Istanbul is a photographer's dream – a city of the world with the most exciting visual landscape. It is a culturally and architecturally diverse city where the history of the Orient and the Middle East connects directly with the modern, western culture of Europe. The traditions of great photography in Istanbul are rich in exotic beauty and it is a place where the people of the city are very comfortable being photographed.

This seven-day workshop, led by Peter Turnley, one of the great photographers of our time, centers on street photography, the photo essay, and all forms of personal image making. Peter has lived in Europe, for the past thirty years. He worked as the assistant to legendary Paris street photographer Robert Doisneau, and has published five books, including “Parisians”. His images of world affairs, social, cultural, and political issues, are seen in the world’s most prestigious publications. He has also published an exceptional 8-page photo essay in the Sept. 2007 issue of Harper’s Magazine, entitled “Across the Bosphorus, photographs from Turkey”. Peter is also a widely respected teacher of workshops on street photography.

Peter has vast experience instructing students to find their visual voice and hone their personal vision to become more comfortable photographing people, life and the natural environment of a city. In addition to growing photographically under Peter’s mentorship, students enjoy a cultural learning experience. Istanbul is not only one of the world’s most exciting cities visually, but currently one with the most exciting and interesting geo-political and cultural intersections of Eastern and Western life. Peter has taught several workshops previously in Istanbul, and aside from his own tremendous teaching attributes, he introduces students to many prominent members of Istanbul's wonderfully talented photographic community that share their expertise on Turkish life and culture, in the workshop for presentations and lectures.

A few hours each day, the class meets for lectures and presentations, editing, reviewing and critiquing each student’s work-in-process. The group visits, museums and galleries. Students share dinners and meet privately with Peter each day to review work and discuss their progress. Peter will discuss techniques for making spontaneous, human images of the life of a city. Students explore the streets, markets, the worlds’ greatest bazaars, cafes, restaurants, parks, squares, churches, mosques, shops, and various neighborhoods, street life, tramways, and waterways of Istanbul. Students photograph for at least half of each day. Participants are urged to research and develop a theme of life in Istanbul while creating a photographic story around that theme. There is no need to come with a plan. Peter will help you with this process.

Students are pushed to go beyond simply the picturesque and to discover a sense of the texture and the rhythm to the real life of this exciting and unique city. Students are encouraged to photograph not only scenes and environments, but also the people and life of Istanbul. For those reluctant to approach people with their camera, Peter will help learn those techniques, and expose students to ideas and a spirit that will help photograph people, up close. This will be a visually interesting time to create powerful images. Expect to work hard each day and approach the fieldwork with concentration and determination. Be aware that the workshop focuses particularly on a documentary/ photojournalistic approach to photographing the rich reality of Istanbul.

The workshop will include a group dinner on the opening evening and a farewell group dinner at the end of the workshop and includes a final class slideshow comprising each student’s final story of 15 images.

This promises to be an extraordinary experience for workshop participants.

Who Should Attend
This 7-day photographic workshop is for photographers and serious amateurs who want to explore and document their encounter with the culture, cityscape and people of Istanbul. Students need to be knowledgeable about their digital camera, digital workflow and able to solve technical problems in the field. Peter will assist with improving not only visual expression shooting, but also to helping better organizing the workflow. All participants should be experienced and savvy travelers, used to dealing with the intricacies of bureaucracy, transportation and technical issues.

Companions
This is an ideal workshop to bring along a spouse, son or daughter or partner. Non-photographic companions may join the group sessions and meals but are not involved in the critique or review sessions. Companion supplement is $150.

Arrival
Plan to arrive by Sunday morning, July 1. It may be a good idea to arrive on Saturday, June 30 to give you an evening of acclimation before the workshop. The first workshop class will begin at 2pm on Sunday, July 1. There will be a group dinner the first night and the students will be guests of the workshop.

Departures
The workshop ends Saturday, July 7 by noon. There will be a final show of the students 15 image pictures stories along with a final group dinner on Friday evening, July 6. Students are free to leave starting Saturday afternoon or can remain on to explore more of Turkey. This timing gives people the chance to get home to return to work by Monday if necessary.

Technology
This is a digital workshop. If you wish to shoot film, you may so do, but we suggest you bring it home for processing. Students are encouraged to use a 35 mm digital camera. You will need to know how to download your digital images each evening to a folder so that your days work can be brought to class the next day on a flash drive, external hard drive, or cd, for review each day. Students are encouraged to choose from the outset if they want to see their work in color or in black and white, and they will be encouraged to stick to their choice throughout the workshop.

What to Bring
Besides your SLR digital cameras, bring a body of your creative work to share—a portfolio or CD of 30-40 images. Your portfolio can be prints or digital images. The workshop will have an LCD projector and there will be a final show of all of the students work during the final session.

Camera Gear
A digital SLR or rangefinder camera is required. Two bodies are recommended, with a minimum of at least one wide-angle lens, such as a 17-35mm zoom, or 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm lens. In order to shoot comfortably in low light situations, it will be preferable that students have a wide-angle lens that is relatively fast and has a wide aperture such as 1.4., 1.8. 2 or 2.8. Bring several memory cards (at least 1 G cards are recommended), extra batteries and necessary battery chargers. Your laptop should have image management software, such as Apple’s Aperture, Adobe’s Lightroom or, as Peter suggests, Photomechanic, which can be downloaded, free, on a trial basis from Camerabits.

Research and preparation
Research and preparation are important parts of any adventure. There are many websites regarding Istanbul and Turkey to be found on the Internet. You may also look at one of Peter Turnley’s recent photo essays about Istanbul, Across the Bhosporus

Meals
The first and last meals are included in the cost of the workshop. You will be a guest of the workshop for a group opening dinner on Sunday night, and a final dinner on Friday night. Aside from the two group meals, breakfasts, lunches and dinners are independent but students are encouraged to join each other in local restaurants and cafes. Expect to be paying around $50 a day on meals.

Hotels:
Peter has found a wonderful hotel right in the center of Sultanahmet with a rooftop terrace with the most extraordinary view of Istanbul that there is. Class sessions take place on this terrace creating a very inspiring backdrop for the class experience. This is where Peter will be staying.

The hotel is the Rast Hotel and the hotel will be offering extremely reasonable rates to the students: 80 euros for single room, 90 double occupancy

Rast Hotel

Binbirdirek Mh. Klodfarer Cd.

No:4 34122

Sultanahmet / Istanbul

Tel. +90 212 638 16 38 Fax: +90 212 638 19 99

E-Mail: info@rasthotel.com

http://www.rasthotel.com/

Please mention Peter Turnley's photography workshop, and speak or write to Mustapha.

Below is also a selection of other hotels nearby the Rast Hotel. Please call or e-mail to reserve a room in the hotel of your choice.

AND Hotel Yerebatan Cad. Cami Cikmaz No.40, Sultanahmet, Istanbul 90.212.512 0207 info@andhotel.com  http://andhotel.com

Kybele Hotel Yerebatan Caddesi, 35 Sultanahmet 34110  Istanbul tel.90.212.511 77 66 info@kybelehotel.com http://kybelehotel.com/

Hotel Niles Ordu Caddesi Dibekli Cami Sokak, #19, Beyazit-Istanbul Tel. 90.212 517 32 39 info@hotelniles.com http://hotelniles.com/

A wide array of testimonials by students that have taken Peter Turnley workshops as well as student galleries from previous workshops may be viewed here:
http://www.peterturnley.com/testimonials.html
http://www.peterturnley.com/students.html

Turnley has published 5 books of his work:
Parisians
McClellan Street
In Times of War and Peace
Beijing Spring
Moments of Revolution