Biography
Ş. UĞUR OKÇU
Ş. Uğur Okçu is the founder of fotografya.gen.tr, the first virtual photo magazine of Turkey, which was launched in 1997.
FOTOGRAFYA has been online for more than a quarter - century and with a new editorial board, proceeds with new editions.
He also put great efforts for x-hall.gen.tr, since 1997, which is the first virtual art gallery of Turkey, and still works with the new editorial board on the virtual gallery.
His web page www.ugurokcu.com, created in 1996 –1997, is one of the preliminary personal web sites on photography in Turkey.
He is one of the founders of Photographers without Borders, which was established in 1995 -1997.
He is also the creator of the web page nude-hall.com, which is a “nude portal”- available for all fields of art - and a first in Turkey.
Okçu recommends using “©IşıkÇiz” (Draw Light) instead of the term “Photography” and justifies his suggestion in the article mentioned at the link here: http://www.fotografya.gen.tr/TR,1260/isik-ciz-photography---fotograf---isikciz---ardisik-isi-.html
The artist has practiced photographing undulations on oceangoing vessels.
Using the traditional analog camera system in a different way and ensuring the film roll advance not as separate frames but wholly, he created the ©Scanograph technique and started taking pictures by using this method.
In this technique, he exposes the film by winding it manually and with a motor he built, rotating the film roll repeatedly and acquiring superimpositions. The resulting images are abstract visions that capture the impressions of movement.
The camera manufacturers build cameras in certain patterns. The most important subject is the film format. Either in the Chemical/Optics, or the Digital/Optics days, it was the same. If you take photos, it is certain that you are bound with those limitations. It is very difficult to create a composition in a period of time. In fact, we need time to be able to capture by abstraction the never-ending vitality of the dynamic processes of nature which we cannot discern.
The original Scanograph technique enabled Okçu to overstep the limits of photographical boundaries imposed by the camera manufacturers and to create the photographs he wanted/or planned in his own formats.
It is almost impossible to perceive these photos at a glance, since they were taken at a given time and they incorporate abstraction of objects. You can enjoy them through a consecutive process. Therefore, you can easily get through to those photos which are full of abstract symbols and conceptual elements.
As for another feature of these photos, to recreate them is almost impossible because they were created with coincidental processes.
Diverse dimensions on the same object can be created by the Scanograph technique, but the abstractions on the object do not convert it to the unknown, on the contrary they convert it to an abstract object which is reinterpreted . There aren’t any processes in these photographs that the human brain cannot make contact with.
Taking photos with the Scanograph technique requires a long preparation process. One example was Okçu’s composition on the 2,5 minutes drum solo part of a Rock piece. Another creation of him was to visualize the movements of a dancer in the dark by a Scanograph. In his works of Scanograph, he uses analog/optics and digital together and reprocesses the images in the digital environment to acquire the final image.
With his modification (©SCANOGRAPH) on a classical camera, Okçu received a “Utility Model” patent from the Turkish Patent Institute.
He held his first solo exhibition, “Movement”, of photos he took with the ©Scanograph technique in 1995, at IFSAK 11th Istanbul Photography Days. The exhibition was held in Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul.
Another exhibition of photographs with the same technique was held in Italy, Belgium and Finland, through PAN HORAMA (Finland).
The artist has participated in many group exhibitions in many countries, including Greece and listed in many catalogues with the photos he took with the ©Scanograph technique.
He joined the ArtExpo exhibition at New York, in 2016.
On April 23, 2016 at the Gallery NK in Washington, he held another exhibition of his ©Scanograph photos.
Okçu is an artist who is always after improving new techniques and taking distinguished photos.
He named another technique he developed, the Humidigraph. Since the refraction indexes of air and water are different (air-close to 1, water - approximately 1, 3), the speed of light differs in those two environments. Since the lenses used in photography make use of a combination of both air and water environments, color bursts occur, especially white. While shooting with the Humidigraph technique, the digital camera has to be chilled in a cold atmosphere as in front of an air conditioner or in a freezer. This is quite ambitious, since you’re putting a digital camera in a freezer! When you take the chilled digital camera out to a warm and humid environment, all the lens section from top to bottom would be misted over. That mist will dry up within 3-5 minutes in some parts and two different areas emerge. This technique helps to achieve distinctive photos with light bursts, especially white.
Ş. Uğur Okçu considers “Experience is the resultant of all the past, whereas randomness is a product of experience”.
The artist joined many African photo safari tours and the photographs he took can be seen on his Facebook “African Safari” and Instagram “1001slide” pages.
Masai Mara is the favorite wildlife area of Okçu, who lived in many places in Africa. Every year once or twice he travels to Africa to take wildlife photos.
He uploads to Stock photography, notably his wild life photos from Africa and is a member of GettyImages and iStockPhoto.
- https://www.gettyimages.ca/photos/1001slide
- https://www.istockphoto.com/search/2/image?phrase=1001slide
- https://www.gettyimages.ca/videos/1001slide
- https://www.gettyimages.ca/search/filmmaker?filmmaker=Sadi%20Ugur%20Okcu
Against all odds in a changing world, he pursues his work in his studio ©IşıkÇiz(Draw Light) and continues his research in ©Scanograph and photography.
He is not a fan of photographic competitions.
Some of his catalogue entries are as follows:
- Kaya Özsezgin – Encyclopedia of Visual Artists, Pages: 385-386 DORUK,
- Kaya Özsezgin – Dictionary of Turkish Plastic Artists, Pages: 355-356 YKY,
- Engin Özendes – Modern and Contemporary Approaches to Photography in Turkey, Pages: 204-205 YEM,
- Engin Özendes – Photography in Turkey, Turkish Economical and Social History Foundation, Pages: 292 – 293 OFSET,
- GESAM (Professional Association of Turkish Fine Artwork Owners) – A Section of Contemporary Turkish Art , Page: 186