Tag: photography

Anushka hots up Istanbul photo shoot

NEW DELHI – Anushka Sharma, who was in Istanbul to shoot for a magazine feature, had to wear a red-colored sleeveless dress with a thigh-high slit in freezing cold weather.

A source reported: “It was very cold in Istanbul while she was there for a shoot. The entire crew was covered in layers of clothes. We were taken aback at what Anushka was given to wear.”

“Naturally, Anushka too felt cold but she never showed the discomfort on her face. In fact, after she finished the shoot the crew stood up and applauded her. The international crew too holds her in high regards,” the source said.

Turkish photographer Cihan Alpgiray, who shot with the actress, was apparently impressed with her enthusiasm. – SG

via Saudi Gazette – Anushka hots up Istanbul photo shoot.

March 10, 2013
Photo Essay: A stormy day at Turkey’s Black Sea (Includes first-hand account)

Kandira – Turkey’s long northern border with the Black Sea witnesses many storms. At Kandira, pink rocks line a cliffy shore with offshore islands and sheltered bays. Explore this place on one stormy day.

Pembe Kayalar, or Pink Rocks, is a series of cliffs that line the rugged coastline of Kandira in Kocaeli province, about two hour’s drive northeast of Istanbul. Wild storms sweep down from Russia, on the other side of the Black Sea, and cause hazards for boats and swimmers. Every year ships sink and people drown off this coast. High waves pound cliffs and rocky islands, calmed only by sheltered bays where towns sleep during the off season but team with tourists in summers. If you take a drive to Kandira in October, you are sure to find yourself trapped in an autumn storm.

I went to Kandira with some of my Turkish students who were learning English. It took less than an hour to drive northward from Izmit. When we arrived, sun was shining through gray clouds. I got out of the van and walked along the cliff tops, taking photos of pinkish rocks, coves, and distant islands. I wandered toward a far-off bay as the clouds turned dark and menacing. Suddenly, a storm descended on me, and I understood why people call this sea Black. Waves swept against rocks as wind pushed me. Rain poured down so hard on my face that I could not see where I was going. Mud became currents at my feet, slippery against the rocks.

It was powerful and invigorating and a little dangerous as I walked along the cliff tops. A man herding cows toward their home waved at me to take cover. My students finally found me, headed back toward the van. I had wandered far as I often do on my walks, wanting to see the next curve of the coastline and catch it in my camera’s lens.

“We thought you fell off a cliff!” one of my students exclaimed as she walked toward me.

“We called the local police and reported you missing,” another reported.

“But I was gone only for an hour,” I replied, so soaked that even my leather jacket hung wet and heavy about me. I reached for my glasses and found them broken from being shoved into my pocket. I pulled my camera from my other pocket. It, too, was soaked and would never work again.

“Oh, well,” I said, holding up the broken camera and taking one squeaky step forward in my drenched sneakers. “It was an adventure! One day, I’ll buy a waterproof camera.”

And so I did.

via Photo Essay: A stormy day at Turkey’s Black Sea (Includes first-hand account).

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February 10, 2013
2012 Blake Prize for Religious Art Winners

Fabian Astore’s The Threshold was inspired by a girl in a Turkish mosque.

A little girl runs carefree in concentric circles past 20 men worshipping in Istanbul’s Suleymaniye Mosque, while presumably her mother prays out of sight behind a lattice.

Ten months on, the girl has become the innocent face and figure of Australia’s 2012 religious art prize – though she may never know it.

“The context of where she is is extremely powerful,” says the Bankstown-born, Balmain artist Fabian Astore. “That particular space would be off limits to her, I’m assuming, once she reaches puberty.”

via 2012 Blake Prize for Religious Art Winners.

November 8, 2012
Milky Way glimmers in the sky above Turkey [Photo]

By Catie LearyTue, Sep 04 2012 at 10:08 AM EST

Milky way shines over glowing towns in Turkey

Photo: Tunç Tezel

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2012 competition

The Milky Way stretches across the sky above pockets of hazy lights emanating from towns and villages near the mountains of Turkey’s Uludag National Park.

Shot by photographer Tunç Tezel, the image was selected as a finalist for this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest, which is organized annually by England’s Royal Observatory Greenwich to showcase the most beautiful photos of the night sky.

via Milky Way glimmers in the sky above Turkey [Photo] | MNN – Mother Nature Network.

October 30, 2012
Istanbul Through The Lens Of Mustafa Seven

Pablo Picasso reportedly once said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

With this in mind, we are pleased to announced a new feature of HuffPost Arts: Instagram Spotlight. We just love the youth-centric iPhone feature that turns amateurs into artists with the click of a button. Instagram reminds us that even those who aren’t working artists still have a vision worth sharing, and HuffPost Arts wants to provide a platform to these photographers who are moved by beautiful moments. We will be featuring our favorite gems on the site along with their stories and inspirations, and will continue to scour the web for budding photographers. If you think this could be you, keep being creative and we will find you!

This week we are featuring Mustafa Seven, a professional photographer whose raw photographs of different walks of life in Istanbul drive us wild. Scroll down for a slideshow.

16 mustafa seven 2005 istanbul

HP: Tell us about where are you from and what is your ‘day job’.

MS: I was born in Sivas, Turkey in 1974, and I have been living in Istanbul since I was two years old. Today I am working as the photography editor for Aksam newspaper besides running my own photography studio, G.I.F. I am a professional photographer whose greatest hobby is documentary photography.

HP: When did you start using your phone as a camera?

MS: After working with professional cameras for years, I underestimated taking photos with a camera phone. But when I got my first iPhone in 2009, it became indispensable for me. In the beginning, my friends who are working as professional photographers [made fun of] the shots that are taken with camera phone. After a while they all became Instagram users, because they were eyewitnesses of my Instagram story.

HP: Has there ever been a moment you were especially happy to have had your camera phone handy?

MS: I started to feel safer with my camera phone. When you carry your 3-4 kilo-camera bag during the day, you generally don’t want to step out with it because you don’t have enough energy. The freedom to take shots with my camera phone gave me a clear conscience — I knew that I am not going to miss any chance for a great shot! Once I was taking pictures of a famous Turkish director for the newspaper I am working for. My camera was broken down and I didn’t have a chance to meet him again, so I took his pictures with my iPhone. The result was satisfying!

18 mustafa seven 1999 izmit

HP: Who are your favorite people you follow on Instagram?

MS: civilking, audiosoup, aditzt, eros_sana, raygun, ekalex, auroramichavila, konstruktivist, fashion, richnyc, sionfullana, thomas_k, jesusege, dariszcahyadi, darkolabor, teenbrogg.

HP: Who are your favorite photographers?

MS: Henri Cartier Bresson, Sebastiao Salgado, Ara Güler, and Yousuf Karsh.

HP: What is your favorite spot to find inspiration?

MS: The historic peninsula of Istanbul is my favorite place. You can see the history forming people’s life styles in this part of the city. Old buildings, cats, dogs, people… I find inspiration there.

via Instagram Spotlight: Istanbul Through The Lens Of Mustafa Seven (PHOTOS).

more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/instagram-spotlight_n_1572180

June 7, 2012
The Art Of Instagram: Spotlight On Ciler Gecici (PHOTOS)

Pablo Picasso reportedly once said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

With this in mind, we are pleased to announced a new feature of HuffPost Arts: Instagram Spotlight. We just love the youth-centric iPhone feature that turns amateurs into artists with the click of a button. Instagram reminds us that even those who aren’t working artists still have a vision worth sharing, and HuffPost Arts wants to provide a platform to these photographers who are moved by beautiful moments. We will be featuring our favorite gems on the site along with their stories and inspirations, and will continue to scour the web for budding photographers. If you think this could be you, keep being creative and we will find you!

Today we are featuring the hypnotizing works of Ciler Gecici, a musical manager from Istanbul.

HP: Tell us about where are you from and what is your ‘day job’. Are you a professional photographer, or is photography just a hobby for you?

CG: I live in İstanbul and I am the musical manager of a well-known live music venue that has been running for 20 years. After music, photography became the most fulfilling hobby for me. In fact I’d like it to be more than a hobby and I’d love to include it more into my life and do some work about it in the near future.

HP: When did you start using your phone as a camera?

CG: I started using the iPhone camera the day I bought my iPhone . I’ve been a Blackberry user for a long time and it’s safe to say that I switched to iPhone for its camera and the variety of applications for editing the photos.

HP: Has there ever been a moment you were especially happy to have had your cameraphone handy?

CG: I can capture a lot of moments because I have my phone with me all the time. I keep my phone easy accesible in my pocket so that I’m ready to shoot and not miss any moments.

HP: Who are your favorite people you follow on Instagram?

CG: There are a lot of people I follow with interest but my favourite users are: civilking, mustafaseven, tonydetroit, cizenbayan, amiranas and dariszcahyadi, jennyhendra.

HP: What is the current political climate like in Istanbul and how does this affect its culture and its arts?

İstanbul is the capital of culture and arts in Turkey. Most of the cultural activities take place in İstanbul. Even so I find goverment’s support on arts and artists very insufficient. İstanbul is a 3000-year-old city abounded with history. As I live in this city, I feel the history, layers and textures as an evidence that has been lived here through centuries. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that I’m in love with the city I live in. We continue to live with the traces, remnants, of the people from different ethnic backgrounds who lived here in harmony, and civilizations which vanished because of wars and politics. In this city you can still experience a church, a mosque and a synagoge, shoulder to shoulder, in the same lot.

HP: What are your favorite galleries in Istanbul? If you could show your work anywhere in the world… where would you want it to be?

CG: SALT, C.A.M. and Antrepo 3 in İstanbul Modern are my favorite galleries in İstanbul. I would really like my work to be shown in MoMA, where the best examples of contemporary photography exhibitions take place.

HP: What is your favorite thing about the city?

After walking around the city to take photographs, it’s one of my favourite things about the city and it’s almost a privilege to be able to watch Golden Horn and Bosphorus views and eat fish accompanied by rakı with friends.

See some work from Gecici below:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/instagram-spotlight_n_1257633?ref=arts#s667287

February 25, 2012