off like me ;)

or sexy and passionate like Evelyn

(All the pictures were taken in my new place last night.)

First Meals...

2010-08-01T13:43:00.005-04:00


C.'s mom's delicious Indian food, yum! are essential to break into a new house. Ours was initiated by C.'s mom's excellent spicy Indian food. And upon returning from our trip to Turkey, it was followed by C.'s delicious fettucine al pesto and insalate caprese.

C. cooking fettuccine and vegetables

Freshly cut pasta is the key for a great taste

Tasting al dente

Buon appetito!

After all, a house is not a house, if you cannot enjoy a happy meal together at the end of the day.

'Meet Me in Montauk'

2010-06-28T00:04:00.001-04:00

...is probably my favorite line from probably my favorite romantic movie Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Thus, following their steps, C. and I went to Montauk in Long Island for a day a couple of weeks ago.
Montauk is a cute little town with a pier, where it is very pleasant to bike around, visit the town fair, watch the World Cup and have a romantic stroll (or high jump!) on the beach.

We Heart Polaroid!

2010-06-27T23:30:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, I met up with some old friends from high school at a gallery opening, where they were renting Polaroid cameras for fifteen minutes. So, we had some fun with them old-school-style. ;)

2z

2010-06-27T23:11:00.001-04:00

"2z" is pronounced (and written) as "ikiz" in Turkish and it means 'twin'. Coincidentally, it is also my last name and I have an identical twin sister (yes, 'twin'ness runs in our family :)).

I was in Turkey last weekend and my sister decided to the following photo project under a creative impulse. We literally spent 5 minutes on it. I took her pictures and she took mine. It is hard to decipher who is who, but there are some clues (check out my tattoo in the hand picture on the right and I am a bigger fan of jewellery). So, we are not that similar after all. Enjoy!

Picnic!

2010-06-23T23:07:00.000-04:00

Lomographs taken at picnics in Central Park and Coney Island a couple of weeks ago. Good company, good food, great city! I love NY!

Four Generations of Men

2010-05-31T20:52:00.001-04:00

Following the post from a couple of weeks back, I had the chance yesterday to capture four generations of men in C.'s family. It was really great to see the four generations under the same roof playing with Lego's. :)

Coney and Diana

2010-05-29T20:56:00.001-04:00

Thanks to its beautiful beach, friendly and interesting(!) community, and fun lunapark, Coney Island was one of our main destinations last weekend. It is definitely a spot not to be missed for all of you planning to visit NYC.

LES and Diana

2010-05-29T20:31:00.000-04:00

Pictures taken with my Diana mini last weekend at Lower East Side of Manhattan (abbreviated as LES for the non-New Yorkers).

On Friendship

2010-05-29T10:39:00.001-04:00

Dunyadaki en guzel, en icten, en gerekli sey arkadaslik..

(Friendship is the most beautiful, sincere and necessary thing in the world)

And I had a blast last week, as my best friend was visiting me from London. I have many more Lomo pictures to come from that week, but here is a picture we took inside a photo booth at a bar in Lower East Side last Saturday (Sirin is on the left, Deniz in the middle, and me on the right). I am sure this shoot will stay as a great memory to remind us of our fun times together for many more years to come.

More Lomo Fun!

2010-05-08T22:04:00.000-04:00

Enjoy...

Viva la Lomo!

2010-05-08T21:57:00.000-04:00

As promised, here are the first images from my new mini camera, the cutest thing ever! :)
I love the quirkiness of colors in these images from the Village and the Central Park that is specific to lomographs. For more information on lomography, check out this website. I am sure you will be quick to fall in love with them as I did. More fun images yet to come in the next post!

Rain through my window

2010-05-04T23:35:00.000-04:00

Oh, sweet, short-termed, good-smelling spring rain, how I love thee! It has been three weeks since I have last posted and lots had happened. First of all, I had many visitors (including my dear Mom, who came to visit all the way from Turkey :)) and all my time away from work had been happily spent with them. Secondly, C. and I decided to move in together and found a beautiful apartment in West Village. Although I look forward to the move, I will surely miss my greatest roommates and the beautiful view of the Upper West Side from my window. New things always bring a tad bit of sadness to my nostalgia-loving soul. Oh well, c'est la vie...

P.S. Stay tuned! Next, I will be posting some fun images from the first experiments with my new Diana Mini. Viva Lomography! :)

Paloma

2010-04-13T20:45:00.000-04:00

To my Mom and all the other mothers who taught their daughters to be independent, strong women...

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

Pablo Picasso

"I wanna get a tattoo" she said looking directly at her mother's shocked eyes.

Her mother let out a desperate sigh before turning her eyes to me and asking:

"What do you think about this?"

"Me?" I cried rather unexpectedly. I thought she knew. "You know I already have a tattoo, right?"

She looked at me in a way that I couldn't tell whether she was surprised or she already knew. In either way, I felt the need to explain myself, as one does when they are not sure. Gesturing my arm in a way to expose the short line of ink on the side of my left wrist, I said:

"This dove represents a lot of things for me: friendship, for instance, since I got it together with one of my best friends from Turkey, with whom I shared so many late nights talking and writing scenarios about life's adventures awaiting us, with whom I traveled all around Europe and dreamed of participating in the Rio Carnival."

She seemed intrigued, so I resumed:

"The dove, and hence the notion of being able to fly, also symbolize the free spirit in me that takes the most joy in traveling and taking photographs and meeting new people and sharing experiences." I said getting all excited and feeling my cheeks starting to blush as a natural result of my enthusiasm.

He says this passionate side of me is the one he loves the most.

At this point, the cautious-not-to-say-something-wrong side of me intervened and said: "Please don't misunderstand me, I am one hundred percent committed to my family and to your son and to your family. And I know all about my responsibilities." Then, the excited side took over and said: "However, I also know of the responsibilities I have for myself. I have to make sure that I preserve the inner, independent self that finds beauty and humor in people at their most natural states, the self that likes to smile at strangers and to help old people, the childish self who cries rather easily and who laughs rather easily, the self that sees the universe through the lens of a camera and that likes to wear funny hats."

He loves the berets that make me look like a French-school girl the most.

"It also signifies world-wide peace, of course," I said trying to move the topic away from me.

I try to stop myself every time I think I am talking too much about myself.

"But most importantly, this dove represents all the things I would like to pass onto my daughter, to Paloma."

She was surprised upon hearing my last sentence. So, I started explaining myself again: "Paloma, which means dove in Spanish, is also the name of Pablo Picasso's daughter. Picasso was highly impressed by her artistic talent, even when she was a young girl. In the interviews he gave, he always mentioned how much he learned from his daughter's art."

Today, Paloma Picasso is a highly-acclaimed jewelry designer. Ironically, her latest design is of a necklace in the shape of a dove for Tiffany's.

"This is exactly what I would like to say about my daughter in the future, and with this tattoo, I will always carry her in my arm."

With my last words, I recognized the small smile starting to form on her lips. She seemed pleased with my answer.

"OK," she replied and turning her head towards her daughter, she declared: "If you can state the meaning of the tattoo you want this well... You can have it!"

Cherry, ma cherie?

2010-04-10T22:48:00.000-04:00

I went to DC last weekend with C. and his family (check out the seventh photo below for the three generations of beautiful women in C's family), who were kind enough to take me with them (thank you again :)), to see the famous cherry blossoms. As you can see from the images below, they were truly spectacular and the weather was just gorgeous.

However, looking at the photos I had from last weekend, I quickly realize that, once again, it was mostly the charm of fellow spectators I fell into and took pictures of. What can I say? My camera finds the beauty of people more attractive than that of nature...

P.S. I also went to a bunch of fantastic concerts last week ranging from Ilhan Ersahin and Bonobo to wonderful Sezen Aksu. Good music makes me happy. :)

Heritage

2010-03-29T23:40:00.000-04:00

This photo was also taken in Greece during our ferry ride from Santorini to Mykonos. I love how similar my mom and my sister's faces look, when they are asleep (check out also my cultured dad in the back reading a history book, as always :)). How much we have inherited from them!

Aghh, I miss my family...

Fire, Night and a Volcano

2010-03-29T23:16:00.000-04:00

The weather has been rainy and cold these past couple of days in New York City, which makes me desperately miss the Mediterranean summer nights. Hence, some images I hope to hasten the arrival of spring and summer to this hectic, never-sleeping city.

The images are from Santorini, Greece, where I have traveled with my family during the summer of 2008. To our luck, our stay has coincided with the anniversary of the bursting of the volcano island across from Santorini, which is celebrated with massive fireworks.

Hurry up summer, because I am almost out of patience!

P.S. I didn't have a tripod with me at the time. So, sorry for some of the blurriness in the photos, but I am sure you still get the picture. :)

Colorful Weekend

2010-03-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

Hey folks, I had such a colorful weekend! The weather was exceptionally warm and sunny. So, I spent as much time outside as possible. Went to the Air concert on Friday night. Met up with Elaine on Saturday...

...to eat some banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery...

...to take a nice stroll around Central Park...

... and to entertain the little children inside us at FAO Schwarz... :)

Then, went to Sunil's housewarming party that night and spent the beautiful Sunday with C. rediscovering Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I hope you all had a great weekend, too.

On the Couch

2010-03-18T19:29:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful spring day here in New York today. Unfortunately, I had to spend most of it working on the talk I have to give tomorrow morning. Yet still, I couldn't resist the urge of snapping this picture of me on the couch (or reading the magazines you see in the photo or surfing the web...). Hooray for procrastination! :)

Nostalgia via Polaroids

2010-03-14T19:00:00.000-04:00

I remember very distinctly... I must be 7 years old or so... Back then, it was the fashion in Turkey to collect newspaper coupons for a couple of months at a time for various household products (plate sets, TVs, etc.), only to send them back to the newspapers and earn the products. My grandfather was a big fan of this coupon system and watching him cut the coupons out of newspapers every day was a part of my daily routine. One day, my grandfather left the coupon page of a certain newspaper open and with my newly-acquired reading skills, I was able to decipher the new product the paper was going to give out, which initiated the start of my ever-lasting passion for photography: a Polaroid camera! To this day, I still remember the excitement I felt over the new product, even though I don't recall a distinct desire to take pictures during that stage of my life. My grandfather was more than happy to let me collect the 60 coupons for the camera, which he believed would give me a feeling of discipline to get what you want, since the task asked for daily clippings of newspaper (without missing a single day!) for two consecutive months. Long story short, at the end of two months, my grandfather and I collected all the 60 coupons in an envelope to send back to the newspaper, and a month later, I finally had my Polaroid camera! Unfortunately, none of the pictures I took from the early years remain, but I recently found four images I had taken in my room with my sister and some middle school friends, when I was about 13 years old. Since Polaroid stopped producing films about a year ago (click here to protest and read some information about), these films doubled in their value and significance for me. So, without further ado, let's take a tip back in time! :)

My identical twin sister, Deniz, and I (I am on the left! :p)

Bilge and I (again on the left! But you can tell by now, right?)

Zulal, Banu and I

Manolya and I

P.S. As you may have noticed, I changed the blog's template. Change is good and let's give this a try, before I find something better capturing the essence of this space. Enjoy! :)

Kahve Bahane

2010-03-08T22:03:00.000-05:00

The old Turkish poem goes as:

"gönül ne kahve ister ne kahvehane,

gönül bir dost ister kahve bahane,"

which can be roughly translated as:

"the heart wants neither coffee nor coffeehouse,

the heart wants a friend, all rest is a pretext."

Hence, whether I was drinking coffee (or tea)...

with Gozler in Budapest...

or with C. in New York...

or with Oran in London...

or in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico...

or in Fort Cochin, India; what mattered the most was the conversation and friends. One should cherish every moment that comes with coffee. All rest is a pretext...

One Fine Day

2010-03-08T21:18:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, after a day of terrible migraine, I was really craving for some fresh air. So, Elaine and I decided to take a stroll on Upper West Side, which consisted of having lunch at Zabar's, eating ice-cream at Grom,

remembering our childhood through wooden toys,

some flower therapy,

passing through a flea market for interesting finds,

taking pictures of each other,

snapping some sartorialist images on the street,

jumping up and down with joy,

and truly enjoying the beautiful weather at Central Park.

Spring and friends are the best therapies for headaches! :)

More Cities in Tamil Nadu, More Temples

2010-03-01T00:20:00.000-05:00

Temples and Markets of Tamil Nadu

2010-02-28T23:57:00.000-05:00

After Kerala, our next stop was Tamil Nadu, the state of temples just east of Kerala. Take a look!

A Surprising Morning Walk by Keralan Backwaters

2010-02-28T23:22:00.000-05:00

All the photos here, except for the first one, were taken in a small, forgotten village on the side of the backwaters, where our houseboat had stopped for the night. That morning, C. woke me up very early in the morning to watch the sunrise. We left the boat with our pj's and my camera (with no passports nor wallets) and started walking on the shore in the hope of catching the early rays of the sun reflecting on the water. Out little walk leaded us on this tiny little village (with no running water nor electricity, where the residents used the dirty backwaters as a source of drinking water, washing clothes, brushing teeth, and of course urinating!) where the residents were just waking up. They were so surprised (yet so hospitable) to see C. and me that I am pretty sure that we were the first tourists they had ever seen in their lives. Most of them invited us to their huts to drink chai. Everybody was very smiley and friendly, especially the kids. They followed us everywhere and they were very enthusiastic about me taking their pictures (most of which you can see in my Children of India post). What a lovely and surprising morning it was!

On Keralan Backwaters

2010-02-28T22:59:00.000-05:00

The next pictures were taken from the houseboat, we spent a day and night in, on Keralan backwaters. We had a private chef and a captain for the whole day. Spectacular view, amazing food, it was truly amazing! How I wish I were there again.

Welcome to beautiful Kerala!

2010-02-28T22:41:00.000-05:00

The next images are from Fort Cochin and Alleppey of Kerala, the west state of the southern tip of India. Kerala is mostly a Christian state. Consequently, we were there during Christmas and there were a lot of festivities going on during time. With its amazing backwaters, relaxed and friendly people, Chinese fishing nets and interesting history ranging from Vasco de Gama to socialism, Kerala was by far my favorite spot in India.