The Nizamiye Turkish Masjid is the Biggest Mosque in the Southern Hemisphere

Another afternoon spent with the Joburg Photo Walkers at the Nizamiye Turkish Masjid in Midrand. We spent the afternoon taking photo's of the elaborate designs adorning the biggest mosque in the Southern Hemisphere.

Visiting the Nizamiye Turkish Masjid

Based on a copy of the 16th-century Ottoman Selimiye Mosque the mosque was absolutely massive. Our walk leader had organized access to shoot the interior of the mosque with all it's grand designs. We roamed the carpeted pathways, shoe free of course, chasing stained glass reflections on walls and ceilings.

With no worshipers in sight we made our way to the carpeted center to take photos looking straight up at the elaborate designs on the dome ceiling. With red, oranges and golds combined with the afternoon sun the entire place was illuminated.

What to Know about Photographing Inside a Mosque

Whenever you enter a holy place you need to remember to respect those in charge and those visiting. To enter the courtyard and the mosque itself we had to obtain permission first. Because we were going to enter the mosque we had to remove our shoes. Female photographers with the group had also been asked to wear head coverings while inside. Lastly we were also asked not to take photos of any worshipers and to respect their privacy during moments of prayer.

For this shoot I used my Canon 16-35mm wide angle lens and Canon 5D MKII with full frame sensor to capture the majesty of the building. For some photos I used my Manfrotto tripod for long exposures especially inside. I also took multiple shots of various exposures for HDR processing later in Lighroom and with Canon Digital Photo Professional software. I highly recommend CPP especially because it's free.