Ogun Caglayan Turkay

Sweden

Photo: Ogun Caglayan Turkay

Ogun is a photographer and wildlife ecologist based in Sweden. He holds a Master Degree in Wildlife Ecology and Management and as a nature and environmental consultant, he is lucky to spend a lot of time out in the field. Ogun has received several awards such as the Pentax Official Photo Contest Birds in Flight, the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award and the TFSF TMMOB Chamber of Forestry Engineers Photo Contest IV.

Q&A

How did you start with photo/video?
I started with a film camera when I was a kid. In those old days, I always took photos of butterflies, frogs etc and it was not so cheap to develop color films. Eventually my parents were not satisfied about my interest at all, I remember that my father complained about it couple of times and said "Please take our photos instead of animals!".
How would you describe your style?
A hunt where no creatures dies at the end.
What inspires you?
The nature itself.
What is your dream shoot or project?
Photographying a creature that faces the danger of extinction or an anthropological documentary which shows the relationship of old nomadic societies like Kazakhs, Mongols or Lapps with the nature and wild animals.
What is your best advice to others that want to develop as photographers?
Never let yourself to be overwhelmed with technological advances and lose your inspiration in the end. Open your senses and focus on the beauty around you. Then try and try again to catch the best shot as you can, just as others did already decades ago.

What is in your bag?

What is the most important in your bag?
My PENTAX (with fully charged batteries and empty memory cards) and a tele lens.
What bag do you use?
I use Lowepro Lens Trekker 600 AW III and Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW.