What's it like being a photographer in Turkey?

Mehmet has the gift of capturing emotion on the street. People going about their day, children playing and moments of life from Ankara Turkey.

I got into photography in 1973. I was a 7th grade student at a boarding school. My four friends and I established a dark room in the school and started taking pictures and processing them in our darkroom. Taking pictures during the week and developing them over the weekend was just fun for us.

My first camera was a Zenit E as it was a really good and affordable one. Everything to do with taking and developing the pictures was fine but we were having difficulties accessing the knowledge as there were no photography books in those days.

Yes there are several photography clubs in Turkey. I am a proud member of AFSAD (the Association of Art Photographers of Ankara) which has been an active club for 41 years.