Istanbul

Istanbul is home to over fourteen million people, but at 4 or 5am on a May morning, when the sun is breaking through the midnight blue sky, there is virtually no one around. This usually chaotic and overwhelming city has a serenity and peace that is breathtaking. There is a feeling of complete freedom as though the city is almost completely mine to explore, like everyone who lives here has taken a break, giving me the streets and epic vistas to enjoy on my own.

I photograph dawn in the most part because of the incredible, almost ethereal light when the sun rises, as well the fact that in spring and summer dawn arrives when the streets and the city are empty. But there is also a deep, almost primal excitement at watching the rebirth of the day. There is a feeling of hope and possibility. Life is ahead of us. The mistakes of yesterday are long gone; the mistakes of today have yet to be made. 

 I don’t like busy streets, they stress me out, but I love cities. The history, architecture and how unique each city is to its location, culture and people. That’s what I want to capture with this project – the city as it is, not the crazy mass of its people.