"Cab-driving shutterbug chronicles Istanbul's underbelly"

A friend of mine has sent me this cnn.com link about a Turkish cab driver who started photographing the less fortunate inhabitants of Istanbul during his night shifts, a similar project to that of Paul Abbot in this thread.

Sahintas (the driver) wants Istanbul's "happy people" to see how cold, poor residents live. "I saw people on the street in winter. They were cold at night," he said. "To make their voices heard, I wanted to buy a camera and show that these people are living in difficult conditions. That's how it started."

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It seems he now has become an acknowledged photographer with quite a following although he did not know anything about photography a few years back when he started. His web site shows his pictures. I thought it would make an interesting topic for some of us to ponder upon.

Cheers,

Thanks Cem, for providing this link and an insight into this guys work. I really like his pictures, mixing portraits with environmental ones. It does look like he gets to know some of them.

I do plan on doing some night shots of homeless people, also. I wonder if this guy works alone at night? I would like to, without having the need to have someone else around, but I realise it can be dangerous at night.

Paul Abbott said:

Thanks Cem, for providing this link and an insight into this guys work. I really like his pictures, mixing portraits with environmental ones. It does look like he gets to know some of them.

I do plan on doing some night shots of homeless people, also. I wonder if this guy works alone at night? I would like to, without having the need to have someone else around, but I realise it can be dangerous at night.

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Hi Paul,

My understanding is that he works alone but one is never really alone in a crowded city such as Istanbul. If he would run into any trouble there will be many other cab drivers around who can rush to help. But your concern is a real one and I would recommend taking along a buddy if you can convince one.

Cheers,