Fotoritim eBook Enver Sengul 1 by Levent Yildiz

Enver Şengül – Photo Articles (1st Book)

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Fotoritim e-Photo Books No:1 Enver Şengül – Photo Articles (2007-2008) 1st Book Articles and Photos: Enver Şengül Cover Graphic: Vildan Dürüst Interview with Enver Şengül: Birgül Erken and Berna Akcan Translation: Özgün Acar

This e-book is compiled from the articles of Enver Şengül published in Fotoritim e-Photo Magazine between 2007 and 2008. www.fotoritim.com

Enver Şengül – Photo Articles (1st Book)

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CONTENTS: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

PROLOGUE MY OLD FRIEND ENVER ŞENGÜL – İZZET KERİBAR SILENCE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY IF ROGER FENTON HAD A DIGITAL CAMERA DIGITAL BOMBARDMENT THE ORDER OF THE EYE, GOLDEN RATIO IN PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO SHARING AND THE INTERNET IMPORTANCE OF THE COMPOSITION IN ART PHOTOGRAPHY IS FAST CONSUMPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY A DANGER? PHOTOGRAPHY AND TECHNIQUE BACKGROUND IN PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY AND CULTURE TO SEE THE PHOTO PHOTOS I COULD NOT TAKE INTERVIEW WITH ENVER ŞENGÜL RESUME

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PROLOGUE When we turn back and look at the 160 years of history of the photography, we recognize that, with each passing moments, new information and innovations create development and transformation. The decrease of the size of the cameras was a revolution, as well as shooting the photos in small sizes and enlarging them with the help of aggrandizers. The transition from paper films to glass film had big repercussions in the world of photography. The news of the decrease of photo taking duration under more than a second and the possibility of shooting motion photos were welcomed in a big amazement. Color film was a miracle. The transition to reflex cameras was too… The science and the technique were developing fast and every step taken in this field was also reflected to photography equipments and naturally to photography. Each development was resulting as radical changes. But none of them made the same effect of digital photography. This time, the experienced transformation was coming from the base with the waves of the deep. Every known taboo of the photography till that time was demolished. The history was being written from the beginning. The photos were taken fast, well and right. They were being shared swiftly. When internet, the miracle of the century, was added into these; photography developed unbelievably and became widespread. I think the digital communication, internet, is a real revolution like digital photography. Web sites and photo sharing sites are taking us to endless trips in the unique corridors of the world of photography. “www.fotoritim.com” which consists of one of the qualified works of this trip and to which I enjoy of contributing; makes the hard obtained paper printed magazine publishing reachable to everybody with a click as an important source. In other words, it shakes the base of traditional magazine publishing. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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This site of ours makes accomplishes another “first” and starts the era of e-book. I am very lucky that the first e-book belongs to me. I feel happy and proud about this. Henceforth, everybody can download it, store it, print it as a book and put it in the shelves of their library. I owe my special thanks to the family of www.fotoritim.com who thinks of such an idea and who shares, matures and results it. I wish this work becomes a revolution of the world of publishing. Enver Şengül

Enver Şengül – Photo Articles (1st Book)

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My old friend Enver Şengül, Our friendship with Enver is not a coincidence at all. I know that he is originally from Bitlis but I knew him after he settled in Edirne. For this reason, Enver will forever be my friend from Edirne. As I mention in my photo articles or in my conversations; among the advantages of the photography, I underline the one about the human relations and long lasting friendships. That is why I started as it is not a coincidence. But if it was only about carrying around a camera and travelling, there would not be an Enver Şengül that I know. Because in the years when I first met Enver (which was more than 20 years ago) he was in the board of EFOD and he had invited me to Edirne. Management of an association is not a task which can be underestimated. The organization and enterprising abilities of Enver had already attracted my attention in those days. But when I saw the photos of Enver, I discovered where his special ability was lying under. His ability of light recognizing, using and placing and the color harmonies he created were in a level which should be taken as an example. There were also others who recognize and accept the Enver’s successes. The countless prizes he took, the exhibitions he held, the books he published and his slide shows underline the fact that he stands in the front row among the Turkish photographers. The services of Enver Şengül about the advertisement of Turkey are extraordinary. He is a person who loves Turkey and who works for the best introduction of our country in the inside and outside of the Turkey. I wish this fact never changes and wish that we continue to hear the name of Enver Şengül for long years in the Turkey advertisement brochures, in the promotion of Turkey and in his successes. İzzet KERİBAR July 2009

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SILENCE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY Bill Jay writes those in his book, “On Being a Photographer”, about his close friend David Hurn, who is the legendary photographer of Magnum: “Let’s say you are in a photo that David Hurn took. You will not probably notice him. He suits himself to the environment like a chameleon. He is either a guest in a high society wedding or a worker class picnicker. He does not make you pose or move you around. He is calm, like a regular person; he is an insider, a quiet person. But somebody pokes you and say: “He is photographer David Hurn.” You meet him and see a sincere smile of a natural born shy person, full of excitement. Yes, David Hurn is one of a guy.” Someone from inside and quiet… I remember that when I first read the book, I thought a lot on this paragraph. Especially on the notion of being an insider and being quiet… Most photographers brag about the silence of their camera’s shutter release. One of the most important characteristics of the Leicas is the silent functioning of their shutter releases. This characteristic makes these cameras the princes of the environments which require silence and attention. So many years ago, I remember the circumstance with embarrassment when we went to photograph a classical music concert with some photographer friends… The echoing shutter release sounds of our cameras, on top of the tripods which are located in four different places of the concert hall, had turned into a slap in our faces with the reaction of one or two spectators who were lost in the magic of the melodies beforehand. Here, Leica’s silence is a lifesaver in this kind of ambiances. How about the silence of a photographer? In fact, this is our subject. As we remark the arrogant photographers who try to attract all the attention of the ambiance, we should remember and appreciate the masters such as David Hurn.

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Like the ones who attract all the attention on themselves by taking so many sequenced photos in some seconds with their some million pixel cameras, some mm focal length lenses, tripods, monopods. Like the ones who turn around and ask: “I cannot get the result I want in the human photography, what shall I do?” A good photographer is the one who does not make himself out and attract all the attention on himself/herself, who becomes one with the ambiance and manages to work silent. Good photos are also result of such kind of work. I do not know if you notice; as digital photography demolishes the forts of traditional mentality, different types of photographers started to appear as well as the good and high quality photographic mentality. These are the photographers who make themselves noticed, who have difficulty to become one with the ambiance and who work loud. They also reflect this out as a skill. Not only in a physical manner, but also they are loud as socially and mentally. They jump into discussions before everyone else, come out with one or two photos and brag about them. They love to enter into web based forum discussions and comment on each photo jauntily. They do not like anyone easily. The photos of the photographer should talk out; his/her projects should make noise. Let me end it with the rest of Bill Jay’s opinions on famous master, David Hurn: “Weird but true. Despite his world and his worldwide experience, David Hurn is a shy person like most photographers. He manages to turn this so called disadvantage into power. He likes human being and he connects with them by the help of his camera. And he also continues to hide behind his camera.” Fotoritim October 2007 Issue

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IF ROGER FENTON HAD A DIGITAL CAMERA When I heard of a photography related talk in a television show, I had to turn towards it and start watching it. In a photo store, there was a discussion between the master and his apprentice. When the apprentice told the master; “Enough with the films! Take it, chemical bath it, wait… We should get a digital camera and get rid of this trouble”, the master replied in a furious way “Son, stop talking about digital cameras. Digital photos are like writing on water. They are like artificial flowers, they look good but they do not smell.” This dialogue attracted my attention and I started thinking on it. Was it really like that? Is it right to compare digital photography with the writing on water or with the odorless artificial flowers? Let us take short a trip to the history of photography. In the first prints, the base of the film was made of paper. And it was impossible to get rid of the fibroid look of the paper tissue. Niepce's cousin, Abel Niepce solved out this problem with the light sensitive, eggwhite covered glasses. The transition from paper to glass was a big revolution of the era in the photography. For long years photographers used glass as film base. Glass was heavy and fragile. One of the first war photographers of the history, Roger Fenton, loaded these glass films at the back of his car and jumped into an adventure of photographing the Crimean Battle which we also took part in. When he managed to photograph the war, the date was 8 March 1855. In other words, 150 years before now. I want to underline the details. Roger Fenton went to Balaklava with five cameras and with very heavy 700 glass plate. He was using different sized glass films in each of his camera. He had so many difficulties while taking photos. Most of his films were broken and many of them could not get the right images due to small mistakes. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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Fenton could only take 360 photos out of 700 glass plates during the war which lasted for months. Glass, which people used to estimate as a luxury until 1888, left his place to another miraculous material. This material was elastic as paper and transparent as glass. It was nothing else but acetate. Founder of Kodak, George Eastman, supplied acetate to the markets as a film base instead of glass. I wondered for a moment if the traditional photographers thought like the way in the television show when acetate films became quickly widespread in the markets? “Acetate films are like artificial flowers. They look good but they do not smell.” Probably they told like this but after a while, when they started to use acetate films, they regretted a lot for the hard times. And again probably the same reactions were witnessed when large cameras left their places to smaller cameras which are easier to carry around. I am sure that the same story was repeated when color films appeared, that blackand-white fans reacted the same way. Color films could not give out the photographic spirit of black-and-white films. In other words, they do not smell too. I can hear the same reactions when programmable cameras were supplied to the markets and when some of manual work’s hardness was burdened on the back of these cameras. I also belong to the generation which reacted especially to the AF property of the cameras. If it will be the camera who makes the lens focus settings, then what will we be for? We can increase the number of these examples forever. Of course it is not right to attribute the mission of a living organism, the flower, to the photography; the history of photography has proved it. We know this for sure, the essence of the photography consists of technology. When the most important technological advancement of the era, camera obscura and camera lucida, left their place to photo cameras; the world was talking about an important technological revolution. The improvement of the photography shows a parallelism with the technological innovations. It could not stay apart from them.

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Now, as the digital photography is the last point that the technology reached, we cannot think of a photography which is behind of it. In fact, neither innovation made a shocking effect like the transition to the digital photography but the result was more or less the same. All these technological innovations improved the production and the quality of the photography but its effect stayed always behind of the effect of human’s creativity, brain and eyes. That is why the flower is not the camera, in fact, it is the thinking, seeing, shaping and commentating human. The cameras; even the first reflex camera of 1937 Exakta, or today’s full frame censored and thousand “asa” speeded brand new digital cameras, can only be the eye-catching flowerpots of these nice odorous flowers. I wish that; in 1851 during the American Revolution, the first known war photographer Mathew Brady; in 1855 during the Crimean War, Roger Fenton; in 1942 and 1944 during the Spanish Civil War and Invasion of Normandy, Robert Capa; they all had brand new digital cameras and latest equipments while documenting these events on behalf of humanity. Would not the history be written in a more different way? Fotoritim January 2008 Issue

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DIGITAL BOMBARDMENT Are you aware of the fact that we are living under a total digital bombardment? How fast everything is developing and changing… Every castle is being demolished, right to the ground. Each of us is revising our photography related values. The historians will separate the history of photography into two parts as “before the digital” and “after the digital”. Nowadays, we put a point to “before the digital” and we are trying to accommodate with “after the digital”. We are in the middle of the transition point and under the bombardment of the process. Everywhere we turn our head towards, a new digital breath skin passes us. In each camera we handle, in each advertisement, publication and in the corridors of internet; digital productions are coming right towards on us. We are unable to escape from it, or in fact we are not willing to escape. We seem like escaping but indeed we are chasing it. Like an infinitive cycle; we are trying to catch something, learn something and discover something in a really high tempo. But the bombardment never stops and it does not seem like stopping. Each day we receive information about a new innovation and a new advancement. Was not it yesterday when we compare the resolution quality between dia/slide films and digital photos and take the side of dia/slide film’s resolution quality? Look! Seitz branded digital camera has a 6x17 format and it has an unbelievable pixel size… Hold tight..! 160 million pixels! They also quickly solved out the dust problem in the censors with special coated and vibrated surfaces. How about the innovations about the censor size such as 24x36 mm? Sometimes we are talking about storage problems. However the fresh news from the recent Photokina exhibition demolishes the castles in this domain too. New generation memory cards have reached to 12, even to 16 GB capacity. I remember I was bragging about my 1 GB memory card which I bought last year. Look at the time that passes! Even though, 16 GB SanDisk Extreme® III CompactFlash costs 1049 USD. But anyway, be it! It has life time warranty. Digital technology is evolving very fast. New brands are supplying their new products to the market. With each look of us, with each turn of our head, we get the promotion news of a new digital product. Attractiveness of the reflex digitals added to the variety of compact digitals. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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A giant market where everybody is in pursuit of buying a new camera, an unbelievable concurrence and the power of internet which combines with them… More important than all, our aging and becoming out-of-fashion cameras in about two years and our damaged budgets… Yes, we are inevitably under this bombardment. We cannot escape from it whatever we do. In fact we are not willing to escape. We seem like escaping but indeed we are chasing it. We are wondering, looking and observing. Most of us are dreaming of reaching to this technology and catching it. I do not know about the new generation; but we, the ones grown up under the captivity of films, are watching the visual festival of the digital bombardment more than its shocking effects. Even the shock waves of the bombardment damages our economic world, we get lost in the endless corridors of this visual festival’s bright magic. And in fact, we are doing well... Fotoritim February 2008 Issue

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THE ORDER OF THE EYE GOLDEN RATIO IN PHOTOGRAPHY Some objects around us seem nice to our eye as well as some others seem disturbing. We enjoy staring at some while we do not even want to look at some others. Some ratios relax our eyes while some others tire them. Have you ever thought about its reason? Do you know that some formal ratios are really effective on the aestheticism of the images and that the ratios seem nice to the eye are already known by the people for thousands of years and are being used? The exact equivalent of this in Turkish is “gözün nizamı” (order of the eye). Or in other words as commonly used, “altın oran” (the golden ratio). Let us investigate this subject thoroughly. Our world tracks on an elliptical circle, whose short diameter is 3 and long diameter is 5, while turning around the sun. This fact makes the distance of the world to the sun different in each moment. And this difference forms the seasons, in other words, it creates the life.

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We can also face with this scale of the universe interestingly; primarily in various ratios of the human body, in plants and in animals. For example; if the number of male bees in a beehive is 5, the number of female bees is equal to 3. In body measurements of nautiluses, dolphins and penguins as well as in butterflies’ wings; there is a ratio of 5 to 3, 8 to 5 or 13 to 8.

Sunflower seeds are grown in counter spirals. The ratio of each spiral to the other is 5/3, 8/5 or 13/8.

We can also notice these numbers in the ratio between the height of human body from head to the ground and the height from belly to the ground, as well as in the ratio between the height from hip to the ground and the height from knee to the ground. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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If the distance between a human’s finger tip and the elbow is 8, the distance between the elbow and the shoulder is equal to 5. If the distance between the elbow and the finger tip is 8, then the distance between the wrist and the finger tip is equal to 5. The ratio of size between finger bones is aligned like 8, 5 and 3.

Even though we still do not know how or where they learnt them; the geniuses, who built the Egyptian Pyramids, had also used these ratios. The ratio of the height of the pyramids to their bases is equal to 5/3, 8/5, 13/8 or 21/13. Always the same ratio… Is not it interesting? Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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This ratio has been used since the early eras of the history without knowing how it is learnt. The mathematical equivalent of these mysterious numbers was discovered merely in the 13th century by a mathematician called Leonardo Fibonacci. In the Fibonacci Series, a number is equal to the sum of the previous two numbers, such as 2+3=5, 3+5=8, 5+8=13, 8+13=21...

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Leonardo Fibonacci

When we divide the bigger number by the smaller one, we get a magical number of 1.618. (PHI number) The ratio of these two numbers composes the order of the eye, that is to say the “Golden Ratio”. This ratio is found interestingly in the structure and the functioning of the universe, the nature and the life. In any geometrical shape; according to the golden ratio, whose existence is considered as an aesthetical superiority, the ratio of a smaller part to other bigger part is equal to the ratio of bigger part to the whole part. Algebraically; this is defined as: a/b = b/(a/b) For example, the golden ratio is also found in unthinkable places such as in human DNA. DNA consists of two spirals which are vertically aligned and interconnected. The length and the width of each one of these spirals are 34 angstrom and 21 Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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angstrom respectively (1 angstrom is equal to 1 over 100 million centimeters). 21 and 34 are two consecutive Fibonacci numbers. A rectangle drew by these ratios forms the “golden rectangle”. The ratios in this rectangle such as 5/3 or 8/5 are also golden ratios. The intersection point of the ratios is called “golden point”, while the intersection place of the ratios is called “golden section”.

Yes; golden rectangle, golden ratio, golden point and golden section are the expressions of aesthetic, or in other words they are the expressions of the “order of the eye”.

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Golden points

The builders of the Pyramids used this ratio without knowing about Fibonacci Series, as well as ancient Greek architects and Mimar Sinan. Leonardo da Vinci also took it in consideration in the stain ratio of his masterpiece, Mona Lisa (La Gioconda). Furthermore, he determined the size of the canvas as 8/5.

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Why is this ratio very important to us, to photographers and why should not we avoid it in the arrangement of composition? Because the sight area of human eye is a rectangle whose short side is equal to 5 and long side to 8. That is why human eye perceive better the objects (images) in shape of a rectangle with a ratio of 8/5. That is why; we, the photographers, should not avoid the aesthetic balance of the universe and a thousand year old habit of the humanity. If we emplace in our photo area; the ratio of main stains to each other, the ratio of the sky to the ground, the ratio of the sea to the land; inside the borders of the golden ratio, then the eye can perceive and adopt better these images. Otherwise these images disturb the eye. We can also create the same effect in our photos by placing the center of interest close to the golden point or by placing the main stains into the golden section.

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In Niko Gudio’s photo called as “Water Fairy”, the ratios are very well used. The ratio of the sky to the water is golden ratio and the model stands in the golden section.

That is why some images seem more aesthetical to us. While looking at them, we have a feeling about the right placement of the shape, ratio and stains.

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The ratio of the sea to the sky is golden ratio. The kid stands on the golden point.

Man and the light are on golden points.

Fotoritim March 2008 Issue

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PHOTO SHARING AND THE INTERNET

I always say as photography is an art of extroversion. Have you ever seen a photographer who takes a photo and lives it in his inner world? Have you ever met a photographer who does not show his/her photos to others, who does not share them with others and who does not want to hear a word about beauty of his/her photos? That is why a photographer is extrovert and social. This emotion is not that high in any other type of art as in the photography. For this reason the photographers have more associations, communities and groups. They are the ones who take the most collective trips. They are the ones who stand together, discuss together and who share their photos collectively. Are you aware of the multiplicity of the photo sharing sites in internet? Each day another new site is added among the others. Each one of them has more than thousand members. In each one of them, hundreds of photo are flawing around. People are constantly staring at them, evaluating and grading them, commentating on them. Internet took the sharing sense in photography to the ultimate level. Besides, internet also removed the borders by doing that. Every photography admirer from all around the world is gathering together in the magical platform of the “www.”s. They do not share only the photos but also their knowledge and experience. We used to have very hard times in order to reach to a photo publication not in a far away time, even five or six years ago. How hard it was to reach to the information… How about now? Just enter the subject in a search engine and you are all alone with the information in a few seconds. What to say about the forums in photo sharing sites? All these discussions and exchange of views under hundreds of topic… Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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There are tens of information and experience flawing in a moment under topics like “I want to buy such camera. What do you say about this? What do you advice?” For this reason, internet generation is very lucky! How fast people are training themselves thanks to internet! The online replies to their questions and the experience notes full of sharing desire turn them into joyful boats floating on the infinitive waves of information and development. Photography is sharing. Unshared photo has neither a taste nor a meaning. Internet took this sharing out of albums, books, exhibition galleries and made it universal. Digital photography and internet… Two complementary and supplementary siblings of the technology who stimulate each other… In 1826, Jozeph Niepce had obtained first permanent image on a lead-tin alloy plate in eight hours. Now; the images, which fall on our latest model censors with a shutter speed of 1/8000, meet with the worldwide photography admirers in a few minute. This head-spinning speed is also a big excitement source. This excitement increases the production and the quality. Incredible photos pass beyond our computer screens and take their places in the curves of our brain. I always say, photography is an art of extroversion, of sociability… This sociability and sense of sharing have passed beyond the albums, exhibition halls, cities or more accurately they have passed beyond the borders. Thousand of photos sent to tens of sharing sites are being stared, liked, criticized, and commentated. Like it or not, this mass transition constrains the limits of our photo sharing. Henceforth, the photos stand in front of wide juries formed by thousands of person instead of their exchange between small communities. Digital photography and internet, they enlarge the limits of our photographic mentality. And the brotherhood of the pixels takes the whole world to a fast and exciting trip in the infinitive sharing land of photos. Fotoritim April 2008 Issue

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IMPORTANCE OF THE COMPOSITION IN ART PHOTOGRAPHY Famous photography master Ara Güler strictly opposes to people who call him as an artist and says: “I am not a photography artist; I am a photo-correspondent.” Anyway, what is being a photography artist? Or what is art photography? According to Ph.D. Mehmet Bayhan, “Photography is a technique”. It is nothing but a recording of image onto a geometrical plane with the help of technology (camera). Photography is such a simple definition, as well as a sophisticated narration and expression. It is not right to place the photography in basic definitions; as it is found in every instance of our lives with its 170 years of adventure such as in documents, news, advertisements, promotions, communication, science, hobbies; in basic definitions. Yes, we have a technology in our hand and we can use it for multi-purposes. We face with the “art photography” as soon as we start designing it to use in art purposes. It should not be the right approach to search for the tracks of art, while looking at photos of Henri Cartier Bresson, Josef Koudelka or Ara Güler. Because they were not even thinking about artistic arrangements whilst in a hurry of documenting the incidents, writing down notes in history. It could not be otherwise. It is possible to say the same things for war photographers who run from one front-line to another. Of course we should not come to a conclusion which is photographers’ approach is away from aesthetics. They only did not have any artistic concerns. Even though they were free of this type of concern, they produced high aesthetical valued photos and that is why their names entered into the hall of fame. I remember that last year, when I was visiting Photos of Turkey Exhibition as Magnum Photographers, I delivered a speech to some of my students who were daring to criticize the exhibition photos which are out of ratio, balance, framing but also reflecting the moment very well. My fundamental sentence was like this as far as I remember: “They did not use the photography as an art but as an instrument to write the history. They were not art photographer but photo journalists.” Art photography, documental photography, photo journalism, advertisementpromotion photography, scientific photography, hobby photography… It is possible to enlarge the list. (I felt obligated to make such a classification in order to underline the “art photography” expression. The multiplicity of photographers who use and carry out Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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aesthetical values and art concern successfully in all other photographic areas is an unquestionable verity.) If our concern is shooting art photography, we should hold on and think about it. Because making art is something else. What a canvas, brush and paint mean for a painter, his/her camera, lenses, tripod and other equipments have begun to mean the same thing for an art photographer. From now on, the universal rules of art are also valid for the photography. Many things which are not important in photo journalism are henceforth in front of us in art photography and ready to question us. Even the sharpness is not important whilst photographing a life taking war scene in which people are running aside in a panic caused by the shock of a bomb thrown in a marketplace, as long as this photo record the horror of the incident. But in the art photography there is now a certain rule and discipline. If we are up to it, we should know about the general truths about artistic arrangements and place our photos on this. That is why in art photography, we should not edit our theme just around the center of interest. We should think every aspect of it whilst editing the theme. We name this kind of arrangement as a composition. Let us put aside the technical settings and the use of light in our photo. We can analyze the composition under two topics which are content and aesthetical integrity. First of all, the content of our theme has a big importance in the composition. How and what we want to describe… The content itself and its message are very important for us. It is beneficial to arrange all of our elements according to this alignment. Aesthetical integrity is for attracting more look on our photo and for delivering enjoyment to viewers. There exist some photos which are successful technically but you just look at them and pass by. Even though you cannot name, there are some things in these photos which disturb your eye. There also exist some photos which make you look at them more and more. Perhaps you have heard of people calling them as “photos to hang up”. Here it is; the most important one of the main differences between the photos, which seem nice to the eye and which disturb it, is related with the fact that if a conscious and successful composition arrangement is applied to the photo or not.

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If I shoot art photos, I do not want any useless detail which disturbs the eye in my photo. In other words, my photo should primarily have few elements in it and it should be simple. The masters call it as “simplicity”. In the composition, I consider the side and back layouts as important as the main theme because a photographer should think of every point of the image and plan them just as a painter who is responsible of painting every point of his canvas. I attach a big importance to the main theme that I want to accentuate, in other words to the center of interest of my photo. In a way, I try to put it one step ahead of the other elements of my photo. I pay attention to ratios between the main stain and the shapes of my photo. “The golden ratio” application, which is called all along the history as “the order of the eye”, is also valid for the photography which is a subdivision of art. Not in every work but in the ones where the existence of the golden ratio is obvious, I pay attention to it and try to place my center of interest on “the golden point”. It is very important to me to have diagonal, rhythmic and schematic applications in my photo, because these effects give the impression of conscious arrangement to my photo and increase the visual influence of it. In a good art photo, the balance should not be disregarded. The balanced distribution of all stains and shapes in the image is another important fact which relaxes our eye. Glance direction, glance gap and glance altitude are the methods that I use often in a good composition edit. I pay attention to glance and movement spaces which should be more than the rear. About the glance altitude, I remember the times that I laid on the ground or climbed on trees without bothering, in order to make a different altitude feeling. Let us not forget, everybody sees the world from a certain altitude and people has become inured to the average height of human size. We should surprise the viewers by presenting the incidents from a different altitude. We should never confuse the art with the documentary. The reality concern of documentary is not found in art photography. For this reason, we should not be afraid of styling the images. Generous technical and aesthetical tries can open us the gates of unexpected art photos. Concrete tries are also the sort of arrangements that I often apply in my aesthetical works as much as the discreet tries. Long exposures, pan and zoom effects and light colorings are mainly used in this kind of work of mine. When observed carefully, I generalized these subjects and tried to describe them on my applications; because in art photography, it is important to be different and original as well as the universal art rules.

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I know so many friends of mine who have hard times during photo takes in order to follow composition rules; as well as the masters who head totally towards the irregularity even though they know very well about the composition… Then, let us end our article with such a determination: In art photography, the universal composition rules of the art are valid. Application of these makes our photo more successful. But this does not mean also that it is the absolute truth. Sometimes the irregularities can result with effective and surprising photos. But it should be remembered that these irregular and surprising photos can only be produced by the photographers who know the rules very well. For this reason we should know about aesthetical arrangements, so that we can enjoy surfing in the waves of the ocean of irregularity by being aware of these rules. Fotoritim March 2008 Issue

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IS FAST CONSUMPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY A DANGER? Are you aware of the fast production in photography followed by fast consumption? Digital photography carried suddenly the technique of the photography to further dimensions. Are not we, the ones who were trapped previously between narrow templates of the film in a few years ago, swimming now in the endless oceans of the numerical world? Are not we lost in the magic of taking countless photos with our thousand dollars worth cameras which shoot so many frames in a second? Before now, we used to point out the ones who had archives of five thousand dias/slides in their lifetime. Nowadays, I have friends who make that much digital photo archives in four or five photo takes. I remember that recently I was talking to one with for a long time, about the fact that taking to a better education and that the mentality them afterwards hurts the visual education and

of my friend, whom I shot dia/slide less but good photos forces the eye of taking more photos and editing decreases the photo quality.

Is not it so for real? Sometimes I am amazed with the friends who set their digital cameras to the serial shot mode and take countless photos. How come do they handle with so many photos which are lookalike? When I return from a photo shoot and reduce the taken 100 shots to 50 in my mind, I fell like the other 50 shots is nothing but also congestion. Yes; as the demand increases in thousand dollars worth digital cameras which shoot so many frames in a second, the number of photos stored in memory cards increases proportionally too around the world. What to say about the consumption speed of these millions of photos produced in a second? They are like the lifetime of butterflies which we are fascinated by their colors. The beautiful and short lasting photos are flawing in countless sharing sites of internet as in an endless race. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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Which sharing site to sign in, to observe, to follow… After a while you notice that this one is not fun anymore. It is because of the fact that you are afraid of getting bored. Tens, hundreds, thousands of photos falling on the pages of sharing sites… I checked out just one of the popular sharing sites. There are 145.347 photos added to nature photos gallery and 106.177 photos added to human photos gallery. All of them should be around 800 thousand. This is the number of selected photos added to just one sharing site. Our masters used to say “Good photo is the one which remains in mind”. Yes, but which one shall remain in our mind? If you have some time –the biggest problem of the man in our century is lack of time– just wander around the photo sharing sites. The multiplicity and the beauty of photos will surprise you. This is very nice but there are so many beautiful photos so the last one you looked at makes you forget the previous one in a second. The previous one was also so good to make you forget the anterior one in a second. The photos, which would make museums fight over in order to obtain them five years ago, are now being stared at casually and passed by. What to say about successful photographers? Let us think about five years before from now, not that much time past. Were not the well-known photographers sitting in their fancy castles in a proud and haughty way? Now, there is not any fancy castle left but “the Digital Castle”. All these giant castles are suddenly lost between small but well-kept, wellequipped, free apartments. New, well-equipped and full of vision apartments… After checking the personal information of a young photographer I like, whose photos I follow up in a joy, how surprised I was when I learnt the fact that this colleague has taken photos for only two years. How can it be possessed these much technical knowledge and aesthetical accumulation in two years… There it is; the digital revolution creates such good and successful photographers and these photographers produce hundreds of good and successful photos. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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They produce but they also give out the clues of upcoming powerful photos in another two days. In brief, the system creates photos and photographers. Thousands of good and successful photographers who take millions of good and successful photos… And new others who appear each day… All right, but how far can this speed and tempo go? The fast consumption of swiftly born, quick and well developed and rapidly disappearing photos can stand in front of the photography as a danger. Yes, I am afraid of this as a new potential threat to photography. Fotoritim June 2008 Issue

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PHOTOGRAPHY AND TECHNIQUE We can define the photography as an obtainment of images with the use of technique. Technique is an instrument in photography. It is like using the keyboard of our typewriter or our computer. We record our images with our camera and its other equipments, and write our articles with the keyboards. In one of them, we arrange the images with the help of technique and save them by adding sense; and in the other, we arrange the words and put them on paper. In both of them, technique is only an instrument. In fact technique of the photography has created a giant market on earth. It is not the camera itself who is an instrument… Tens of other side equipment has also entered through this “technical gate”. Lenses, tripods, flashes, filters, remote controls, grips, computers, memory cards, memory sticks, printers, external hard disks and many others… Nothing is wrong with it until this point. But afterwards; all these models, brands and other technical advantages have become a part of our lives. Some of our friends suppose that shooting with latest cameras equipped with latest technologies increase the photo quality. In every small chance, they head towards latest models and brands. They have very expensive cameras and lenses, and they are proud of possessing this technology. It is a big source of pleasure for them to tell around the technical superiority of their cameras. They are in a mood like “My camera beats yours.” Never estimate from this article that I am against technology. Photography is an area in which technology is used and this possibility should be profited at its highest level. Technique is not everything. And this is what I stand up for. I always think about the ratio between having a good technique and having a good photo. I think the addition of technique to a good photo is around 15 or 20%. The rest… Light knowledge, composition, aesthetical rules, creativity and more important than others, the ability to see all of them… Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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What can we do with a 23 million pixel camera if we cannot see what a photo is, if we cannot sense the light, if we do not consciously realize our composition, if we avoid aesthetical rules and if we do not have the necessary cultural infrastructure to charge meaning on all of these? Yes; never estimate from all of this that I am against technique. Technique is an important complementary element which fulfills the other elements of photographic infrastructure. Do not underestimate the 15 or 20%. A good technical contribution to the photo should never be underestimated. I always line up with the utilization of technique at its most. I always followed the technology closely, but I never centered it in the middle of my photographic works. There are some friends of us who treat technical knowledge and equipments as a taboo as well as the ones who are closed to innovations. “Technique is everything or technique is nothing.” One of my friends explained to me that he was criticized in a depreciative manner when he told his friends that he took the photos of his successful project in a programmed mode. Does a photographer ever take photo in a programmed mode? Depreciation of not working manually… If photography is a technology, all technological innovations that are invented by humankind should be profited at its most. If there is no theme; which is related with diaphragm, shutter settings or with area depth and speed; in your photo, can there be a meaning of insisting on manual working? Would not it be better to make the shooting in programmed mode and consider using the left time in the construction of other structural components? Photographer should leave the technical settings to the camera and use his/her time on seeing better and for producing better compositions. And also I cannot understand the mandatory use of analog cameras and s/b films in the first year of the photography departments of certain universities. Is not it following the world from behind to accept traditional ways as an educational method in an era which technology is that much developed? If it is aimed to teach the logic of photography, would not it be better to give the students out “Camera Obscura”s and a lot of glass film and make them travel to 1850’s? Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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As a conclusion I can say “yes” to the technology but “no” to the placement of technology in the center of our photos. We must know about the latest digital technology and use it. Especially the software which complete the technology… But by not forgetting the fact that only the good knowledge and well usage of these is never enough for obtaining a good photo… Fotoritim July 2008 Issue

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BACKGROUND IN PHOTOGRAPHY Photography is in fact a two dimensioned arrangement which consists of length and width. But it has also a relative third dimension which is based on the effect of the image. Actually the depth is not an issue in photography. It is just a relative effect of the photography. We compose the three dimensioned world on a two dimensioned area again in three dimensions with the help of our senses. For this reason, our center of interest has a rear and a front in the photography. That is why we talk about a technical application in photography which is called as “depth of area”. The background in photography consists of everything in the photo frame which is behind of our main theme. That is why background should be well underlined or calculated as well as the theme itself. Beginners in photography cannot consciously annex background to their photos naturally. I have also been through this process which lasted for years. I am surprised how I could not see many things, which should not exist in the first place, in my old photos and added them inside the image. The sight and the calculation of the background during a photo shoot require a certain perception. This perception forms itself in a time period. In other words, it necessitates an eye education. This is called as “photographic look” or “seeing photographic”. For beginners, everything in photography turns around the theme. The main object is everything. The eye only sees it and avoids the rest. For example, if we take a photo of a child, our center of interest is the child’s itself. However, many other things have also entered into our photo frame. Here it is; these other objects, which are found in that depth effect, form the background of the photo. Especially if we take the photo with a wide angle lens, the importance of the third dimension and the background increases more. You know; the perspective effect, which is the change of dimensions with the effect of background and the depth, is lesser in narrow angle lenses than the wide angle lenses, in which it is more. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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In the example of child photo which we took approvingly, most of the things in the background stay out of the photo frame with the use of narrow angle lenses; while they remain in the photo frame with the use of wide angle lenses. We should approach to the subject not in the aspect of the objects but in the aspect of the light. The light in the background is also important as the light in the object. The consciousness during this editing can increase or decrease the value of our photo. The objects, which enter into our frame, behind our theme can strengthen our photo if they relate with the theme and complete it; as well as they can weaken the effect of our photo if they are unrelated with our theme. The unnecessary objects in the background such as lampposts, trash bins and unrelated cars can turn our work into ordinary images rather than a conscious work. I am sure that good Photoshop users read this article in laughs. I am sure that they say “We can clean easily the unrelated objects in the background, why to think about them during the photo shoot?” I can hear they say “If there is an unwanted image at the back; some clone stamp tool at first, some patch tool clean, and if this is not enough, choose the background and some blur effect and then everything is okay.” Photoshop has become an indispensable way for us in the mandatory cleanings. But we should know that the magical stick of the light room does not work every time. We can mess everything while trying to enhance things. If we gain a mentality of handling everything in PS, this one prevents the development of our photographic look and perception. There are so many reasons of taking good photo. When these so many reasons come together, we obtain a good photo. Beyond this point, the master’s criterions start to show themselves. For this reason, we should not let the ease of cleaning in PS gets ahead of our eye’s photographic education. One of my friends has told once: “What a canvas means to a painter is the same thing for image frame to a photographer. Photographer should press on the shutter release after thinking about every point of his image frame just as the painter should see and paint every point of his canvas.” Yes; wish you all to make good shots by seeing every point of our frame and by calculating everything well that happens in the front and in the rear…

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A successful background arrangement… Our model in the front, a complementary railroad bridge at the back and a train on it passing right on time… Again we have clouds and reflections on the water in the background.

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In the front our center of interest, our model is walking. A foggy environment and a well thought background. The rhythm of the aligned poplar trees in the background adds power and aesthetics to the photo.

Our theme, the shepherd, stops and looks at us. Photographically nice but it is not enough by its own. The background should countenance the photo. There are schematic historical ruins and sheep which complete the shepherd. The scheme effect is also considered while shooting the shepherd.

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A wrong background arrangement… Woman is walking on the rock bridge. But how about the cell phone stations at the rear? We should keep these disturbing objects out of our frame whilst the photo shoot.

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The background and the editing are very important in macro and other close up works. In the first photo there are unthought-of stains in the frame. In the second photo, these objects are left out of Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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the frame by changing the angle. Besides, a shadowed moment is chosen and a dark background is formed. The importance of the background light should not be forgotten. The first one is wrong, the second one is right.

The fog creates a natural simplicity in the background. Without the fog, there might be some unwanted disturbing elements in our photo frame. We should profit from this kind of effects for the background simplicity.

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A nice portrait work… The attention is paid to the ratios. A citizen smoking in a village café… How about background objects? Atatürk, a clock and a calendar… A conscious background arrangement which makes a complementary effect on our photo…

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In our last example there is again a conscious background arrangement. At the back of our theme there are some objects disrupting our photo’s effect. A blurred background with area depth and some leaning in order to keep some objects out of the frame… Leaning is a nice way of simplifying the background by setting it to the sky.

Fotoritim August 2008 Issue

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PHOTOGRAPHY AND CULTURE Even though photography seems like an accumulation of technique, it also has a cultural background. In fact; people’s viewpoint, commentating and taste is directly proportioned to their cultural accumulation. Photographer carries the marks of the cultural and societal structure which he/she is grown up in. He/she reflects this to his/her photographic mentality in awareness or unawareness. Mostly he/she is aware of that and he/she enjoys doing it. And sometimes he/she passes these marks to his/her images in unawareness. Photography is an issue of classes as well as a societal phenomenon. Artistic mentality and photographic mentality of each society and each class are different. Look at the photos of foreign photographers and compare them with the local ones. You will see that there are big differences. Photographic mentality of eastern societies is also very different. Photography has entered into the life of people since 1840’s. Photography showed out its effect immediately in western societies, photo takers and their models took their places in the history immediately. It has also reached to a position which effects and directs the society in education, science and art. While the photography was about to spread to all over the world; we, the ones who met with the printing press after centuries, were discussing if making human figure’s copies is a sin or not. In our society, which considers painting as a sin, making human figure’s copies was entirely sinful. That is why; the first photos of this society were taken by western photographers. The first photo studio was again founded by these foreigners and the first photographers of this society consisted of non-Muslims. The first known photographers of this society, Abdullah Brothers, were indeed two Armenian brothers from Diyarbakır named Kevork and Viken who were later converted to Islam. These two brothers owe their professions of photography to not being a Muslim. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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Even though working on photography was prohibited and it was a sin, the padishahs and especially the shahzadahs were really into learning about the photography. The conservative religious mentality has affected both our culture and our photography. We entered into this work late, learnt it late and. Our facilities were insufficient and we were organized too late. The economic condition of our society was also another factor which affected negatively the spread and the development of the photography which is also an expensive hobby. Think about 20 or 30 years ago. How many of us have a camera? How many of us could take photos without constraining our budget? However, all of the tourists visiting our country had a camera and they could take so many photos. Especially the Japanese tourists… … Did not we envy them? How about the education aspect? How many Turkish books did we have about the photography? How about magazines and other publications? For this reason, Turkish photography followed the world from well behind. We saw less, we shot less and we developed less in this area. Are you aware of the fact that our general culture is closely related with the development of the art of photography? As the culture and education rate increase in our society, our photography develops too and it produces better. In fact, will of photographing is in direct proportion with the cultural development level of a person. People, who are educated and who have a certain level of culture, enjoy documenting their lives and passing them to other generations. People, who are educated and who have a certain level of culture, would like to have an aesthetical hobby such as photography. This kind of people has more interest in travelling and they like to share what they saw with other people and with the help of photography. And of course there is an organization aspect too. In our country, all types of organization was a source of fear until the close past and for this reason cultural and artistic organization were treated the same way as the political organizations. Forbidding acts were a big obstacle in front of all types of organization. I was present in all stages of the process of founding the Turkey Photography Federation. This process lasted 20 years, but the federation is only 5 years old. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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However, in the west there are some photography federations which are older than 100 years. The first photography club in Turkey was founded in 1950, in Ankara with the lead of Şinasi Barutçu under the name of Turkey Club of Amateur Photography (TAFK). During all this time, the number of the associations in Turkey has not even surpassed 30 yet. The number of all association members is no more than three thousand. The invention of internet, it was a blessing for us. It has affected both our culture and our photography. Through the internet, we come open to the world, get educated, communicate and develop our level of general knowledge and culture in equal conditions with the world. Owing to it, our photography has entered into a development and an evolution. Thanks to internet, photo sharing sites have appeared and people have begun to share their knowledge and experience in this field. And this has helped the fast development of our photography. If you notice, our photography has become more urban. Urban photos have passed beyond the rural ones. If you remember, the trend of the 1980’s was rural photos or photos of low-classed people living in ghettos after the immigration from villages to big cities. How about now? Look at thousands of photos in photo sharing sites on internet. Henceforth, we have signs of urban and modern life in our photos. We can see all the developing photo techniques, with the effects of digital photography, in our photos. The internet culture takes our photographic culture from behind and carries it to far front points. Yes, photography and culture… One of them is affected and fed by the other. Our photography will develop and change as long as our general societal culture develops. Placing the Turkish art of photography on strong cultural accumulations should be the mission of us all. Fotoritim October 2008 Issue

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TO SEE THE PHOTO The art of photography is an art of seeing above all. “Because in photography, it is not important what the objects are but how they seem.” How do the objects seem? How do we, the photographer, notice them? Instructed eyes have the ability of seeing the good-looking in the environment. When we look around us, we notice that we face tens of light and image combinations. Lights, tones, spots and movements form countless image shapes in an environment which change and develop constantly. Tens of frame and image get lost in the tempo and motion of the life. I wonder if we can think everything around us as photos. Of course, everything that the eye sees has a photographic value. And it is possible to photograph everything that the eye sees. A good photo is a short part and a short moment of everything happening around us. I mean; if our main concern is good photos, we should wait for the moments in which objects look good or we should make them look good. As much as the well-being of their theme, the attracting images with good lighting and composition are the ones which interest us. These images are found in some part of everything that happens around us and in some short periods. How are we going to notice it? How are we going to see the good-looking? And this is the basic rule, the trick of the good photography. No matter how interesting our theme is, what we need is indeed how it looks. You cannot shoot the best portrait of the world under a bad light, because it does not seem nice and its photographic projection becomes ineffective. The angle, the light and the moment in which the objects seem…

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There is a good look, a good expression, a good light and a good form in a moment of the flawing course of the life. I think the biggest lack of beginners of the photography is this, being unable to decide seeing what, when and how. How the masters feel the good-looking and take it out… For this reason, watching the masters during the photo shoots can give out some clues to the beginners. The human eye has an amazing harmonization ability which our lenses do not possess. It makes the light fall on the retina by balancing it and we see many not so good-looking things as nice objects owing to this harmonization ability. Unfortunately, our lenses do not see everything well that the eye does. The important thing is to feel and see how the lens will see. And here; the difference between seeing and not seeing appears. And the line of photographic seeing starts beyond this point. Seeing how our lenses see is a process of education of the eye. The shoots and obtained results during long years give the reflex of photographic seeing to the photographer. During photo shoots with my students, they often get surprised when they see me changing my direction suddenly to an unexpected angle. They could not understand what I do at the beginning. And they cannot hide their astonishment when they see the resulted photo. As I said at the beginning; the ability of picking the good-looking among all the objects, stains, shape and incident opens the doors of successful photos to us. It is the pursuit of understanding how the objects seem more than what they are which will take us to the doors of good photography. Epilogue: We should know about changing the looking into the seeing. Fotoritim November 2008 Issue

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PHOTOS I COULD NOT TAKE I It was years ago… The town I was in was having a gray Sunday between the autumn and the winter. We were slowly heading towards to our vehicle which is 100 meters away from us with four friends who stepped recently out of the smoke filled newspaper office which is located in the basement of a building. While we were trying to have the last moments of our conversation, the sounds of gunshot coming from the street next to us were enough to end the conversation. People running to the street where the gunshot sounds were heard directed us too towards there naturally. When we arrived there by running without the fear of falling because of the large gaps of the cobblestone pavements, the view we saw was both horrifying and photographic. A young boy aged 17 or 18 was standing on his feet with his clothes all covered in red blood. He had a shocked expression on his face, two large eyes that cannot understand what has just happened and a hole just in the middle of his forehead. The blood was running forwards through that hole… The people around us were running in a hurry unconsciously. After sending the kid to the hospital by car which was found in a moment, only one thing was left in our minds: A photo… Yes; I wonder if any of us had photographer that shocking moment. We asked to each other immediately. No… No… Including me, neither of other four friends could think of photographing that moment. Yes, we could not take the photo which could be the cover of most magazines of the world; we were trapped by our humanitarian feelings and lost in the rush of rescuing the boy. We learnt that the boy was shot by a bullet fired from a gun which fell to the ground. But we could not learn about how the boy could stand on his feet despite the wound in the middle of his forehead and about the aftermath of the boy which was taken in surgery immediately. I wonder if he was rescued. The years have passed, the details of the incident were lost in the curves of my brain but my mind has never and never forgotten the single framed photo which I saw in there. This one takes the first seat among the photos I could not take. A face covered with blood, shocked looking two large eyes, a hole in the middle of the forehead and red blood running forwards through that hole… This is why I get nervous when I witness a brawl or when I hear a gunshot. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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My finger reaches unconsciously to my bag and heads towards the shutter release. Even though I know that I will not again be able to take such a photo.

II While I was watching a television program about the handicapped people, a frame from a photo that I could not take flashed in my mind. It was 15 years ago. I was a teacher in a primary school of the town that I lived in. It was winter and this town was having large amounts of snow during that season. During a recreation time in which the schoolyard was covered in snow I was watching the children playing in the snow from the window of teachers’ room. A group of 20 students were running in a single line, turning around a wall with 1.5 meters of height, walking on that narrow wall and jumping on the soft snow underneath. One of the students in the line, who jumps when it was his turn, was incredibly remarkable. He was no one else but the handicapped student of our school with paralyzed legs who walks with the help of crutches. He was lost in the excitement of the play and the snow. He was dragging himself with the crutches and waiting for his turn to come and leaving himself to the gap joyfully without hesitation. He was managing to stay afoot with the help of crutches. And sometimes he could not manage to stay afoot and he was rolling in the snow. The photo frames had started to flash in my mind, but unfortunately I had not had my camera with me that day which I always try to carry around. What could I do besides watching? I watched the view for minutes and froze the frame over and over in my mind in which that handicapped student was jumping on the snow. The schoolyard covered with snow, blue uniformed students in line forming the shape of “s” and fearless handicapped student jumping from that height… A photo in which there is color, graphic, motion, rhythm and above all human… It was also expressing the joy of living as well as the sorrowful feelings. And the moment of this student in the air becomes a photo in my mind, printed on 30x40 dimensioned bright card, in each time I hear the word handicapped and in every sparkle of the joy of living. And I always keep that photo hung on the wall of my heart… Fotoritim December 2008 Issue Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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INTERVIEW WITH ENVER ŞENGÜL Could you please tell us about the outlines of your photographic résumé? How did you enter into the art of photography and when did you start getting interested in it? My story of getting into the photography is quite interesting. It must be the year of 1983, when I quit the profession of teaching and found myself suddenly in emptiness. I was living in Bitlis and one day I read in Hürriyet that correspondents, whose are experienced in journalism and photography, were wanted. Even though I do not know the reason, I had gotten excited by that want advert. I applied to Diyarbakır Regional Management of Hürriyet by letter in which I defined that I do not have any journalism experience but I am good at photography. In fact I had handled a camera no more than five times until that time. The excitement of working as a correspondent for a newspaper such as Hürriyet forced me to that lie and after a short while I received an acceptance letter for the specified tenure. At that time I had neither a camera, nor some technical knowledge. The first thing I did was to visit one of the Russian markets which were widespread at that time and to buy a cheap camera suitable to my budget. I do not remember the exact price but I bought at a very low price an OMO 5 branded, roughly used second hand camera with an optical viewfinder. The camera’s film lid was not closing properly and that was causing light leak which leaves stains on the films. I was covering the film lid tightly with black tape after putting the film in the camera in order to prevent the light leak and the stains. I took photos for two years with such a primitive camera. That was how I became acquainted with camera and the photography.

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How about technical knowledge? Did you manage to learn that during this period? As soon as I bought the camera, I entered into a familiar photo store and asked about how to take photos. I never forget; the owner of the store wrote some diaphragm-shutter speed settings at the back of his business card such as 125-11 in sunny weather, 60-8 in the shadow, 30-5.6 for flash photography and afterwards added that: “Always take the light from your behind when taking photos.” This was the first photography instruction I took. As I told earlier, I took photos for two years with such limited knowledge and a camera having a light leak problem. One of my most important memories consists of getting Erdal İnönü off his car in Rahva Pass between Bitlis-Tatvan and taking his photo in the snow during his election tours with my primitive camera. That photo was very important in terms of journalism. I sent the film to Diyarbakır with a taxi, which is a four hours of journey. The newspaper, Hürriyet, was delaying the press in order to use my photo in the first page. After the arrival of the film and the chemical bath, my excitement turned into a disappointment because of the angry phone call of the agency chief: “How did you take the photo? Where is Erdal İnönü? The whole film is all in black.” In this way I understood that taking photo in snow is hard. I had not opened the diaphragm enough by counting up the brightness of the snow and as a result all faces were in black. Besides, my primitive camera messed everything up again by taking light from the side. The fact of not taking this historically important photo is my biggest disappointment and also my biggest experience in journalism and photography. In which level did your transition to art photography start? I cannot say that I do not take some nice photos occasionally. Some scenic and human photos find themselves a place among my journalism intended photos. My

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eyes are unconsciously in search of aesthetic. In this way, I understand that I do not take photos just for journalism. I try to see and photograph other things too. I create a different album from these nature and human photos which I took instinctively without any training. In holidays and in New Year’s Eve, I send these photos to my friends and relatives as postcards. One of my friends who live in Istanbul showed these photos to an IFSAK member photographer whom I could not ever get to know. He must have liked the photos because he asked if I have ever held an exhibition. This question is also the start of my inclination towards the photography in a serious way. To hold an exhibition! It was something that I have never thought about. But I really liked the idea of it and I held an exhibition of nature and human photos that I took until that time. The exhibition hall of Bitlis Management of Culture held one of its most crowded exhibitions ever. Aydın Güçlü, governor of Bitlis, started my exhibition. Believe it or not, almost all of my photos were sold. I received two or three orders for certain photos. Small prints of my photos were also sold swiftly. And the following three or four years I held some more exhibitions and I drew the same attention. Yet, I did not have any technical formation. Meanwhile I passed it to a SLR Nikon. And when I used a 35 mm wide angle for the first time, I was so stunned by the width of the area I saw such that I told this to my friends for several days. Meantime I decided to learn the art of photography. Books, researches, etc… When I went to Ankara one day, I visited AFSAD. In my hand I had a portfolio which consists of ten or fifteen photos. I told my desire to become a member by showing these photos. The management board was also in a meeting. They all liked my photos a lot and after passing me a membership form they asked me to fill that out. By that, I think I became one of the rare persons whose membership apply is accepted that fast in the history of AFSAD. My process of membership and personal dialog with AFSAD took me to a stable point in photography. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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What are the prizes you took, exhibitions you held, contents you participated as well as the projects and publications that you realized so far? Of course my interest in photography has never broken off since the first day I bought a camera from the Russian market. This means an adventure of a quarter century. It is not a short time. At first I was counting regularly the numbers of exhibitions that I held and the prizes that I took. Now, I do not anymore. I do not remember the exact numbers. To talk approximately, I held 15 personal exhibition, 2 of them were international. And also I took part in over 30 mixed exhibition. My interest in contests is still going on and motivating me. I received one international and about 25 national prize out of these contests. I had several projects; it is not possible to name them all in here. As publication, I have four books at total but only two of them are photography related. One of them is “Ufukların Tacı Selimiye” in which I worked with Behiç Günalan, and the other one is a tribute to my homeland, an album named “Bitlis”. Also my photos and photo articles are published and are being published in countless magazines, books, booklets, calendars and catalogues. What is your profession? Could you also tell us about the mission which you are carrying out right now? I am one of the multi-profession people. My actual profession is teaching. Afterwards I worked for a longtime in journalism and in public relations. Later I became a so called museum curator. I completed my education in this area after the age of 40 by finishing a history of art master program. I have been carrying out the task of management in Trakya University Sultan II. Bayezid Külliyesi Museum of Health, which is located in Edirne and rewarded with European Museum Award, for seven years. Besides I am instructing in photography classes of Trakya University Department of Fine Arts.

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The photography is a big addition to my profession. Qualified and influential photos have a big part in the international and national advertisement of my museum. Furthermore, the beauty of our appliance photos accelerated even the process of acceptance of our candidature for the European Museum Award. Could you inform us about the equipments you use? I am a Canon user for a long time. It can be said that I am a big Canon fan. At the moment I use a Canon EOS 40 D, as well as I keep my analog Canon EOS 5. I carry it around thinking that I can sometimes shoot photos on film. But I cannot even think of shooting on film after I lost myself in the magic of digital cameras. Even though, I still keep that camera always under my hand. I think I consider tossing it away or selling it as a disloyalty. I think, for the people who take photos on film for a long time like us, the nostalgia of analog cameras will never disappear. As lenses, I have four of them: Canon EF 28-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Canon EF 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 D EX DC HSM Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG HSM II Macro What does photography mean to you? What is the importance and special side of it? “Photography has the miracle of freezing the one over thousand of a second.” I do not know any other sentence who describes photography better. This means also the expression of immortality. Photography means to me immortalizing each moment of which I took a photo. Cities, people, streets and everything that is caught by my camera; taking them all away from life and carry them beyond the time… It seems to me like a special power. I see myself different than other people with this aspect of mine. So I try to immortalize more and more things as I can do.

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It is told that a photographer draws a picture of the photo in his/her mind beforehand. Could you draw us out the picture of the photo which you imagine of taking chiefly? There are a lot of photos that I dream of taking one day. Anyway I do not think that one who cannot think and imagine cannot also become a good photographer. The photo that I imagine of taking chiefly is the rise of the sun over Lake Van taken from the peak of Mount Süphan. For years I have been dreaming of this and I have been planning to realize it with my photographer friend from Muş, Adem Sönmez. But we have not been able to take that photo yet. Did any emotionally touching incident happen during your photographic works? The most touching incident for me is a photo that I could not think of capturing even though I was a witness of it. I told it a lot in my articles. A youngster of the age of 17 was shot in the middle of his forehead, his face was covered with blood and he was still on his feet with shocked stares in his eyes. We could not think of photographing that scene. As 4 photographer friends, we were enslaved by our humanitarian emotions and we sent the youngster to a hospital by the first car that we found. This incident is one of my unforgettable moments of my life. Do you have any other photography related memories which make you excited, make you think, make you smile or affect you? Could you please share them with us? I think if I write down my photography related memories, they can make it a book. Thanks to photography, I had a lot of good and unforgettable memories. I made lasting friends, I traveled a lot of places and I discovered so many things. Thanks to photography, I opened the doors that are well sealed.

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Let me tell here a smiling memory of mine. We were in a course of Edirne Art of Photography Association. Most of our attendants were college students. Among these attendants, there was an attendant named Hulusi which we like. By assuming him as a college student, I was teasing him in a funny way, making jokes about him. One day we went to a practice trip along the River Meriç. A military vehicle stopped us because our car had entered into a forbidden zone near the Greek frontier. We faced a serious situation. The soldiers tried to take us to the gendarme station because we took photos in a forbidden zone. This could even lead to a military court. In a moment when we panicked, Hulusi arrived and showed his identity and ordered them: “I am a military judge, these are my friends, mind your own business.” The soldiers saluted him in a respect and drew away. We looked at each other with my colleague Behiç and got embarrassed. The man that we were teasing by assuming as a college student was indeed a young military judge. After getting back to our car, I approached him and tried to apologize about teasing him earlier. He said “It’s okay”. He was a modest man anyway. I really liked his modesty and the way that he makes him liked without using his profession. I do not know where he is right now but I hope he never lost his interest in photography even after the courses. I send him my best regards if he reads this interview. How important is technique in photography in your opinion? Technique is of course very important in photography but it does not mean everything. We should admit that the essence of photography is based on technique. We produce photos by using a technique since the invention of photography in 1893. In a certain way, technique is everything in order to take photos because we cannot take photos without our camera. But if you ask me how important is technique in order to take a good, effective and art valued photo; my answer would be a low percentage such as 30. The rest, 70 Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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percent, consists of a good eye, a good brain, a good cultural knowledge, a good experience, composition and light knowledge. Just as the best and the most expensive computer of the world is not enough in order to write a novel, so the most equipped camera is not also enough to take good photos. What are the “must have” elements of the photography in your opinion? I think the “must have” of the photography is basic instruction knowledge, especially light knowledge. It is not possible to take photos instinctively. We must have basic knowledge of photography. Among this knowledge, I think the most important is the light knowledge. I mean; seeing the light, commentating it and adding it to the photo differ from all of the others. One, who uses the light well, can take effective photos despite weak technical equipments. Another “must have” of the photography is disciplinary work. The people with passing desire cannot succeed in photography. Do you have any direction in photography that you are headed to? I have never thought of concentrating on a précised area of photography. For me photography is a sort of freedom. I shall follow my heart and take a photo of every image that affects me. No matter what the subject is, photos with a flawless expression and technique interest me. I do not take lots of photos. In fact I take few photos but good ones. I do not like people taking lots of similar photos by using the ease of digital cameras. I cannot understand how they store or select through that many photos.

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How about your projects? Could you please tell us about them? I believe that the right one is to head towards certain projects. Nowadays, good photographer is defined by his/her good and distinct projects. That is why I paid attention to that fact. I always had projects in my mind and in my practice area. At the moment I have 10 projects that I planned in my mind and that are being practiced. Some of them are advancing slowly. For example, “Taşlardaki İnsan İzi” which is an archeological photography work, has a history of 7-8 years. I take photos of small relieves which are found on historical marbles, rocks or columns. I am co-working on one of my other Project, “Türkiye’nin Minareleri”, with Müsebbih Engin. We are taking photos of interesting minarets with architectural specialty in allover of Turkey. This one is about to conclude. I think there will be a book also. “Korkuluklar” is a Project that I have been working on for a long time. It is ongoing too. At the moment I started another project too in Edirne: “Kaleiçi: Bir Yok Oluşun Öyküsü”. I realize this project in order to contribute to the cultural heritage of Edirne. Who is the artist that you are most enlightened by, informed by or instructed by? The first photographer that I think of in this subject is İzzet Keribar. Years ago we met in an exhibition. In 1994 he helped me with the selection of photos for my fourth personal exhibition. After that he always guided me by his style and his photos despite the passing years with his friendship and his attachment. To me, İzzet Keribar is a real master, a good person and a real friend. Who are the artists that you like and that you are inspired of? I cannot make a clear distinction. I am inspired of photos more than photographers. I can get touched by photos of unheard photographers, as well as I can get disappointed by photos of master photographers. Even though, I can name İzzet Keribar, Cemil Ağacıkoğlu, Yusuf Darıyerli, Erdal Yazıcı, Haluk Uygur, Adem Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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Sönmez, Reha Bilir, Erdal Kınacı, Salih Güler, Fahrettin Şenkaynağı, Ali Alışır, Ebru Sidar, Gencer Seri and my long time friend Behiç Günalan as the photographers that I like. There are also so many other photographers I like that I cannot remember of right now. In your opinion, where does Turkish photography stand in the world photography? Turkish photography used to be so behind of world photography. It is still like this but thanks to the evolving digital technology and internet facilities, I think Turkish photography becomes integrated to the world faster and we are closing the gap swiftly. It is a natural fact that the world photography, especially the photography in the well developed occidental countries, is advanced. Because in these countries there are so many created potentials which help art and photography develop. The associations, organization in this domain are also really ahead of us. And of course photography is also related with the economics. Photography is an expensive pursuit. Cameras, equipments, trips, obtaining publications, holding exhibitions and preparing albums requires a certain budget. As our country is economically well behind of the western countries, it is quite hard to catch them regarding to quantity. But from time to time, we compete with the world qualitatively. What does documental photography mean to you? Could you please define it? As we can understand form its name, documental photography consists of photos with documentation intends. In fact, the power of immortality is found in this domain of photography. Photographing people, places and events as a note to the history and archiving them according to this goal is in the area of documental photography. Half of my works consists of documental photography. Even though I handle with essays, practices and manipulations in order to satisfy my artistic sensations; documental photography lies beneath my essence. My biggest documental work is photographing “Sultanlar Şehri: Edirne” which I like a lot. I Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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photographed and I am photographing its natural and cultural tissues with all details. I think I have an archive of thirty-thousand photos of Edirne helping to put a note to the history. Recently I took photos of china faiences with tulip motifs of Selimiye for my archive. It shows how deep my works is concerning the details. Do you think the fact that Ara Güler took his most famous photo “Kadın ve Allah” in Edirne has an effect on the appreciation of photography in Edirne? I do not know if it has an effect on it. It is hard to commentate on this. But at least it has an effect on me. I can say that photo helped a lot to the advertisement of Edirne and to the Old Mosque. There are two reasons of the appreciation of photography in Edirne. First one is history and the natural beauty of Edirne which offer extraordinary photographic views. And the other one is the works of Edirne Association of the Art of Photography (EFOD) since 1980. EFOD leads the associations in its domain according to the instructional works. The photos are shared too fast in the internet in our times. What is your consideration on this? The fast photo sharing in the internet has both positive and negative sides. This sharing has a big effect on the advancement of photography. People can send their photos to a wide area and they can get motivated by this. The negative side of the internet sharing is the fast consuming of photography. The life time of even the very good photos has shortened. We take very good photos and consume very fast. Despite this fast production and consumption, there are so few photos which remain in mind. But if you ask the effect of internet on photography education, I can say that it is in an unbelievable level. It is possible to reach to every kind of information and publication in a very short time. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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How about your opinions on digital photography? Digital photography is the biggest and the most inevitable revolution of the photography. It is evolving so fast. It demolishes all the beliefs, habits and experiences

about

the

photography.

From

now

on,

everybody

should

reinstructed and should reevaluate their habits and experiences. Digital photography helps more people take better photos by increasing photo taking habits and love. Every invention and development makes me highly excited. How about Photoshop? Every digital photo taker should know about this magical software. There is no way out. As you know, each digital shot is a shot with loss, especially if we shoot in “jpeg” format. Our camera saves the photos that seem nice to our eyes with loss to save space. That is why its light, color, tissue and other details might not satisfy us. We should complete these losses by working on them afterwards. Working on photos in Photoshop is like adding spice to a meal after cooking. For this reason Photoshop is not a fantasy or a luxury but a mandatory necessity for our photos. The ones bragging as “I do not use Photoshop” are indeed the ones who cannot use it. And by talking this way they are humiliating themselves. But it is such a deep software that can take you to endless corridors through your needs and pleasure beside the basic actions. In these days, what kind of photographic activities are you in? In these days, I continue my works under the roof of Edirne Association of the Art of Photography (EFOD). Since 1993, I have been always in touch with this association except short periods. I was also in its board for 5 terms. For the last 4 year Behiç Günalan and I run the basic instruction and Photoshop courses. I prepare seminars for some special subjects. Our “Demiryolu Atölyesi” project, which we started when I was in the board, was concluded. We held our exhibition. Her Hakkı Saklıdır ⓒ All Rights Reserved

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We are planning to prepare a book about it if we can find a sponsor. I also think of a new studio project for the new term. I also teach at the university. I prepare instructional course notes about photography. I constantly continue writing photo articles. I am also planning to turn my photo articles into a book next year. How did photo article writing of Enver Şengül start? At first I started to write in the bulletin of Edirne Association of the Art of Photography, in “Objektif”. In fact, it was exciting for me, for years, to deal not only with the photography shooting but with both the shooting and the article writing part. “www.fotoritim.com” has an importance for the continuity of my articles. Especially the editor of my articles who warns me about the deadline each month, Berna Akcan, contributes me a lot. Without dear Berna, we could not be able talk about the continuity of my articles. I thank to her and to all “Fotoritim” family. What do you advise to new photographers? Should a photographer absolutely have an education? I advise to my young colleagues to educate themselves really well, to like the photography a lot, to work in a discipline and to produce projects that are constant by getting into different pursuits. Interview by: Birgül ERKEN and Berna AKCAN June 2009

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RESUME Born in 1960, in Ahlat, Bitlis. Graduated from Van Institute of Education and Trakya University Faculty of Education. He performed the profession of teaching in different cities of Turkey. He worked as a journalist in TRT, Hürriyet and Anadolu Ajansı. After the task of Press and Public Relations Responsible of Trakya University Rectorship, he attended as the Cultural Branch Manager. He has been carrying out the task of management in Trakya University Sultan II. Bayezid Külliyesi Museum of Health, which is rewarded with European Museum Award, for four years. He has been interested in photography since 1985. The photos he took during the correspondence years opened the doors of this long lasting adventure. He headed towards permanent places with the help of his AFSAD membership. He realized numbered exhibitions, performances and informal essays, took over 30 national prizes. He attended to international exhibitions. He has been living in Edirne for 14 years. He took on the mission of management of Edirne Association of the Art of Photography (E-FOT) for four terms and the mission of instruction responsibility. He is still instructing in the basic instruction courses of this association and in photography courses of Trakya University Faculty of Education Department of Fine Arts. He has an album named “Bitlis” and a book co-prepared with Behiç Günalan called as “Ufukların Tacı: Selimiye”. Besides he writes culture-art articles in various publications. Personal Exhibitions 1991 1991 1992 1995 1996 1998 1999 2001 2002 2002 2003 2004 2006 2006 2007 2007

Bitlis “Bitlis Fotoğrafları” Tatvan “Doğa ve İnsan” Bitlis “Objektifimden" Edirne “Esintiler” Balıkesir Tahtakuşlar “İnsan” Edirne “Düş Fotoğrafları” Aydın “Ege’nin Tarihi Dokusu” İstanbul “Düş Fotoğrafları” Kayseri “Kayseri’de Vakıf Eserleri” Adana “Düş Fotoğrafları” Uzunköprü Yeniköy “Serbest” Strasbourg/ France “Edirne” Edirne “Sultanlar Şehri: Edirne” “Nevşehir’in Tarihi Dokusu” Edirne “Endülüs” Gaziantep “Vakıf Eserlerimiz”