'Lost in Cappadocia'by James Kerwin

He is currently living  in Turkiye and presented his talk from there.
He has travelled extensively and finds places that few of us can ever visit looking for some of the beauty and aesthetic value in these hidden gems. Since 2013 he has dedicated his photography to finding and recording some of the wonders of these buildings, the craftsmanship and iconography in all the details  before they decay to the point of oblivion.

In 'Lost in Cappadocia'  we visited somewhere that, if you have heard of it, is very likely to be as a  place with hundreds of hot air balloons to see the fabulous scenery of the rock formations that modern tourists want. Few of us have heard of the underground cities and tunnels used by early Christians and reached on horseback.
James researches and finds buildings of incredible beauty, photographed at a time when the light is perfect night and day. These included old mansions and theatres as well as religious buildings. We saw everything from the  crumbling ruins of monasteries & churches dating back over 900 years, some built into the rocks &  religious buildings still in use today.

Many locations were well off the beaten track in semi desert regions with very small settlements nearby requiring hours of research to find and then get the permissions necessary. Desecration in some has happened over many years of neglect and interference but hopefully their worth has now been recognised and will hopefully be preserved.

James didn't only show pictures he shared with us his techniques and 'tools of the trade' always using a tripod and often a tilt shift lens and Gobe filters waiting for that moment of perfect illumination adding a sense of depth and beauty.
Many thanks to James for sharing his story with us via Zoom and letting us see these beautiful places and buildings. Superb photography from a true expert.

You can read more, see examples of his work and find out about his other talks and courses here:-https://jameskerwinphotographic.com/my-story/