Interviews
Dive into the hidden worlds of creative minds - a space for inspiration, passion and the authentic voice of Art
Intrview with
Habip Yanç
Instagram: @habipyanc
Interview conducted by Elke Lina Krüger
1. **How did your interest in photography develop, and what inspired you to buy a Zenit-E camera in 1978?**
"Actually, contrary to my appearance, there is still a constant search, excitement and excitement inside me. The year is 1978, I am still searching for something. Actually, I am involved in music, I play the guitar, but it is not enough. Photography seems like a very attractive hobby to me. At first, with the suggestion of my friends, I was able to buy a Russian-made ZENIT-E that was affordable. Of course, there is no digital, we put on black and white films and go up and down the hills and shoot. It is also our job to wash the films. We were so curious about what would come out. Developing and then printing. The process from shooting to printing gave us both excitement and energy"
2. **What role has photography played in your career as a director and producer at TRT?**
"Oh, of course, I had started photography before I started working at TRT. I had learned to look through the viewfinder. Photography helped me progress more quickly in my profession of producing and directing. Because; with photography, you look at your surroundings differently and more consciously. You notice the details and details in nature and people. In fact, you almost look at your surroundings frame by frame."
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3. **You prefer to work in the field of documentary photography. What fascinates you most about this form of expression?**
"Documentary is life itself. To be in life, to watch the events that develop, to look, to see, to leave documents for future generations. The mission of an intellectual and enlightened photographer is to discover, reveal and publish the values of the regions he lives in. Four years ago, while traveling on the shores of Urla with my caravan, we discovered a workshop in Özbek Village. We went out and saw that we got to know Turgen Åževki Bulut Bey, a sweet craftsman who, with his beard, cigar and portrait, had lived a full life, listened to French music and produced souvenirs. As we chatted, we delved deeper and got to know him more. I parked my caravan on the shores of Özbek Village. I watched and observed Åževki Usta for fifteen days. The result was a 15-minute documentary.​
Last month, his son called me - I wanted to inform you, Mr. Habip - we lost our father. Now Åževki Usta lives in my documentary called “THOSE WHO HOLD ON TO LIFE”. I settled in KuÅŸadası, I met NASRAH NEFER during a presentation, I got to know her, I realized how versatile an artist she is and how she has endured almost all the difficulties of life since her childhood until she reached this level. Can't a documentary be made about her? I don't go back very far. I got to know a photographer from KuÅŸadası, Atilla ASLAN, in a research article by dear Belma Bircil ÖZGÜN in KuÅŸadası Local History Magazine. As I got to know Atilla ASLAN, who passed away in 2021, he left many documents to KuÅŸadası in the name of photography, he left the photographic archive of KuÅŸadası since 1940. Can't a documentary be made about this valuable person? "A PHOTOGRAPHER FROM KUÅžADA, ATÄ°LLA ARSLAN" now lives in this documentary."
4. **In your theater documentaries, you captured both "Kayıplar" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" photographically. How was the collaboration with the State Theatres and the General Directorate of Opera and Ballet?**
" A MIDWINTER NIGHT’S DREAM is a very colorful play by SHAKESPEARE. In THE LOST, Ariel DORFMAN’s play tells the story of women waiting for their husbands and sons, a very tragic play. Theater and Ballet; live at the highest levels of art. Such complicated and incredibly masterful and aesthetic works with scenario, stage presentation, cast, dialogues, music, director and cast leave very deep impressions on me. The play that ballerinas reflect only with their body language, dance and play in a ballet has always affected me. Therefore, I applied to the General Directorates of State Theaters and Opera and Ballet. With their permission, I made shots during general rehearsals without disturbing anyone or even making my presence felt. Because I should never disturb the artist’s concentration. I should never catch their eye and affect their play. Even the sound of the shutter could disturb them. Nasrah NEFER understands what I mean very well. At the end of the shooting, I gave a copy of all my recordings to the relevant people. I only got the right to do education and demonstration without any commercial activity."
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5. **You’ve also portrayed significant figures like Can Yücel and Sabahattin Ali in your work. What inspired you about their lives and works?**
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"I am not an artist but as a person who is a bit interested in art, I observe the places I visit and see well. During my first trip to Datça, while I was visiting the incredibly beautiful old stone houses and narrow streets of old Datça, I came across the house of the late Can YÜCEL, a literary figure, novelist, story writer and poet raised by our country, at the beginning of a street. His house was so mischievous that it was as if he was looking at you. I was very impressed, I don’t know about you. Then, when I researched the places he drank wine and visited, I felt a sense of gratitude to this immortal man with the responsibility of a photographer. Before his death, he said in his will, “Bury me in Datça, somewhere with a sea view.” Let this document from me to the master, “LET YOUR PLACE BE DATÇA” be my souvenir.
I both loved and got emotional as I read Sabahattin ALI. He could not get out of prisons because he only thought and wrote. He was fed up, fed up and felt a constant police chase after him. While he was trying to escape abroad, his treacherous guide murdered him. I went to Sinop Prison where he was incarcerated. I looked for his breath in the places he visited, in the bathhouses, in the walking grounds, in the room where he was incarcerated, I tried to feel it, I smelled it, I tried to read the poem “Crazy waves outside, Come and lick the walls” and the poem “DON’T MAKE YOUR HEART ..."
6. **How have your travels, particularly your documented caravan journey through the Balkans and Italy, influenced your photography and artistic work?**
"Ah ah. Travels, excursions, especially the free trips I made with a caravan. The Balkans, Italy. I didn't actually make a touristic trip. I made a cultural trip. The places I saw and lived in the Balkans were Greece, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. Italy is a country of art for me. Trieste, Venice, Verona, Bologna, the most beautiful, artistic and architectural cities I've seen. Florence fascinated me. I loved the Roman civilization, I wish I had lived in those times. Then the Roman civilization and the magnificent city of Rome. The Vatican, the Coliseum, the Fountain of Love are events in themselves. Naples? Pompeii broke all my routines. Mount Vesuvius and a burning city. Pompeii is a magnificent ancient Roman city built in 76 AD. Internalizing the works of art in these places and taking photos of them gives one great pleasure and excitement. I published my two-month Balkan and Italy trip as a series. When I returned, I had quite a few followers. Then I wrote a book called "DIARY OF THE CARAVAN"."
7. **With your exhibition "Hidden Paradises," you presented impressive nature photographs. How do you choose the themes and subjects for your solo exhibitions?**
"HIDDEN PARADISES is a documentary project I made on TRT about national parks. You know, there is documentary filmmaking in the field, even when I take photos in nature, I look at it with a documentary eye. You cannot feel the joy, mystery, flowers, cleanliness and clarity of running water, canyons, plains of the nature in the mountains, and your photos will not be clear. In nature, whether you take a landscape or a close-up, both are subjects that feed each other. HIDDEN PARADISES was broadcasted on TRT in five parts, the book was published and the exhibition was opened. I wish I could share this exhibition with you, how nice it would be."
8. **The connection between photography and your caravan lifestyle seems to be a recurring theme. What does this freedom and independence mean for your artistic work?**
"An artist always pursues freedom and independence. Well, a poet can write his poems at home, a painter can paint his paintings in his studio, but if he goes out into nature and experiences that freedom, wouldn't the works he would create be different? When a photographer takes his camera and goes out into the streets, nature, and the environment, wouldn't he feel freedom and independence inside himself...? Especially if he does this action in a caravan, who would hire a photographer? You go out to a lake, the seaside, the mountains, the plains. Especially if you have a friend with you who will inspire you... Light is always at your disposal at every hour of the day."
9. **You are active in various photography associations, such as FOTOGEN and ADAFOD. How important is collaboration with other artists and photographers to you?**
"I do art both for myself and for society. Being in a group and being in an environment where I can express myself is always my preference. Although photography is an individual work, I think nothing is beautiful if it is not shared. Also, the projects we do together in a group or an organization give me great pleasure. There is always power and strength in unity. Today (26.10.2024) as I write this article, I am also participating in FOTOGEN's PHOTOGRAPHY DAYS in Istanbul with a presentation called LOSSES. Could there be a more beautiful side to sharing our works? My philosophy is that every work I put forward will be more beautiful as it is shared. What did our late folk poet Aşık Veysel say; 'Beauty is worth ten bucks without the love I have' "
10. **What projects do you have planned for the future, and is there a particular theme or subject you would like to explore further in your work?**
"While editing a documentary with my friend this evening, we talked about what project we would do if this documentary was finished. If an artist looks at their surroundings well, observes, researches, and especially reads a lot, there will be no shortage of projects. The documentary of my friend NASRAH NEFER, who is a very devoted, very productive, versatile artist friend of mine whom I have found very successful for six years, is waiting in line. Also, the living history and writer DÜRÄ°YE SARAYKÖYLÜ, who still lives in the old settlement area of ​KuÅŸadası, is next in line. She just published a book called "STONE STEPS""
Habip YANÇ
Interview with
ANDREA SOLANKI
Interview conducted by Elke Lina Krüger
How did your early experience in your stepfather's darkroom shape your view of photography?
"In contrast to today's digital photography, the darkroom showed me a different temporal dimension of photography. Images took time to emerge, and that made me realize the value of patience and reflection in photography."
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What does your escape from the GDR in 1989 mean to you in terms of your artistic expression? Did this time influence your view of freedom and creativity?
"Probably. It's hard to put it exactly, but every change influences you. You're not always aware of it. It's not necessarily my focus. I was very young in the GDR. It was a very different time. I don't want to compare them. I've always been very creative and never felt limited in that. At most by financial limits. They exist in every system. Finding solutions to problems is living creativity."
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You have both photography and oriental dance as passions. How do these two arts influence each other in your creative work?
"Oriental dance has sharpened my sensitivity to shapes and lines in photography. I pay attention to the grace and harmony of movements and want to transfer this aesthetic into my photographic compositions. Oriental dance has also brought me closer to the richness of other cultures and opened it up, which certainly influences my photography. I am inspired by the colors, patterns and stories of the Orient to tell visual stories in my images that reflect different cultures and traditions."
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Which moments on stage as a dancer have particularly inspired your photography? Is there a particular performance that has stuck in your memory?
"The last performance in March 2024. "Mytha" in Leverkusen. That was a very special experience, with many touching moments. I was often close to tears, full of happiness."
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In your photographies you attach great importance to the small, often unnoticed details. How do you find these magical moments that you want to capture?
"The magical moments in images find me! They are just there! It is often these small elements that are easily overlooked, like the gentle play of light on a surface, a random color composition or the contrast between textures that tell a deeper story.
They help me slow down the moment and look at the scene with fresh eyes, as if it were the first time I was seeing it. By paying attention not only to the obvious, but also to the subtle changes and irregular details, these magical moments emerge. Ultimately, for me, it is about pausing at the right moment and paying attention to the beauty of imperfection and the everyday."
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What do you feel when you look through the lens and try to capture the essence of a moment? What makes a moment "magical" for you?
"When I look through the lens, it is like I am immersed in a journey of discovery. It is a mixture of concentration and intuition, almost like a kind of meditation. I am completely in the here and now, time slows down and my gaze focuses on what for me is the essence of this moment.
For me, a moment becomes magical when it is more than what is visible on the surface. It can be something quite banal - a random smile, a ray of sunlight falling through a window, or the way the wind moves a loose strand of hair. This magic often arises from a special harmony of light, colors, emotions and an unexpected, perhaps even fleeting beauty. It is this brief moment in which everything comes together and a deeper meaning becomes visible."
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The "Lotus Garden" reflects a world full of colors and sensuality. How did this creative experience with Nasrah Nefer influence your photographic work?
"This phase encouraged me to use my own imagination more freely and to make the boundaries between reality and fantasy more fluid. Photographic moments became canvases on which the invisible became visible - a combination of sensuality, intuition and artistic expression."
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What was the decisive moment for you when you knew you wanted to make photography your life's path?
"It was less a single event than a gradual, deep sense of fulfillment that developed over time. There was one particular moment, however, that brought me this clarity: when I looked at one of my early photographs and realized that I had captured an emotion that I could not put into words, but that was still palpable. In that moment, I recognized the magThe aim of photography is to make the invisible visible - feelings, moods and stories that lie beyond the surface. And when I saw how people reacted to my pictures and found something of their own in them. I saw that I could touch people with my art. A gift for which I am infinitely grateful."
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How has your experience as a mother changed your view of the beauty of life, and is this reflected in your photographs?
"I perceive the world with greater gratitude for the small, often fleeting moments - the way children look at the world with curiosity and wonder has helped me to capture this freshness and innocence in my photography.
In my photos I try to preserve the tenderness and fragility of these moments, be it a spontaneous laugh, a hug or playful interaction with the environment. I have learned to see beauty not only in big, dramatic scenes, but in the simple, everyday moments that pass quickly and are often overlooked. These subtle, intimate moments carry a special magic that I also want to convey in my photographs."
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Your collaboration with André Elbing at international dance events began this year. What motivated you to work with him, and how does this partnership influence your photography?
"Working with André Elbing at international dance events is a natural and exciting extension of my photographic work. What particularly motivated me to work with him was his many years of experience and expertise in the field of dance photography and his ability to capture the dynamics and emotions of the dancers in a unique way.
The world of dance has always fascinated me because it is full of movement, expression and intense emotions. André has an incredible sense of capturing these moments in a split second and that inspired me. I wanted to learn from him how to capture the energy and fleeting movements in a way that reflects the essence of dance.
This partnership influenced my photography in several ways. Firstly, it deepened my understanding of timing and movement. Dance is often about pressing the shutter at the perfect moment when the movements and expression are at their most intense. I learned to react to these moments faster and more intuitively.
Secondly, the collaboration inspired me to work more creatively with light and shadow. Dance is a very visual art form, and the play of light on the dancers' bodies opens up an incredible range of possibilities to enhance emotion and underline movement. These experiences have enriched my photographic style by paying more attention to the interaction between light, movement and space. Ultimately, this partnership is a fruitful symbiosis: André brings his experience and technique, while I bring my own creative perspective and sensitivity to detail. Together we manage to visualize the art of dance in a way that captures both the power of movement and the emotional depth of the dancers."
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You said that you want to freeze time in your photos. Is there a particular moment you would like to capture forever?
"Every!!!"
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What would you like people to feel or experience when they look at your photographs? What emotions do you want to evoke and share with your art?
"I hope that my art evokes a mixture of calm, wonder and perhaps even nostalgia in the viewer. I want to show everyday life in all its quiet magic, to give a special meaning to the moments that we often take for granted. At the same time, I want to evoke and share feelings such as joy, love or a certain melancholy that makes you feel the transience of the moment."
