Şevket Şahintaş is a photographer from
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, Turkey.
A
car mechanic
An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or mor ...
by training, Şahintaş has always worked as a
taxicab driver
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
. In 2004, he started taking photographs on his nighttime tours, portraying prostitutes, alcoholics and the homeless in Istanbul.
A passenger became aware of the photographs and helped with their publication on the Internet. Şahintaş's photographs have since become the subject of TV reports and of expositions, most recently in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia, where a
vernissage
A vernissage (from French, originally meaning "varnishing") is a preview of an art exhibition, which may be private, before the formal opening. If the vernissage is not open to the public, but only to invited guests, it is often called a '' pri ...
about contemporary Turkish photography was dedicated to Şahintaş. He continues to work as a taxi driver, stating to journalists that he is not interested in professional photography.
External links
Website of Şevket Şahintaş
References
*
Living people
Photographers from Istanbul
Taxi drivers
Year of birth missing (living people)
{{Photographer-stub