To be updated during the +1T conference through Wednesday
Update Two: Tuesday, June 29, 16:25 Istanbul time
TAKEAWAY: In scenic Istanbul for two days to speak a the annual +1T conference, sponsored by Zaman newspaper. My fellow speaker is Steve McCurry, the American photographer whose images appear in publications and exhibits worldwide. Tonight, by pure serendipity, I was his subject, a memorable experience in my first night here.
Ready for my closeup
Steve McCurry and I in Istanbul, Monday, June 28
Steve McCurry taking my photo, while photographers took a picture of the moment
Steve McCurry and I pose for photographers from Zaman newspaper
The audacity of Mario: I take a photo of the master photographer Steve McCurry
Photo by Steve McCurry as we arrived at The Maiden’s Tower Monday night
The Maiden’s Tower: situated in a small island within view of the city, a 10-minute ferry ride
Images of McCurry’s most famous work
Although I have admired Steve McCurry’s
work for a very long time, I had never met him.
The serendipitous meeting took place as we sat side by side on a short 10-minute ferry ride across The Bosphorous Monday night on the way to dinner at the Kiz Kulesi (The Maiden’s Tower), a small island with the legendary tower which has now been converted to a restarant. The views could get Michelin stars, although not necessarily the food nor the service. But, oh, to climb the tower (about six flights of beautifully crafted wood circular stairs) and to take the circular view of The Bosphorous: priceless. Along the way, stop at the gift shop, or savour an expresso on the fifth landing!
Steve, described by some as “an observer, bearing witness to places rarely traveled” is a pleasant man only too willing to please. I handed him my iPhone and asked him for the honor of a photo taken by him. He smiled and did several, one of which appears here. It will always be a special photograph for me, of course.
Steve and I will speak Tuesday at the conference, to be attended by 400, including students, editors and designers from around Turkey.
I will be updating the blog directly from the conference in the next two days.
That certain look of Turkish newspapers
Directly from the corner press kiosk in Istanbul: to top half of a variety of Turkish dailies
Front page of Zaman: one newspaper embarks on a journey of unique, modular design with white and blue as dominant colors
Red is the protagonist when it comes to the logos of Turkish newspapers. Take one quick look and you see huge broadsheets,big headlines set in sans serif, all caps bold, an abundance of cut out photographs, and each story pushing the other one out of the page as if to scream: Read me first, read me first.
But, if culture and region do give newspapers a personality, then these dailies represent what Turkish newspaper design is all about: exhuberance, color, and what can be described of maximum utilization of the available space on a page. The colors——mostly primary hues——do not necessarily imply that these newspapers are downmarket. Both Milliyet and Hurriyet, which are shown here are among the leaders in the market, with long standing journlaistic traditions.
One newspaper has decided to set itself apart from the rest, Zaman, which was born 30 years ago and has since grabbed a variety of design awards with its not so colorful or busy look. I will talk to the art director and editor of Zaman today and ask the important question: what made Zaman decide to take such a sober course in the midst of a market that thrives on color and “in your face: style visual presentation? More to come.
Coming tomorrow
—Looking at Zaman: Turkey’s newspaper with the design showcase. How has this newspaper changed and influenced newspaper design in Turkey
—The +1T Conference: an annual event with emphasis on “inspiring a new generation of visual journalists for Turkey”
—Turkey ready for the tablet?
TheMarioBlog post #582