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Highlights of Iran

Often ignorantly depicted as a dangerous nation of radicals, chauvinistic dogma and unsavoury politics, the true Iran is a country rich in culture, glorious architecture, history and warm hospitality.

This tour starts in the capital, Tehran. While subjected to destruction at the hands of medieval invasions from Arab, Turk and Mongol Empires, its magnificent architecture representing Qajar culture still remains intact, making it a must-see.

Visit the vast UNESCO World Heritage-listed Golestan Palace complex and the impressive Grand Bazaar, which is split into several corridors covering 10 kilometres and sells everything from souvenirs, clothing and jewellery to carpets and kebabs.

After the sensory overload of Tehran, the tour takes a chill pill and heads for several days to the car-free, historic 10th-century mountain village of Masuleh. With its unique honey-coloured buildings carved into the mountains and interconnected courtyards and roofs that serve as pedestrian areas similar to streets, Masuleh is the perfect destination to prepare for a day’s hike through the forest. You’ll finish up camping beside the majestic Shah Moalem Mountain.

The following days’ walks take in Masal and Kashan, where a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Sheikh Safi mausoleum and shrine complex is a highlight. Also on the agenda is a stroll around the great Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Esfahan and Fin Garden.

The last remaining days are suitably allocated to Shiraz. A stop en route to Pasargadae, the first Achaemenid capital and home to the tomb of Cyrus the Great, will be rewarding for both history nerds and neophytes. Cyrus the Great, founded the Achaemenid Empire and Persia by uniting the two original Iranian tribes, the Medes and the Persians. He was laid to rest here in 530 BCE.

Shiraz is the capital of the Fars Province and one of the oldest cities in Iran. Yes, it was once a producer of the famous grape of the same name, although most vines were destroyed during the 1979 Revolution. It’s also known as a city of poets, literature and flowers. Take some time to stroll though its ethereal gardens, like Eram Gardens, with its romantic myrtles and towering cypress trees, including one that is 3000 years old.

Most of all, Shiraz is the cradle of Persian culture. Visit the tombs of the great medieval poets Hafez and Saadi. To round things off, take an afternoon stroll through the hustle and bustle of the city’s covered Vakil Bazaar and sample Shiraz’s vast array of crafts, including inlaid mosaic work, silversmithing, and the weaving of carpets and kilims.

Extreme Conditions

I was in Kyrgyzstan, standing at an altitude of 6500 metres, with a frostbite-inducing temperature of –35ºC, billowing winds of more than 30 kilometres per hour, and a nine-hour hike ahead me. It was the toughest shooting conditions I have ever found myself in.

This is not an ideal shooting scenario, but at that exact moment a beautiful alignment took place. As the sun started to glow on the horizon, a horizontal blast of snow and ice shimmered in the golden light and the struggle of my friend in the distance formed the scene.

I had to shoot this! I couldn’t feel my face and retrieving my camera from the depths of my bag took virtually all my concentration. Somehow, despite the elements raging around me, I managed to remove my outer gloves and capture some of my favourite shots of 2017.

These aren’t your every day shooting conditions, but sometimes the destinations we seek out dish up elements that are extreme and you have to be prepared. Here are some tips to improve your chances of capturing great shots in the face of Mother Nature’s whims.

More Than Just Gear
An adventure to an extreme environment is a full body experience and even the best camera is no use if you don’t function. Being prepared is half the job. Do your research – find out everything about your destination and prepare both mentally and physically for the environment you will be travelling to.

I never thought I’d be the source of the problem when it came to taking photos in high altitudes. My main concern was the wellbeing of the camera, until I realised that wasn’t much help when I could only use it for 15 seconds at a time because, beyond that, I started to lose feeling in my fingers.

A looming dark sky threatens the Faroe Islands.
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Bring The Right Camera
Your body is prepped, protected and all ready to go. Now what? Make sure you pack the right camera. Regardless of whether you’re shooting in the African heat, Scottish rain or Arctic cold, you’re going to need a camera and lens combination that is fully weather sealed.

These are only impervious to the climes when attached together. Don’t remove the lens from the camera when you’re among the elements or shortly after being exposed to them – you don’t want to risk moisture creeping in and destroying the electronics. For advanced weatherproof performance I recommend the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera and M.Zuiko PRO lenses, which are dust- and splash-proof.

The raging waterfall delivers a cool spray in South Africa.
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Pack Smart, Pack Light
Venturing to a destination of extremes likely means being active and every additional kilo you carry will feel heavier the further you travel, so pack with practicality in mind. For the most extreme adventures I recommend packing one single lens per camera body. The OM-D E-M1 Mark II has a small and light body and my favourite expedition lens, the M.Zuiko 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO, is not only weather sealed, it’s also small and portable and has a great focal range.

Other gear that’s worth its weight is spare batteries and hand warmers. The only thing that sucks the life out of a camera battery faster than snapping awesome photos is the cold, so if you’re shooting in below-zero climates, hand warmers are essential for keeping your camera batteries functioning. Another alternative is keeping batteries in a pocket close to your body for warmth. For those adventuring into hot conditions where bone-dry heat or sticky humidity reigns, try to keep your batteries out of direct sunlight and in a cool, dry place.

-35ºC and a deadly wind blasts over the ridge at 6500m on Peak Lenin.
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Settings for Success
Preventing your shots from becoming a blurred mess can be difficult in extreme environments. You’ll likely find yourself in some precarious places, which will make shooting, blur-free, in manual – balancing aperture, ISO and shutter speed – a tricky feat. Simplify this by switching to Shutter Priority (S-Mode). This will allow you to select the shutter speed while the camera does the rest. Depending on the subject of your shot and how volatile the surrounding environment is, I suggest shooting at 1/400sec and higher to avoid camera shake.

By now I’m sure you’ve realised that this is not the time to be reading the manual. Know your camera inside out. Even knowing what field of view your lens has without looking through the viewfinder can be exceptionally useful when visualising compositions. This means you can keep your gear safely packed away, but still be ready to shoot at a moment’s notice.

Shoot In Bad Conditions
There’s nothing like coming home from an epic adventure with photos that only show the ‘good times’. Thanks to photo sharing apps like Instagram, that’s a common misconception. For those of us who seek out extreme environments, it’s about far more than just the perfect picture; it’s about being present in the face of even the worst conditions.

That said, be safe, too. Don’t venture into these conditions alone. Tell someone where you’re heading and take a charged smartphone, stashed in a sealed bag away from the elements, just in case.

Once you’ve got that sorted, take out your camera in the toughest of times and snap a few shots. Some of my most rewarding images are the ones that challenged me the most. These are the moments that you’ll never forget.

Chris Eyre-Walker is a member of the Olympus Visionary Program, a team of award-winning photographers supported by Olympus.

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Light Up The Night

Capturing a moment in low light can be a thing of real beauty. It manifests in many different ways – the first rays of dawn, a dimly lit market, a neon sign – that go far beyond just long exposures of the night sky.

When photographing in low light, it’s important to remember that your camera is, in essence, a light-gathering device. Modern cameras have evolved into owl-like gadgets; now, more can be seen by a camera than the naked eye. But when there’s minimal light available it can be a struggle to snap a clear image – if you’re not equipped with the right knowledge.

Here are a few tips to get the most out of your low-light photography.

It’s In The Details
I could tell you about expensive lenses and cameras, but low-light photography is not as complicated as it seems – these days, virtually any camera is capable of snapping great shots when the light dims.

Make the most of your camera’s capabilities by shooting in raw. This format captures maximum detail and offers you flexibility post-shoot to recover some image elements you may have lost due to over or underexposure, as opposed to lower-quality formats like JPG, which are more limited.

Once this is set up you’ll need a wide-aperture lens (like a prime lens); this will gather a greater amount of light than a regular lens and should be set to the widest aperture possible. Next, select a slower shutter speed to allow more light to enter your camera. Finally, choose a high ISO, as this will make the sensor more sensitive to light. Get familiar with these, as they are the three key areas you’ll be using when shooting in low light.

Creating a focal point by using light in the darkness.
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Head Towards The Light
Although we’re talking about how to shoot in low light, you still need to be conscious of having as much of it as you can. One way to hunt for light to set the scene is to become familiar with the different phases of the day. Blue hour, when the burgeoning and lingering sunlight takes on a distinctly blue shade in the morning and evening, is one such phase to keep in mind.

Also be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a light source. It could be anything from street lights, a candlelit room or a lone light bulb to a crackling campfire, city skyline or the moon. In darkness, these are all things that can shine more light on your subject, or be the subject of the image itself.

There are a number of things you can use to create your own source of light, like fire.
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Find Your Balance
When things get darker, it’s time to whip out a tripod. You might have steady hands, but even the slightest movement can interfere with the clarity of a shot. This is when a tripod is the best solution. If you find yourself caught without one, though, any surface can become a ‘tripod’. Simply set up your camera and make use of the two-second timer to avoid any residual camera shake.

That said, it’s still possible to shoot a killer image by hand. I’ve captured sharp low-light images with a shutter speed of up to five seconds with the M.Zuiko 12–100mm f/4 IS PRO lens and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, but I would consider this to be one of very few combinations that could handle this type of long exposure without a tripod.

Embrace The Darkness
Think it’s too dark? Don’t abandon the shoot just yet. You’ve got this! Most professional cameras don’t have built-in flashes, but if yours does resist the urge to use it, you’ll get a better result by keeping your photos dark and moody instead. If you’re shooting in the dark you’re likely trying to capture the essence of that, so let the darkness be the hero.

In these moments, you’ll need to consider switching to manual focus, as autofocus will likely no longer work. This is one of the very few times you will be better than your camera at telling if the scene is in focus.

For something different, shoot in black and white. This will remove the distraction of colour and train your eye to compose a photo using contrasting highlights and shadows. Some cameras, like the Olympus OM-D series, have this as a built-in feature and allow you to look at the scene in black and white as you compose your shot.

Snapping the very last rays of thesun on Peak Lenin in Kyrgyzstan.
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Get Creative
Low-light photography offers a vast range of creative possibilities that push the boundaries of conventional imagery. There are truly talented artists out there who create magic with ‘light painting’ – the art of a moving or immobile hand-held light source that illuminates the dark during a long-exposure shot.

Occasionally I’ll try it by adding a torch light or glowing smartphone to a scene to create a unique point of interest. Google it for a dose of inspiration, then try it yourself: simply mount your camera on a tripod or stable surface, set it for a 15 to 30 second exposure and treat the darkness as your canvas. Because who doesn’t like having fun in the dark?

Chris Eyre-Walker is a member of the Olympus Visionary Program, a team of award-winning photographers supported by Olympus.

olympus.com.au
chriseyrewalker.com

Rush Hour

The sudden scream of an engine startles us all as our group files into the pits of Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit. We haven’t been here long and I’ve already shot my mouth off about being somewhat of a “Hamilton” on the racetrack. The fact I could even compare winning a backyard go-kart race and a celebratory victory “shoey” of flat VB from a Dunlop Volley to racing a Formula 3000 vehicle on an actual grand prix circuit probably says something about my over inflated confidence. But, as the great Formula One driver Stirling Moss once said, “There are two things no man will admit he cannot do well: Drive and make love.”

It has been a relatively seamless process to this point. We present our licenses, sign some insurance forms I don’t read, and sit through a 30 minute briefing and instructional session. The cars are tiptronic with gears on the steering wheel and just a pedal each for the brake and accelerator.

“It is all about maximising your speed,” our instructor explains. “Brake at the last minute into the corner then accelerate hard out.” His excitement is somewhat infectious.

We pull on our racing suits and walk onto the track. It’s sparkling clean and the luxurious and futuristic looking Yas Viceroy Hotel overlooks it like an alien spaceship lording over its speeding minions. We’re split into two groups, and each of us is partnered with a lead driver whose job is to ensure we stay a safe distance from the others.

Cleanse your palate and prepare to taste the flavours of Persia by learning how to prepare an iconic Iranian feast at a local family home on this sumptuous culinary adventure.

Tachin Morgh, which translates to ‘arranged at the bottom’, is the dish you’ll be making. It’s a traditional delicacy of saffron-infused rice and tender chicken layered in a rich egg yolk and yoghurt sauce, and baked to produce a crisp bottom layer bursting with flavour. The interplay of the crust with steamed saffron rice is both beautiful and irresistible, and just one of many moments you’ll have you tastebuds titillated on this Iran Real Food Adventure with Intrepid Travel.

You’ll begin your foray into the life of an Iranian Masterchef by plunging into the markets and bazaars with your tour leader, a local from the area, who will show you how and where to source the freshest ingredients for your dish. Once you’ve collected your bounty, you’ll venture to a local home to learn about each of the necessary steps for crafting the Tachin – especially how to achieve the perfect crisp bottom layer, known as tahdig.

Once you’ve finished cooking a storm, tuck in to your homemade Tachin alongside other traditional dishes and drinks. If you can drag your thoughts from the myriad flavours exploding in your mouth, you’ll also have the opportunity to learn about the local customs and Iranian culture from your host family.