City photos get prize from Japan

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Arif Aşçı receives the prize for his photos in the book ‘Istanbul Panorama.’

Turkish photographer Arif Aşçı was awarded the 2012 Higashikawa Prize of Japan for the black and white photos in his book “Istanbul Panorama.”

 Asçı’s photos were exhibited earlier in the year in the exhibit “Istanbul-Panoramas,” which showed in Brussels, Moscow, Munich, Paris and Seoul. For the book Aşçı took photographs of Istanbul with a 6x17 panoramic camera.

A 1982 graduate of the Department of Art in the Istanbul Fine Art Academy, Aşçı has been travelling to Asian countries since 1986 to take photographs of the places and people living there. His photographs reflect the countries cultural life and people.

In 1989 Aşçı made “Turquoise,” the 12 episode, made for TV, documentary film, which was based on his three year journey through the Asian countries. In 1996 he prepared and directed an exhibition on the Silk Road, which showed his 18 month trip by camel caravan from China to Turkey across the ancient Silk Road with his team of four people.

He will accept the award at a ceremony on July 28.