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The beautiful work of Ara Guler

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I recommend buying the "Istanbul" book with the liner notes by Orhan Pamuk, that is curated and contains great snaps.
 
RezaLoghme said:
www.setantabooks.com

Ara Güler's Istanbul | Street Photography Books | Ara Güler | from https://www.setantabooks.com

Buy this 2010 reprint of Ara Güler's Istanbul printed by Thames & Hudson. Setanta Books ships worldwide photography books and prints. Express and next day delivery available. Expert photography booksellers in London.
www.setantabooks.com www.setantabooks.com

Available in English too
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Nice! Someone told me it reminded him of the photos of Andreas Schinas or Constantine Manos in Greece. Is it the only monograph that has a theme Instanbul? Do you know of any modern Turkish photographers that do this kind of photography? By saying that kind of photography I mean approaching the people, the streets, and the corners of the city with dignity and excitement which some might call "old-fashioned" photography (which is by chance my favorite type of photography)
 
Alex Benjamin said:
Isn't everything?
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Yeah and as you said another time again nice works usually don't need to be explained. Anyway didn't mean to sound arrogant again all the photographs are nice just some stood out for me immediately.
Alex Benjamin said:
I don't think that was me.
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I am pretty sure you said something similar when you were doing a small manifest on how difficult is to take a good photograph
 
I am at a loss, unfortunately. BTW not sure if he identified as "Turkish".

But the book, you will not regret it.
 
nikos79 said:
Do you know of any modern Turkish photographers that do this kind of photography?
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www.muratyazar.info

Kurdish Photographer | Murat Yazar | Kurdish Photographer | Rome

b. 1978, Mesopotamia Murat Yazar’s photography questions whether imposed borders or boundaries are the mark of our humanity. His photographic projects seek to bring people together, with details and differences celebrated in a single book or exhibition room. Murat is a Kurdish photographer.
www.muratyazar.info www.muratyazar.info
 
I really like Ara Güler's work, my late wife had met him quite a few times through her work.

However, I think what I find disappointing is he was not using the best films available at the time, so I'm (maybe) over subjective, but it's noticeable in comparisons..

RezaLoghme said:
I am at a loss, unfortunately. BTW not sure if he identified as "Turkish".
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I won't take the thread too Political.

Here in the UK, I can claim my Scottish Heritage, but my wife objected to her Turkish ID card stating a religion, one she hated, because that was/is the default.

Güler was of Armenian descent, I know from talking to my late mother-in-law (born in 1923) that her childhood was extremely difficult. She could not use her Greek name at school or in public, or use the Greek language in public. It was far worse for Armenians.

I will dig out mu Güler book tomorrow and have another look.

Ian
 
nikos79 said:
I said naturally because I think every good photographer has some boring, good, very good, excellent, and mastepiece photos.
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A good photographer is one that doesn't let anyone see his stinkers.
 
nikos79 said:
Nice! Someone told me it reminded him of the photos of Andreas Schinas or Constantine Manos in Greece. Is it the only monograph that has a theme Instanbul? Do you know of any modern Turkish photographers that do this kind of photography? By saying that kind of photography I mean approaching the people, the streets, and the corners of the city with dignity and excitement which some might call "old-fashioned" photography (which is by chance my favorite type of photography)
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If you want Turkish-Turkish, look at Emin Özmen (Magnum).

 
Ian Grant said:
I really like Ara Güler's work, my late wife had met him quite a few times through her work.

However, I think what I find disappointing is he was not using the best films available at the time, so I'm (maybe) over subjective, but it's noticeable in comparisons..
Click to expand...

I think it's just personal preference. I have that Istanbul collection by Ara Güler, as well as a few others by him, and I think his photography is not let down in any way by the consumables he chose to use for his work.

I am a big fan of DDR-era photographers (the Ostkreuz School and everyone revolving around it), they mostly used ORWO film or whatever (little) was available to them at the time, and literally nobody was using 'the best' film at the time - and yet, there's really revolutionary, fantastic photography in there, many times preferable (for my taste) to some of the rubbish certain very heavily advertised Western photographers took, or take, on Tri-X or Tmax.
 
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At the danger of repeating myself: buy the book, and spend a cold winter evening browsing the moody images of 1960s Istanbul in snow and rain, and do not think so much about which films he used (or was able to use).
 
Ian Grant said:
I really like Ara Güler's work, my late wife had met him quite a few times through her work.

However, I think what I find disappointing is he was not using the best films available at the time, so I'm (maybe) over subjective, but it's noticeable in comparisons..
Click to expand...
I could not find any reference about the films he used. Even tried CGPT which came up with vague speculoos.
Where did you find that information?
 
Ara Güler considered himself first and foremost a journalist and a visual historian. He had a long career that started in the early 1950s. Naturally, over the decades he used all types and brands of film. In an interview from the early 2000's he said he uses HP5 for B&W and Kodachrome 200 for colour. But I've been to several of his exhibitions in Istanbul, where a selection of contact prints and other ephemera like old film canisters were on display: Ilford FP3, HP4, HP5, Orwo, Adox, Agfa, Kodak...you name it. He used them all. Being a journalist, he probably was often under time pressure; I've seen photos of him trying to dry wet film with a hair drier...not ideal. However, for his most recent exhibitions the negs were scanned with an Imacon and (probably after meticulous retouching) printed to a superb standard. I was blown away by them, both the B&W and colour work. Below are a few snaps of some of the items on display.

A contact sheet with Turkish poet Cemal Süreyya, dated 1980, on Orwo film:

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He used various cameras, from 35mm to MF and LF, but the Leica M was is favourite camera. He primarily used a 21mm and 35mm lens.
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An exhibition print. A scene from the docks in Istanbul. Quite obviously made with the 21mm lens.
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A replica of his darkroom in an exhibition:
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ooze said:
Ara Güler considered himself first and foremost a journalist and a visual historian. He had a long career that started in the early 1950s. Naturally, over the decades he used all types and brands of film. In an interview from the early 2000's he said he uses HP5 for B&W and Kodachrome 200 for colour. But I've been to several of his exhibitions in Istanbul, where a selection of contact prints and other ephemera like old film canisters were on display: Ilford FP3, HP4, HP5, Orwo, Adox, Agfa, Kodak...you name it. He used them all. Being a journalist, he probably was often under time pressure; I've seen photos of him trying to dry wet film with a hair drier...not ideal. However, for his most recent exhibitions the negs were scanned with an Imacon and (probably after meticulous retouching) printed to a superb standard. I was blown away by them, both the B&W and colour work. Below are a few snaps of some of the items on display.

A contact sheet with Turkish poet Cemal Süreyya, dated 1980, on Orwo film:

View attachment 412272



View attachment 412273

He used various cameras, from 35mm to MF and LF, but the Leica M was is favourite camera. He primarily used a 21mm and 35mm lens.
View attachment 412274

An exhibition print. A scene from the docks in Istanbul. Quite obviously made with the 21mm lens.
View attachment 412275

A replica of his darkroom in an exhibition:
View attachment 412276

View attachment 412277
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Fantastic post, I love this kind of insight, thanks for sharing @ooze!
 
RezaLoghme said:
I could not find any reference about the films he used. Even tried CGPT which came up with vague speculoos.
Where did you find that information?
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Well, when you've been making images for around 60 years, and have used many of the same films, you have a knowledge of the look, how images also appear in print.

As @ooze has posted Ara Güler used a wide variety of films. I think perhaps that doesn't help. I used a lot of FP3 and HP3 as a teenager, HP4 was an awful film (that was a general consensus here in the UK), HP5 was the true successor.

I'm not sure that Ara Güler's work is portrayed well on the Internet, and I only have one book of his work, which I have just found. I think perhaps I hadn't realised many of the images were from the 1950s and early 60s, and there's a noticeable difference with newer images. That mirrors work by European & US photojournalists. It is greater still with colour work.

Ian
 
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Maybe being based in Turkey at that time, that is all he could get?
 
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