Fuji'ing in Europe- Part 1: Istanbul.

I wont be lying if I say I prefer travelling with the Fuji system more than the heavy DSLRs. Earlier this year, carried the Fuji X100s to India, but this time I wanted to try the Fuji X-E2 which I used mostly Zeiss 12 f/2.8 and the much under-rated but fantastic Fujinon 18 f/2.

Waiting for our early morning/dawn flight, witnessed few passengers sleeping like this.

A great example of how discreet the camera is, persomally love this photograph of the child beimg amused by being able to watch movies even in flight.

As we approached Istanbul,Turkey.

Istanbul Airport.

For the very first time of our life, we experienced power cut in a foreign hotel, that too once we checked in.

The view from the hotel wimdow made up for the power shortage, we were right beside the majestic blue mosque.

Interior of the majestic mosque.

Hagya Sofia.

Hagya Sofia/

Tourists snapping away on the boat cruise on bosphorus river.

The famous bridge om Bosphorus River.

Turkey has become a tourist hotspot and the boat cruise is extremely popular.

Wondering the streets of Istanbul was a treat, you never knew what would lie next.

Travelling in a new city means a lot of walking.

Inside Hagya Sofia, with inscribed names of ALLAH, prophet(pbuh) Muhammad & Mother Mary's image.

Inside Hagya Sofia.

Inside Hagya Sofia.

Jumma Prayers at Blue Mosque.

Selfie at the blue mosque with the Zeiss 12 f/2.8.

Blue Mosque exit

Blue Mosque exit

Blue Mosque exit

Kids trying to play with the birds.

Grand Bazaar.

Cats everywhere.

The Fuji 18 f/2 is perfect for this kind of shots from the hip.

We visited the bosphorus seaside in the evening & it was pretty crowded.

Monochrome Movember.

It was one of those things that I wanted to do for a long time- a month of black & white photos only. But given how we are as humans, we tend to fall into loopholes, we are greedy and weak. So, despite my clear intentions, I did give in to the lure of colors and abandoned the thought of it every previous time. But this time, I stuck to it. well almost(took a few color photographs(not more than 20) due to situations/request from friends). So, how was it? Umm, a mixed bag. A great life lesson is what i learned. The grass is always greener on the other side. I thought that it would be the best thing I do to myself photographywise since I love B&W so much. But I did feel un-inspired on certain days, just because I realised B&W wouldnt do justice to the situation/light/time of those certain days. After getting from a hectic europe trip with so many photographs, I was a little photo exhausted but the whole B&W drive did restrict my photogrpahy desires. Also, I think the light this year isn't as sweet as the previous Novembers(its actually my most favorite month of the year lightwise). Anyway, so I took B&W jpegs straight out of camera(unlike shooting RAW), and processed them in Lightroom when required. Here are a few images from the past month:

Coxs Bazar with Fuji X100s.

Coxs Bazar, the worlds longest beach,happens to be our favorite family holiday destination, a place where we end up atleast 2-3 times a year. Went there for a day and a half last week, carried my Nikon Df with 85 1.4 and the Fuji X100s. Here are the photos from the Fuji. Amazing how a camera can inspire one to go the extra mile.