EatingAsia

Photography Expedition in Gorgeous NE Turkey (and a Feature in Feast Magazine)

The April issue of Australia's SBS Feast magazine includes our feature story on the cow-centric cuisine of Ardahan and Kars provinces, in northeastern Turkey. Included are 6 recipes, for a lentil-tomato soup with handmade noodles and croutons fashioned from the noodle dough; scone-biscuits made from ground dried corn; cherry tomato preserves; fresh pasta handkerchiefs with blue cheese; silky roasted eggplants stuffed with chopped beef; and rustic apple bars.

Doesn't sound much like the usual Turkish fare, does it? As our travels over the last few years have shown us, so much of what many think of as "Turkish food" is really only the tippy-top of the iceberg. Our Feast article is just a taste of what we've found out there, beyond Istanbul, on our road trips. We'll be sharing more in the coming months. 

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We did part of the research and photography for our Feast article while on a "crash test" trek with Balyolu, an American-founded, northeastern Turkey-based social enterprise headquartered in Kars city. We found out about Balyolu a year ago, via Kickstarter.

We shun tours. But though we certainly do get out there on our own when we travel, we're not equipped to nor, I think, capable of navigating our way across kilometers of open country. We were intrigued by what Balyolu was offering: a very casual, low-key trek village-to-village. Sleeping in homes and eating (and cooking) with villagers. And so we gave ourselves a late 25th anniversary present by contributing to Balyolu's Kickstarter campaign at the maximum level. In June we set off for our second-ever tour. (The first was in Bhutan in 1998). 

That week was amazing. Northeastern Turkey is without a doubt the country's most beautiful region. It's just breathtaking. Wide open spaces. Craggy mountains, high plateaus, rushing rivers, placid lakes, Big Sky. In early June, when we were there, the region's lush greenness was complemented by sprays of yellow, white and purple wildflowers and random patches of unmelted snow. Herds of cows, shephards, cowboys. Oh, the sunsets, and the sunrises. (And then there was the food, the most wonderful cooking from village kitchens.)

A photographer's dream, as you might imagine. Dave was out the door most mornings by 5am (so much for a second honeymoon) and usually had to be dragged inside for dinners that started before nightfall.

We're heading back to Kars this June and we'd love for you to come along, as a participant in fantastic photography expedition that Dave is leading with Balyolu founder and National Geographic Explorer Catherine de Medici Jaffee.

Unlike the cooking / photography workshop near Istanbul that Dave is co-running in September, this week will be all about photography. Oh sure, cooking will be happening in villages, and you'll be able to join in if you'd like. And there will be photography of culinary subjects (bee keeping, cheese making, bread baking in a traditional tandoor). We don't compromise on meals, so that the food will be fabulous should go without saying. But the focus for the week will be on pumping up your photography, and on taking a big pictorial bite out of the region's landscapes, ruins, nature and daily life.

What's different about this expedition? One word: access. You'll overnight in villages (with a few nights in a boutique hotel in Kars), gain entre to artisan workshops, be led to secret ruins. You'll work on portraiture with individuals. You and your camera will go where you'd never go on your own -- and for that matter, where few if any other photographers have gone before. There will be a couple workshops, and lots of one-on-one coaching time with Dave. You'll leave with drop-dead images to add to your collection or portfolio, not to mention lots of good memories of a wonderful week with great folks in a beautiful setting.

(If you're anything like us you'll also leave with an extra pound/kilo or two.)

Best of all? A portion of the profits from the expedition will go to fund Balyolu's work in local villages; the organization offers entrepreneurial aid to rural women and sends village girls to school. (Read more about Balyolu and its activities on the website, here.)

We cannot wait to get back to northeastern Turkey. This 8-night/7-day expedition happens the first week of June. It's limited to six participants. You should be fit enough to get yourself and your camera equipment out to the field, but don't worry, there will be no all-day village-to-village hikes on this trip!

Have a look at the detailed itinerary below, then click here for the full brochure. To view some of Dave's images from our Balyolu experience last year go here and here.

Any questions? Shoot Dave an email: drhagerman [at] gmail [dot] com.

We would love to see you in Kars!

Penang in Print (and other news)

A divine Malay lunch at International Hotel, Transfer Road

As we were wrapping up a little over three weeks in Turkey a piece we worked on last Oct/Nov ran in NY Times Travel. If you missed it, the link to my (Robyn's) 36 Hours: Penang is here. While you're there be sure to click on Dave's accompanying slideshow, a whopping 32+ photographs taken around the island.

For more Penang in photos sans words, Dave has posted out-takes from this shoot on his photo blog Sky Blue Sky, here.

And for yet more Penang, a couple blasts from the past: our late 2010 piece on post-Unesco world heritage designation changes in George Town for the same publication, here; some street photography and portraiture in Penang, here and here; and a sweetly nostalgic multimedia of Penang black and whites set to old-timey music, here.

(Now seems as good a time as any to mention once again that when he is in Penang Dave offers one-one-one photography walks/workshops. Info here.)

The week before our Penang piece ran my tiny write-up on Bangkok wine bars hit print; see it here. Yes, yes -- I've heard the grumbling from various quarters to the effect that none of these places are, in fact, wine bars. Beyond my puzzlement as to how exactly one should define "wine bar" these days (Must there in fact be a "bar"? Should there be potted ferns? Are DJs just not done? Is the bar not also allowed to offer beers on tap and mixed drinks?), I can say firsthand that they are all great places to enjoy a glass or a bottle, and they all boast a good -- and in some cases unique -- selection of vintages. Let me put it this way: no freebies were enjoyed in the course of this reportage.

And, before we asphyxiate ourselves with all the hot air blowing about this post, last week American photo agency A Wonderful Machine ran on its blog an interview with Dave about his current obsession with Turkey. You can read that, and view some photos, here.

And there you have it, our self-promotion quota for the month. Back to regular programming tomorrow. 

Seeing as I've ended on a Turkey note and that having been back in Penang for less then 48 hour, we're still in a Turkey frame of mind, a couple photos Dave shot last week. Snow is a unique and wonderful thing for us. On this night in Istanbul it was especially beautiful.

Suitable for Framing (First in a Series)

Noodle vendor, Hanoi, August 2011

Scene from a wet market, Hanoi, August 2011

It's that time of year again. At least that's what the Christmas carols ringing through the shopping mall told us yesterday.

For the next ten or so weeks Dave will select some of his favorite images from Asia, Turkey and America -- two or three that can stand alone or would work well together -- to post under this new series we're calling Suitable for Framing. Posts will go up every Tuesday.

The idea is: if you're in the market for a gift, seasonal or otherwise, we hope you'll consider a David Hagerman original. To purchase any of the images in the series go here. If you're not buying, just enjoy the show.

(It goes without saying, but any photographs that you see on this site, or on David's not-always food-focused photography blog, on his professional website, or in any of his Photoshelter galleries are also available for purchase. Got a special request? Looking for a specific type of photograph? Questions? Contact Dave directly: [email protected]).

For those new to EatingAsia, some background on the photographer:

David Hagerman is an editorial and commercial photographer specializing in food, travel, portraiture and street photography. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Saveur, Food & Wine, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, Wall Street Journal and other publications.When not on assignment or otherwise working Dave offers private photography workshops in Penang and elsewhere.

For Photo Buffs

I know some of you (many of you) out there are into photography, so I thought I'd alert you to Dave's review of the Ricoh GRD III, which he's been testing out for the past few weeks in a variety of situations. Dave has not been a point-and-shoot guy for years, but he's impressed by what this little camera can do.

Read his low-down on the machine's pros and con here.

Photography Walks in KL and Beyond

Assembling dumplings in a Chinatown alley, Kuala Lumpur

EatingAsia's photographer David Hagerman has begun offering photography walks in Kuala Lumpur and -- when we're there -- Penang. The above is an image he shot while walking a photographer around Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown last week.

If you're interested in improving your skills, trying new techniques, and/or getting feedback drop him a line. Walks are private and tailored to your interests (markets, hawker food, street photography).

For a look at more recent photos from Chinatown and to contact Dave, hop over to his photo blog Sky Blue Sky, here. His work is also viewable on his not so up-to-date professional website and on Photoshelter (links are at the top left of this page). Dave's not one to toot his own horn, so allow me to: he's shot food and non-food pieces for, among other publications, Wall Street Journal, Travel+Leisure, Saveur, and the New York Times.

And oh man, does he love to talk photography. He'd love to hear from you.