Morning sun's heat

A seagull warm herself in the morning sun after a winter cold night

Stormy day

A Cruise Ship is leaving the bay, it is hard to distinguish the "tiny" ferry in front of the 300 meter long vessel. This day of March 28 was quiet stormy and the light disputed the sky to the clouds for the whole day.

Evening route

On the pale evening winter sun the Mary Schulte is living the harbour at low speed while ferries crossing the bay have to sail around to avoid her path and other mooring ships.

Morning Mist

Early morning in December 2010 ferries leaving for the south shore slowly disapear in the mist. The passengers are only 10 minutes away from Konak but they hardly see the shore.

The ferry to the north shore

The trip across the bay lasts around 20 minutes, sometime the captain having to tack between heavy ships preparing to dock or leaving the harbour, or just mooring in the bay waiting for they turn to approach the huge cranes. We can distinctively see the fog due to the pollution comming from the heaters of hundred thousands of housholds and offices. The harbour stays in the very center of the city and even if the port of Aliaga 80 km north is becoming a very busy alternative the frequentation is still high in the Aegean city.

moorings

Any chain can keep a boat away from the open sea, she will let herself die and sink in the water she loves instead.
Today looking at this picture from my archives (my pocket camera Lumix LX2 with the Leitz zoom) Azanavour's song came to my mind. Here are links to Youtube french vintage copy, a recent french version and a recent concert with the English version too. If you read french profit of the original, the poesie of the french text is not found in the english version, unfortunately. At the time of the song was first published most of the French Colonies had been granted independence, there were no way to spend holiday time abroad for the concept of holiday by the sea was quiet new and reserved for a class with some financial capabilities, owning a private car and thus able to reach the mediterranean and atlantic shores.

After the rain

After the rain the shore is almost deserted, it is a perfect time to stroll along the seafront.

The Pelican Hair

The most awesome male of the pack, he stands apart and doesn't pay attention to other male and female pelicans disputing a tiny fish. he seems indeed to pay attention to not wet his hair and shows his profile proudly. This time it seems pretty opportune to publish the a colour work.

Old Lady

The Bergama ferry is one of our finest and oldest. Commissioned in 1951 she shows a typical silhouette with her wooden captain bridge and rounded stern. Another old lady the ferry "Ihsan Alyanak" sunk recently but fortunately the captain succeeds to bring her back to the pier with all the passengers sound and safe. Every year 15 million passengers take one of our ferries to cross the bay. Come aboard, drink a hot glass of black tea and enjoy the twenty minutes necessary to reach the opposite side.

Introducing Izmir - Bird Paradise (ızmir marshes)

I recently post 3 pics about Izmir marshes (https://plus.google.com/u/0/107861794963671398272/posts/6gSJBNSUchG or http://etiennecalamescapes.blogspot.com/2011/10/izmir-marshes-have-beendomesticated.html), a personal work in B&W. Here is an introduction to the other face of the marshes. On one side the inhospitable salt fields and on the other side thousands of birds feeding and breeding just 500mm away.

For my gear and my experience I do not make wildlife or ornithology. My longest focal length is a 200mm boosted since. I use a APS sized body. Still the fullframe equivalent 300mm is a bit short for this sport. Anyway I tried to bring you a preview of what you may meet if you ever visit the marshes, that we call here “the bird paradise”. Over 200 species and thousands of birds stop by or permanently live here. Cormorants are common in Izmir, we often see them not so far off the coastline drying their wings at the sun. Easy game even for a non-specialist. Pelican often come in small group close to the shore where the water is not deep and fish is abundant, I saw some of them coming ashore for a walk among the table of the teashop. But in the Bird Paradise cormorants are thousands, pelicans hundreds, and we got Flamingos in flock. One can see a few herons but they are shy and fly as soon as a camera is in range. Flamingos make the point. The majestic bird stays away from the road, if too close he flies away as soon as you get in view. This is where a 200mm APS-C is a sort of short. I manage to catch only one of them, not perfect shots but enough to show you the chance we have to host these birds just 30 an hour away from the city.

big big world

what you saw is not what you get
what you get is not what you feel
what you felt is not what you remember
what you remembered is not what you tell
what you told is not what they get... 

Izmir marshes

Izmir marshes have been domesticated long ago and are now drawn in perfect lines and rectangles. The Gediz Delta not only supply salt but shelters over 200 species of birds, I will come back soon with some pictures of a few of them. This Friday morning the sun burns the eyes but doesn't succeed to mild the freezing wind blowing in the plain where no hill or tree can even try to stop him. My fingers start to feel the cold but fortunately later on that day I will sit with a t-shirt drinking a cool beer under the yet welcome heat of the autumnal sun. The marshes are a huge area and after you pass by the main gate the straight and narrow road leads you through the marshes to the confines where some of the equipment is visible at work.

After the Rain

We face less than 60 rainy days a year in Izmir. Scotland sees over 180 to compare but when I say rainy, well, here this doesn't means 24 hours pouring buckets, this is more like a strong rain for somewhere from 10 minutes to a couple of hours and often the sun shines again in the half day following the rain. Here was a typical view of such a day in Alsancak, the active commercial, urban and recreational center of Izmir situated on the south shore. This is made with my DMC LX2, a compact with a Leitz lens. The picture is masked as I would have made under the enlarger to reflect the max of gamut within the paper limited scale.

I bend but do not break

Very bad weather on the Izmir's shores, just a couple of hours without heavy rain and only a few taking a walk.

Foça is a small city on the Aegean littoral just an hour away in the north of Izmir. One reaches the city after crossing the Gediz plain and two sharp but small valleys. The city is a very ancient Ionian port and used to count hundreds of commercial vessels in its protected natural harbours. People of Foça founded colonies like Marseille, Antibes or Nice.

morning light

The morning light pain to heat the scene, the cool shadow light lure the sensor and reinforce the cold blue shades while the sun pierce the water and reflect on the stones.

morning light

The morning light pain to heat the scene, the cool shadow light lure the sensor and reinforce the cold blue shades while the sun pierce the water and reflect on the stones.

A place to rest

Here is a small village in the south of the Aegean Region, a perfect place to spend a slowly bleeding time.

Clouds on the bay

The Izmir City's shore is about 40 km long. This shot is taken close to the north end of the seafront and shows the Crowne Plaza Hotel's tower, situated almost at the south-east end. The weather has dramatic colourless shades on this day therefore the choice of a black&white rendering.

The Izmir heights are green and covered with trees, this old oak marks the a small hill top while I wonder where the old path and the electric wire may lead.

Cold Winter Day

It's not always sunny in Philadelphia. Actually we are not at Philadelphia, just a couple of hours away from Alasehir, the modern name of the biblical city. But here too it is not always sunny and when the day are cold the seashore is deserted. Some couple share their concerns or their passions, a man sit alone or a chapman sits by his cart being his sole and own client. I confess I miss March and the early Aegean spring.