Yet another year..

 

I figured it is a good idea to end the year with photography. Thanks for looking and wish y'all a happy new year!

How Many More? No More!: Ferguson protests in Austin, TX

Couple of nights ago, there were protests in support of what happened in Ferguson, Mo. Ours turned out to be a peaceful one. Here are a few frames..

 

 

 

Round Rock Color Run

 

This couple is for me the definition of "being chill". They turned "Color Run" into "Color Walk". It was cool to watch them hang out on their own pace. 

I didn't notice how long it had been since I blogged last time. It's been over year.. It is not much time but a lot has changed in my life. I now live in Austin, TX, working towards a PhD degree at The University of Texas. That being said, nature of a PhD program unfortunately doesn't have much to do with shooting or editing. Though, this morning a friend of mine and I self-assigned ourselves to photograph the Round Rock Color Run.

This was my first time shooting and witnessing a Color Run. I have been around for a while to overcome the culture shock of most things in this country. But I gotta admit that this was the next level of culture shock for me. I still can't wrap my head around the fact there were a whole bunch of people raging at 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning, covered in dust.. Colorful dust.. And what the whole point of it is?..

 

 

Regardless it was a fun occasion to shoot for me. I would like to shoot another one but be  technically more prepared for it. I realize these are not the most novel color run shots but I hope to do a better job next time.Thanks for looking!

On Normalization of Abnormal

One of the things these protests, and the photography itself in general,  taught me was that strange stuff gets pretty old pretty quickly. Things I would normally find odd became normal as days passed, and as I saw them through my lens. I was walking around with swimming goggles, a medical mask and a big scarf for extra support on facial coverage. Pretty much most everyone around was like me. And then there were the ones with Vendetta masks. People finding furniture to burn in the middle of streets... People who walk around with a sprayer filled with some stomach medicine and milk mixture, offering help to burning eyes after pepper sprayed... The cops... Everywhere.. Intimidating.. Gas canisters.. Water being sprayed on anything and everything... People walking arm in arm to resist... So many of this had just became an everyday occurrence all of a sudden. And that's what I wanted to show you today with some pictures I had.

 

On Photographing Protests

I shot this about six months ago in downtown Ankara. It was only two weeks after I had gotten back home. This was my first visit in four years. One hell of a start I had.

All this had started as some small protest by an environmental group against the government that wanted to cut quite a few trees at one of the last few green areas in the heart of Istanbul. After the harsh response from the police force, everything quickly turned into a country wide anti-government riot, which lasted about a month. This is basically the sum of what was going on. There are quite a few articles written on those or on following days for further reading.

It was a shock to me. I had barely gotten over the jetlag by the time I found myself running around with my camera. This was the first time I was in such a situation as a photojournalist.

For quite a few of us, photojournalists, the thrill of this job, the adrenaline, is one of the major motives that keep us going. And there I was in the middle of it.

I shot this photograph on the first day of Ankara protests. Not sure why, but I had decided it would be better if I tag along with the protestors, who were simply throwing pieces of rocks at the cops, who were obviously armed. It was probably the mantra "the closer the better" that is buried in my photographer mind that kept me right next to these guys. Plus the cops were quite intimidating to approach and I did not know any other journalists here at the time.

The first day was interesting especially because of one specific inner battle I had. Quite a few times, i had found myself chanting along with the protestors. Because this was just not some country that I had landed to take pictures. What was being protested was and is deeply affecting my life, as well. I was as frustrated as anyone there.

By the end of the first day, I managed to put my journalist hat on, leaving my citizen persona aside. What was going on was important for me as a journalist, for me as Pinar from Turkey and for everyone who lives in this country. So I had to document it.

This man was screaming at the officer that this was not Israel. This was Ankara. He had the right to express himself. A basic human right, freedom of speech... Alas this is also Turkey. Freedom of speech, freedom of press... Don't even know what to say about those.

This man was carried to an ambulance after being hit by a pepper gas canister on his face. When this happened, I was right by the police officer who fired at him. This man was at one end of a short street and the police force was on the other end. I recall seeing him raising his hands, showing that he was not armed and asking the police not to shoot. Then he fell. Then the officer, who took aim at him, turned around and said "I did it!" With joy... I was petrified with what I had just witnessed. I keep replaying this moment in my head and trying to make sense of it. But I don't know if I will ever be able to fathom such human cruelty.

Looking back now, it all seems like a dream that lasted more than anyone in it wished for. Considering the current political atmosphere here, it is hard to tell what these protests led to. It is even harder when you are not necessarily the outsider of such circumstances.

Golden Hour

Just wanted to share this shot from my last shoot. It is one of my favorites from that take. Photo Gods were shining the good light upon me that day.

On Birth and Storytelling

 

Since I got back, I have been shooting some births. I had done it before going to journalism school. But upon my return after all that training and professional experience, my take on the whole thing inevitably has changed.

This is not a journalistic assignment. There are certain shots I am expected to provide. When you shoot a bunch of them in a short period of time, this whole process becomes pretty mechanical, almost making one numb to the idea of a new person coming into life. I try to remind myself how important what I witness is and how luck I am to be there and document it.

I also keep asking myself how to better tell their stories. Every time being a new opportunity to practice this particular kind of storytelling, I am trying to find better frames, better light, dig out more intimate stories.

I quite enjoy this particular photograph. It depicts a young couple who just birthed their first child into this wild world. It might not be the most original frame, but it does tell the story of these three people, their immediate connection, the strong bond being formed among them. There is an emotional moment that this new mother  is intensely experiencing. The father is trying to document it from his own perspective while trying to be there for this life changing moment itself. It is a storytelling photograph. That's what is important. Rest is the details.

Thanks for looking!

Nur

Nur, originally an Arabic word, means light.

 

Meet my friend Nur. We have been trying to do this photo shoot for years. Finally, yesterday we were both in the same city and the weather finally was on our side.

As if it was a thank to her name, the light was gorgeous at yesterday's sunset. We got to chase the light around Lake Eymir for about an hour and it was quite fun.

 
She is definitely a brunette beauty, who enjoys modeling quite a bit. It makes it easier my job, when the person loves being in front of my lens.

The lake, over all the nature itself really, was generous to us. We ran into that little guy on the right and he was probably the most friendly stray cat I have ever met.

This was an unusual experience for me as a photographer. Although I have done portrait sessions quite a few times before, this was different in terms of planning of the location, time, clothing items etc. I enjoyed the process as much as I did the shoot itself.

Thanks for looking!

On Photographing Strangers: Part V

Coming from a photojournalistic background, I tend to speak to the people I photograph. Otherwise it makes me feel like I objectify the people, I disrespect them by not acknowledging them.

This photo was an exception. It was pretty much a sneaky shot, as I snapped this one single frame, passing by the family. Hoping that I got the shot... It is not exactly what I had foreseen but it is something. I didn't wanna bother this little family while the parents were practicing their morning yoga, assisting one another and the little girl was running around and swimming inside  a small tide pool. I felt like if I asked for permission, I would lose the moment or their concentration on just being and living there at that moment.

I could probably talk to them afterwards but they were just so immersed in basically being a family, I just didn't wanna bother them.



Looking back, it still seems pretty surreal to me that I lived and worked in a surf town in Costa Rica.

I shot this on a surf contest day. I feel like in the crowd and craziness of the day, I found some quietness and solitude with this picture.



Another shot I didn't let the subject know about, rather didn't wanna bother him with it. He was just checking the surf. If I were him, I would hate to be distracted.

This is the last post from these hold series. Hope y'all enjoyed looking at the pictures.

On Passion of Religion and Photographs: Part IV

Last year, while working for the Voice of Guanacaste, I worked on photographing several services during the Holy Week (Semana Santa). One was the Passion of Christ walk. I had a second camera on me where I snapped a few pictures for my personal memories.

I find this shot haunting. This one was shot under the same light with the following image within the same roll of film. Yet this one turned out to have a completely different visual language to it. This one looks completely surreal to me. It is startling yet I am totally drawn to it. It is like the religion itself. It is blurry, seductive and inviting for explorations, yet it has to be within certain limits. You have to accept the givens while you are trying yo interpret it for yourself. You have to accept that this is a black and white photograph, that shows a small fragment of a bigger picture within the limitations of this one specific frame. Yet there is so much to see in it.

This one's aura is more prisoning than the one above. It is a technically clearer image. The effects on the side that was caused by lens captures the viewer and holds it inside a circle. With the angle, it feels like there are guardians standing upon us, staring  upon us to make sure we are still with them. I would say this one is a lot more controlling. 

There was a tragicomical occurrence toward the end of this service. Carlos Montiel, who was acting as  Jesus, had to stop his performance earlier than expected due to health issues he had started having. Under the heat of late morning being hung off of a cross caused him lose his mobility. He was hospitalized during the reenactment of the crucification.

Thanks for looking!