As some of you will know, this past Friday was Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks of the end of Ramadan. In Turkey, it's simply known as "Ramazan Bayramı" (Ramadan Holiday) and usually involves a long weekend off from work.
Izmir, my hometown, is about an hour's sail from Chios, a Greek island which is a popular choice for Izmirli holiday-goers given its proximity and the relatively inexpensive $24 ferry ride. Chios also boasts a small selection of supermarkets that stock European foodstuffs more cheaply than they can be found in Turkey. This makes the island an especially attractive holiday destination for people like me, who got used to their Fage yogurt-and-honey pots during college and sometimes need a break from admittedly delicious yet low protein Turkish breakfast options.
It's always nice to have a change in scenery, and this weekend was no exception. We spent one night in the sleepy seaside town of Langada, which is filled with small, gorgeously designed and brightly colored houses.
On holiday, I have a tendency to zone out and spend all my time with my nose in a magazine, trying not to get horribly sunburned. When I finally ventured out that night, the sun was just setting and the light was so beautiful that I sprinted to my sister's cabin and begged her to model for me.
The next night, I made the same request, but she was busy making banana pudding. (Yeah, your guess is as good as mine.) By the time she was done, the sun had set, but we decided to have some fun with flash instead.
I'm awful at using manual focus, which is highly necessary when shooting in the pitch dark, but I'm pretty happy with how this one came out. It's a little bit edgy, and a far cry from my usual natural light style- but isn't that the point of experimenting?