// SEFA YAMAK · V.2026CANLI
SEFA YAMAK

06 · 2016–2019 · Istanbul, Turkey · 20 photographs

Untitled Portraits — Istanbul

Twenty street photographs from Istanbul — sellers and ferries, snow and gulls, faces met on the pavement. The city where the whole practice is based.

[ Series manifesto ]

Istanbul is where I live and where most of this started. These are made on the move, in markets and on ferries, in snow and low winter light. Quick street frames, mostly, and a few minutes here and there with someone who let me come close.

[ Archive context ]

PlaceIstanbul, Turkey
Years2016–2019
EditionEdition of 25, archival pigment on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm
ThemesStreet portraiture · City · Movement · Observation
Tone
Format
Portrait(11)
A man carries a tall stack of sesame simit on a wooden tray balanced on his head through a crowd — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25The Simit Tower
Two children press their hands and faces against the glass behind an ornate wrought-iron grille — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Behind the Iron
A bearded man in a beanie smiles under a clear umbrella as snow falls around him — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Snow Under the Umbrella
Close portrait of a young woman with freckles and dark hair looking directly into the camera — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Freckles
A child in a dark hood smiles into a single shaft of light, face emerging from black surroundings — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Light in the Hood
An older man with grey stubble smokes a hand-rolled cigarette, lost in thought against a dark background — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25A Cigarette and Quiet
An older woman in a knitted hat and patterned trousers sits in a doorway holding a glass of tea — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Tea on the Step
An old man in a cap and vest sits in a teahouse holding prayer beads, a glass of tea on the table beside him — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Beads in the Teahouse
An old man in a patterned knitted cap and fleece vest looks aside, lit against a black background — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25The Patterned Cap
An older woman in a patterned headscarf smokes a cigarette, looking off into the dark — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Smoke and Headscarf
A man with long wavy hair and a full grey beard emerges from deep shadow, facing the camera — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Out of the Dark
Landscape(9)
Close portrait of an older woman with deeply lined skin and pale eyes against a brick wall — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Brick and Years
A freckled child in a hood and thick scarf dusted with snow stands before a brick wall — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Snow on the Scarf
A man leans on the sill inside a ferry window, smiling, with another boat reflected in the glass — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Ferry Window
A bearded man in a beanie and red vest smiles as gulls wheel against a grey sky behind him — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Among the Gulls
A boy in a dark fleece reaches toward a flock of pigeons on a mosque square under heavy clouds — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Feeding the Pigeons
An older woman in red looks out from the window of a blue wooden house framed by pink roses — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Roses at the Window
A young man leans on a window ledge behind iron bars beside an old flat-iron and a small bowl — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Behind the Bars
A man in a cap holds several white pigeons close to his chest at an open-air market under a stormy sky — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25The Pigeon Seller
An old man in a hat sits behind a ferry window, life rings and the deck reflected in the glass — street photograph by Sefa Yamak, Istanbul series.
Istanbul, Turkey · Ed. of 25Through the Ferry Glass

[ Read around this series ]

How to ask a stranger if you may take their portraitThe picture is decided in the thirty seconds before the camera comes up. Most of those seconds have nothing to do with photography.

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