Award-Winning Photographer F. Dilek Uyar Met with Students at Ibn Haldun University!
F. Dilek Uyar, the first female photographer of Turkey to win the National Geographic Photography Contest, met with students at Ibn Haldun University. Speaking at the event held as part of the Photography Talks of Perspective Photography Club, F. Dilek Uyar shared her life story from lawyer to professional photography and the experiences she gained on this path.
Photographer F.Dilek Uyar, while working as a lawyer in Ankara, although he has a good life financially, a monotonous life does not make him happy. Searching for new things, Uyar decides to take pictures and buys herself a professional camera. She makes her first attempt at her son's graduation ceremony, but all the photos she takes turn out to be blurry. She realizes that having a good camera is not enough to take good pictures, so she starts a photography course and learns the intricacies of taking pictures. Realizing that taking pictures makes her happy, Uyar follows in the footsteps of this hobby. She sends the photos she took as a member to an international photography website, but none of her photos are published. Dilek Uyar does not give up and continues to send photos constantly. Setting small goals for herself, Uyar's first goal in that process is to publish her photograph, even if it is just one. Finally, what she expects happens and a photo taken by Dilek Uyar is published on that site. Dilek Uyar is very happy about this and sets new goals for herself. Thus, Dilek Uyar's story that goes back to professional photography begins. Over time, many of her photographs are published in national and international media, and she first receives the commendable artist award at the Sony Photography Awards, and then she wins the honor of being the first Turkish female artist to receive this award by being the world's first in the National Geographic Photography Awards.
“A good photographer must be invisible.”
Addressing students at our university, Photographer Dilek Uyar criticized the photography community in Turkey and said, "Photography associations and photography competitions are increasing in Turkey, but unfortunately photography is getting worse." F. Dilek Uyar touched upon the importance of criticism with the following words: “The way to learn is through criticism. People who know little think they know a lot. Those whose aim is not to learn but to satisfy their ego cannot tolerate criticism. “
Photographer Dilek Uyar explained the secret of her success with these words: “Real success is what you achieve with your own efforts, without relying on anyone or any community. It takes work to achieve something. To improve yourself in a field, you need to improve yourself in the sub-branches of that field. For example, in order to improve yourself in photography, you should also work in the field of cinema.”
