Ian Korn Photo Industries » Martos

Promos: Poonam & Becky

Ian — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:29:51 +0000

Two of the other Americans with me in Martos (you may recognize them from previous photos), Poonam and Becky, are pursuing a career in acting. They asked me to do some promotional photos to add to their portfolio. We went out to the park on a hot day with a hula hoop to take some headshots and dancing photos.

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Two Marteños and a Hula Hoop

Ian — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 08:00:41 +0000

More Martos

Ian — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 21:35:32 +0000

I really just wanted to post something about where I am and what I’m doing these days, which will hopefully explain the randomness of updates. But how could I leave you without photos? Since I’m feeling a little nostalgic, I’ve decided to include a few parting shots of Martos as well.

I left Spain in June to pursue a Masters of Architecture at the University of Oregon, a three-and-a-half-year program at their campus in Eugene, Oregon. The program started in summer and, so far, has been incredibly intense – more intense than I expected it to be. Although I only pulled one all-nighter (hopefully the last), 8AM to 2AM days have not been uncommon. Needless to say, it’s been busy. You may see some of my work showing up on the site (due to popular demand), but I promise it will be rare, if only because this is mainly for photography.

I’m on break now, and I had a great trip back to New York City to see my friends and pick up stuff that had been in storage. In the last year, I have been in seven countries, five states, and Lord knows how many cities and provinces within that. Now I want nothing more than to settle for a while and lay off the traveling.

A lot of what I have been doing on my break is sorting life out and going through the stuff I haven’t seen for a year. After the recent death of my desktop computer (the second Dell to die on me in a year), I have managed to salvage the data from those hard drives, and you’ll see some concert photos that have been languishing on my desktop for quite some time. With luck, I’ll start hitting up some shows here in Eugene, and you’ll see some newer ones too.

Don’t expect too much new photography for a while, though. My kit lens kicked the bucket and is in for repair. So it’s just sorting photos right now. Which leads me to… Martos!

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Happy Easter!

Ian — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 18:00:22 +0000

Just got back from a week-long road trip across the north of Spain with Dietrich, from Barcelona to Santiago de Compostela. Good times! We got back to Martos just in time to see the Easter procession. Plenty more photos where that came from… on my computer desktop. (Gimme a break, I’m relaxing today!) This song has been going through my head all day. Happy Easter, everyone!

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection day, Alleluia!

King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

- Charles Wesley (1707 – 1788)

Los Hermanos Carvajales

Ian — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:32:15 +0000

I hope you like stories. Specifically, I hope that you like legends. I’m kind of a sucker for tall tales. They tell you a lot about a place. Spain is absolutely full of them, once you start looking. I guess it comes from being such an old country with an already romantic history.

A lot of these legends are very local. By that I mean they’re all about a very specific place, and you may not come across them unless you happen to go there. Some of the better known ones are probably the ones about the Alhambra, as presented in Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra (Fantastic book, I highly recommend it.) Jaén province has got some of it’s own, too. You’ve probably already read all about the Lagarto of Jaén on Dietrich’s blog back in November, so I won’t bother to repeat it here.

Instead I want to talk about Martos’ main claim to fame: the story of the Hermanos Carvajales. The short version goes something like this… These two noble brothers were accused of the murder of one of the favored members of King Fernando IV’s court. Around the same time, they left for Martos, and the King found them there and arrested them out of fear that they were fomenting an uprising against him (Spanish royalty came and went pretty quickly back then). Without a trial, he ordered them to be executed. They insisted on their innocence to the very end, and summoned him to appear before a tribunal of heaven 30 days later. Fernando IV had them placed in a cage with inward-facing spikes and tossed from the top of the Peña. The cage rolled down the hill and came to rest at a place not far from our apartment, which was marked with a pillar and topped with a cross. The Cruz del Lloro (“The Cross of Tears”), as it’s called, is still there today, in the middle of a roundabout.

Thirty days later, as the brothers had promised, the King fell suddenly ill and died in his tent on the battlefield in 1312. For this reason, Fernando IV is known as “The Summoned King.” The Brothers Carvajal are buried at the Church of Santa Marta here in Martos, in the old quarter of town. Their resting place is marked by an old plaque in the corner.

Pretty much everyone in Martos knows this story, which I think is pretty cool. There are a few variations, of course. The one that I’ve written above is the most common one. No one seems to doubt that they existed and were executed. Some argue that the man they supposedly killed was Fernando’s secret lover. Others point out that this was not a common method of execution, at least for nobility, and the place where the Cruz del Lloro is today marks a spot that used to be an execution spot outside of town. Other versions of the story leave the cage out – which, after having looked down the Peña’s front side myself, seems even more gruesome. Imagine the cleanup!

One of the most fairy-tale-ish versions I’ve seen comes from a book called The Romance of History: Spain, written by Joaquín Telesforo de Trueba y Cosío (a good old Spanish name if ever there was one), published in 1834. All three volumes of this book are public domain, and available in a variety of formats on the Internet Archive. If you like this sort of thing, as I do, it’s probably worth the download (for all three volumes, click on the author’s name link). For your reading pleasure, I’ve taken the liberty of excerpting the full story of the Hermanos Carvajales here below the fold, as well as a few photos.

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Día de la Paz

Ian — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:41:16 +0000

On January 28th, schools across Spain celebrated Día de la Paz, or Peace Day. Perhaps its closest comparison in the United States is Martin Luther King Day, which occurs around the same time. Children focus on messages of anti-violence and anti-racism and celebrate with performances, readings, and a flotilla of white balloons. My school, CEPR Hermanos Carvajales, was no different. We were blessed with a sunny day for the celebrations and the whole school went out to the patio to enjoy them together. Some students read stories and poems. The first-graders danced to Michael Jackson’s “Black or White,” and then everyone sang and danced to his “Heal the World.” Here are some photos – and yes, these are my students. =)

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An Upgrade and an Update

Ian — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:42:14 +0000

You may notice a few changes around here. I just finished a much-needed overhaul of the website to streamline everything.

Edit one: The site looks a lot better (I think, I hope) because I didn’t design this template.

Edit two: It works in Internet Explorer. Welcome, people stuck in the past!

Edit three: The blog is here to stay. Before, I was actually bouncing back and forth between two different WordPress installations. It was a mess. Now you can find everything photography related right here on the front page, and everything journal related on the Navbar above under “journal” or below the featured post.

Clearly, the site is not perfect yet. It never will be. But these are big steps in the right direction.

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Up La Peña

Ian — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 06:55:29 +0000

I had hoped to be posting some pictures of my holiday trip right about now, but, well, read my last post… Instead, I will bring you some photos of Martos I had waiting to be posted. It’s an apt subject, actually, because I’m tired of traveling and it’s nice to be home. (Ok, maybe it’s only temporary, but I really do like it here and I try to follow the motto of “Live where you are.”)

Dominating the skyline of the town, and indeed the nearby countryside, is a mountain named La Peña, which reaches 1,003 meters (about 3,290 feet) in height – and does so rather suddenly, as you can see. At the top are the remains of a Nasrid castle, and you can hike up and visit them. I’ve been up twice since we’ve moved here, and it is well worth the trip.

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A Couple of Holidays

Ian — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:32:19 +0000

It’s been a while since I put up a real post. So I’m going to do that now, right before I start vacation and you don’t hear from me again until January. Let’s make this one about holidays, and we’ll start with Thanksgiving…

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Botellón!

Ian — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Poonam beat me to the punch and posted – complete with photos! – about my favorite Saturday night activity. Infórmate aquí.