The red hat, stairs, reflection and a red cube
When I walk in the city, I try to catch geometric lines. Stairs, bars intersecting the space in front with a rhythm, hand rails forming diagonals, shadows forming new shapes. I feel like the city is constantly making its own sketch, and it is really interesting to catch them with a camera.
Maybe it is because of my technical mindset. I am trained to see order, measurement, balance. But with photography, I find another side of it. These lines are not only material, they also carry feelings. They can make us feel small, or connected, or sometimes lost in a big pattern. I think geometry is some kind of bond that glue everything together.
The first photo in this series is quiet. A house behind some trees, a simple scene, maybe the walking figure with a red hat makes it a bit dramatic. But for me the attraction is in the rectangle of the window. It bursts out from the clouds of leaves. Nature and man-made lines meet here.
Then public stairs. I think stairs are very interesting subjects. They are functional, I don’t even think about them, but when I stop and look, they are pure rhythm. Step by step, they create path for my eyes. In one frame, I captured a couple sitting on the wide steps. They are so small against the repetition of stone and railing, sitting in the last descend. Resembling they are tired maybe feel exhausted at the end of a long walk. And the shadows on the sides make the scene pressed, maybe this couple is feeling an emotional pressure.
Another shot shows two people walking on the stairs, first steps, while the wet ground made a reflection below. Suddenly the world doubles itself. One reality above, another one below, connected by water. The lines of the stairs and railings guide the eye, but the reflection makes it surreal, almost dream-like. I liked this one because a simple geometric form opens a door to imagination.
The last three photos are all about a red cube. People passing-by yet it stands alone, with the words “İstanbul Modern” on it. Why modernity is a cube? A very simple shape, but very powerful. I think the color selection makes it heavy as well. I remember Einstein's depiction of gravity where it bends space and time, so here the cube tries to pull everything around by being an attraction center. The cube takes control of the scene.
I also framed the cube with the lines of the metal staircase in the foreground. The diagonals cut the picture, almost like they are trying to encapsulate it. I enjoyed playing with these compositions, because they show how lines from different places can talk with each other. Together they make one story.
Geometry maybe is a kind of expression for aesthetics. Looking back at this small collection, I feel that I was connected by that small area of the city.
All the best...
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