🧭 Catching up: life, travel & fresh inspiration from Türkiye 🇹🇷

October 2025 newsletter

It’s been a busy few months full of travel, photos, and big changes. I finally launched my own travel company and have a few stories (and a small Sony camera tip) to share with you.

Finally, you can get some creative inspiration from my photos from Turkey I’m sharing at the end of the newsletter.

📸 Quick Tip: Protect your Sony sensor

If you’re shooting with a modern full frame Sony camera released in the last couple of years, there’s a good chance you can protect your sensor by closing the shutter when changing lenses.

I didn’t know that my A7R V can do it and learned it on my own photo tour in Istanbul from a local partner photographer Adem Eroglu (check his Instagram ).

This tip can literally save you hundreds of dollars over time. I used to have my sensor cleaned at least twice a year and it adds up.

Here’s how you do it

Menu → Yellow Setup submenu → (12) Setup Option item → Anti-dust Function → Shutter When Pwr OFF: Set this to ON.

It should be supported by the following cameras: A1, A7 IV, A7R IV, A7R V, A7C II, and A7CR.

🗓 What’s New: 2026 Calendar

As every year, you can pre-order your hand-signed copy of my travel photography calendar. Shipping worldwide.

This year, I’ve selected photos shot in Europe only, with a notable exception of the sunrise from Cappadocia that lays in the Asian side of Türkiye.

Fun fact: Did you know that Turkey changed its name to Türkiye in 2022? It was to dissociate the country’s name from the English word "turkey," which also refers to a bird and has pejorative slang meanings such as "a failure" or "a silly person."

🌍 Upcoming Adventure: Morocco Tour

I gave you a sneak peak of the Morocco tour in my last newsletter and I'm glad to say it’s finally out now. The dates are October 16-29, 2026.

I designed the tour so it fills expectations of both photographers and their non-photographing spouses. The itinerary provides the absolute best Morocco has to offer.

During the 14-day program, we’ll explore historic medinas, the Sahara desert (we’ll shoot the dunes under new moon—no light pollution, pure starlight), blue streets of Chefchaouen and dig below to surface to see local life and traditions.

All that with the comfort of having our own comfortable minivan and staying at cozy 4-star accommodation, most meals covered

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Life Lately

• After being an entrepreneur for over a decade, I have finally set up my very first LLC company and met all government requirements to receive the official travel agency license. Now I can offer package tours under my own company and I’m very proud of that! The transition has been taking me lots of time, but it’ll be worth it once it’s done.
• My family and I took some fun trips over the summer, including a camping trip in Slovenia near Lake Bled. I took some time to do some location scouting and I gotta say that Slovenia surprised me in the best sense possible and has a lot of (not so hidden) photographic potential. Expect to see the Slovenia photo tour in the future.
• Another trip took us to Bulgaria for a chilled all-inclusive holiday. My kids enjoyed the pool with slides, my wife was happy she didn’t have to cook, and I got some steps in between the open bar and my lounge chair :-)
• In September, I ran Cappadocia and Istanbul photo tours with a wonderful small group of photographers. We had good vibes, some great shooting conditions, made new friends and got many fantastic shots!
  
  Here’s an excerpt from Krista’s review of the Istanbul photo tour. It was her first tour with me:

In September, I ran Cappadocia and Istanbul photo tours with a wonderful small group of photographers. We had good vibes, some great shooting conditions, made new friends and got many fantastic shots!

Here’s an excerpt from Krista’s review of the Istanbul photo tour. It was her first tour with me:

[…] What I loved most was the small group size. It made the whole experience feel personal and relaxed. Everyone was generous with advice and quick to share tips or gear recommendations. Jan was amazing — an incredible photographer with such a calm, supportive teaching style. He let us experiment and find our own creative rhythm but was right there if you wanted a second opinion or a bit of coaching. Our local guides, Ferdha and Adem, were just as helpful. They knew all the best angles, the hidden corners, and had endless patience for our questions.[…]

Inspiration from Istanbul

Hagia Sofia Mosque17 mm, f/8, 1/30 sec, ISO 1000

Suleymaniye Mosque64 mm, f/11, 1/25 sec, ISO 200

Galata Tower and Galata Bridge65 mm, f/11, 30 sec, ISO 100

Ceiling of the Camlica Mosque16 mm, f/7.1, 1/30 sec, ISO 400

Bosphorus Bridge 218 mm, f/11, 8 sec, ISO 100

Ortaköy Mosque24 mm, f/16, 5 sec, ISO 100

Galata Tower400 mm, f/11, 1.3 sec, ISO 400

Maiden Tower100 mm, f/11, 1 sec, ISO 400

Suleymaniye Mosque and New Mosque361 mm, f/10, 1.3 sec, ISO 400

Wrap up

Enjoy the colorful fall, go for a walk in a forest and bring your camera with you. Snap a few shots if something catches your eye. It’s okay if you don’t take it out of your bag, no pressure.

In a couple of weeks, I’m off to Peru for another 2-week tour with Czech clients, so you’ll hear from me once I'm back.

If you enjoyed this issue, hit reply and tell me which photo from Istanbul you liked most. I read and reply to every message

PS: And if you're a Sony shooter, let me know if you knew about the shutter protection.