One of the great things about the study of geophysics and seismology is that it's
an international subject. Earthquakes happen all around the world, and in the midst
of studying the wave equation, you ask yourself "why didn't I pay attention
in high school geography?" No matter, every time you see a new earthquake recorded
on the seismographs, you get to re-learn your geography. A consequence of this is
that seismologists get to travel around the world to see first hand what is going
on in earthquake prone areas. And if you happen to enjoy photography, you get to
entertain (or bore) your friends upon your return.
In 1985, when I was still at MIT and studying earthquake risk issues, I was fortunate
enough to be invited to attend a NATO Advanced Study Institute meeting at the Middle
East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Two years after getting my PhD and still
not yet back into serious photography, I borrowed a friend's Nikon FE and a single
lens, a 50 mm f1.8, and boarded my plane. I was there for three weeks and shot maybe
a dozen rolls of film, which judging from the slide mounts were some version of Kodak
Ektachrome and a few rolls of Kodachrome. These slides sat in a box in my basement
for 12 years in much less than ideal archival conditions. A couple of months ago,
when looking for some slides to fill up a PhotoCD order (price break after 100),
I rescued them. Just in time too. Much of the color had shifted toward the blue end
of the spectrum. Luckily, Adobe Photoshop lets you fix a little of this problem,
but you can never really put back what you don't have. But a little work goes a long
way. If I were going today I'd pack a suitcase full of Nikon equipment and 50 rolls
of Fuji Velvia.
There are three pages of images here, all are clickable to larger versions, and they
are 24 bit color. I welcome your comments.
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