A cat family in a box

There’s one thing I loved about Istanbul, and that was all the cats. Some streets had many cats, some had none. Others had a cat wandering across the road, near a dog sprawled out in the sun, asleep. It was lovely seeing all the animals.

This feline family was photographed on the wall of the graveyard near Eyüp Sultan Mosque in the city. There were loads more about too!

Before and After

Apertureƒ/5
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length58mm
ISO2000
Shutter speed1/500s

The Istanbul Skyline

This is part of the Asian side of Istanbul in Turkey. My first time in Asia too, even if I only ventured a few kilometres in!

Our guide said they’re trying to encourage more people to live on this side of the city, but from what I could see, it stretched on almost to distant hills and I wondered how big a city could be.

Cats? I’ve loads of cat photos. I think they’ll need their own “Cats of Istanbul” tag on here!


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length122mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/500s

Scooter Delivery Through Historic Streets

We were walking up a narrow street near the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul when I heard a bell of a scooter ring out. The crowds parted and a young man on a scooter with a foot on heavy looking bags zipped past at speed!

I can’t imagine that was a smooth ride on those cobbles…


Apertureƒ/4
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length16mm
ISO1600
Shutter speed1/500s

Under a Turkish Sky

We visited the Çamlıca Tepesi yl (Çamlıca Hill) in Istanbul last week. It’s a hill on the eastern side of the city. There is a huge Turkish flag flying from a massively tall flagpole, and you can see out over the Asian side of the city from the nearby park. The city just seems to go on and on.

Thanks, Peter, for showing me the yellow lines on the ground make for good leading lines. I’d originally shot this much closer to the taxi.

See where I took this photo on Google Maps here.


Apertureƒ/2.2
CameraGalaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length2.2mm
ISO50
Shutter speed1/2900s