This entry is cross-posted from Oculus, etherfarm's image repository.

This entry is cross-posted from Oculus, etherfarm's image repository.

This entry is cross-posted from Oculus, etherfarm's image repository.

This entry is cross-posted from Oculus, etherfarm's image repository.

This entry is cross-posted from Oculus, etherfarm's image repository.

(The courtyard at Sultanahmet Camii)

This entry is cross-posted from Oculus, etherfarm's image repository.

(A worshipper washes his feet before entering a mosque)

I’ll be referencing this photo in an upcoming article on street photography.

This entry is cross-posted from Oculus, etherfarm's image repository.

I’ve been wanting to go to Istanbul since 1991 or so, when I came across a series of scholarly articles on the Hagia Sophia during an architecture course. Medieval arabic cultures have always fascinated me, partially because I’ve always been confounded by the complexity of their aesthetics and philosophy. But I’m also interested because such cultures always seem to be relegated to the outskirts of typical American high school world history curriculum, which in general just perpetuates a fairy tale dualism of good vs. bad, i.e. white Christian interests vs. non-white pagan interests.

Just before I left California I comment offhandedly to some colleagues that in my opinion, no city in the world has been more pivotal than Istanbul (in all its incarnations) to the formation of Western civilization. I’m sure such a comment is easily dismissed by scholars of London, Rome, Athens, Jerusalem, or Branson, Missouri, but as the capital city of no less than four empires over the course of nearly 2000 years, so many peoples have woven themselves into Istanbul’s cultural tapestry that its significance becomes palpable in even the shortest of walks down its streets.

I of course took photos which will be posted soon enough (I have now to scale the dreadful Mount Email), but to those who knew I was going away, I’m back, with stories to tell.

Me: “Could you tell me if you have any books on Istanbul?”
Cashier, enthusiastic: “Sure, what’s that you want again?”
Me: “Any books on Istanbul.”
Cashier: “hmmm...”
Me: “You know, Istanbul not Constantinople...”
Cashier: “Oh yeah!”
Me, rythmically: “You know it’s Istanbul not Constantinople...”
Cashier, dubious: “Yeah. umm.”
Me, dubious: “...”
Cashier: “Fiction?”
Me: “No, anything in Travel?”
Cashier: “I’m sorry, is Istan or Bull the last name?”
Me: “...”
Cashier: “...”
Me: ”Istanbul. It’s a city in Turkey”
Cashier: “Sorry. I should have known that.”
Me: “...”
Cashier: “Is Istanbul one word?”

Generation Why indeed.

My job requires me to travel internationally often, and I like taking photos when I’m abroad. My employer doesn’t pay me to go abroad to snap pics, though, they pay me to design software, so it’s more important that I bring my computer than my camera. For years I’ve been looking for a system which allows me to take both my computer equipment and my camera rig around the world with ease, and after a half-dozen bags and a complete overhaul of my camera rig, I dare say I’ve found my Holy Grail.

Here’s what I want to pack on such trips:

• 15” MacBook Pro
• Computer accessories (power supply, extra battery, cables, etc.)
• Travel accessories (ear plugs, inflatable neck pillow, medication, etc.)
• Camera
• Lenses
• Photo accessories (lens caps, shutter release cable, filters, etc.)

And here are some requirements for the system:

1. I need to be able to insert and remove the computer easily (without everything spilling out) for airport security checks
2. The bag and its contents need to meet size and weight restrictions for European carryon luggage (those restrictions are more rigid than in the U.S.)
3. Similarly, I need one bag for use during air travel—in Europe they enforce the one-bag carry-on policy
4. The bag needs to carry everything comfortably (I have a bad back) and safely
5. The system needs to allow me to work with my camera equipment in the way I’m most comfortable, which is with a shoulder bag

So the solution? A Crumpler Sinking Barge photo backpack and a small messenger bag.