Elderly Man, Village near Gaziantep, Turkey, May 27, 2013

After the morning in the studio, transportation was provided to take a few of us to a nearby village for an afternoon of photography. On our way we meet a man standing on the side of the road and ask for directions. He happened to be from an adjacent village and offered to show us the way in exchange for a ride to his home.

As we drove he asked a few questions regarding the work and then advised that his village had plenty of wonderful people to photograph. We decided to take him up on his offer and arrived at his home. He was nice enough to walk around with us and in the beginning few people were to be seen. It was after all quite early in the afternoon.

Little by little we ran across the villagers, and made their portraits as we walked through the calm streets. As our time in the village came to an end, a young man guided us to his home and then went inside to call his grandfather. All of us were astonished when this man walked out of the dark corridor. He was elegantly dressed and had an unmistakable power to him. He sat down in the shade of his home and granted us permission to photograph him.

We used natural light to make his portraits, as with all during our time in Turkey. He sat without movement while at least three of us photographed him from various angles. First his face, then his hands were documented. After we were finished we shared our gratitude and walked back to our transportation in order to head back to the city.

Later we would have a wonderful meal in an exquisite spot at the outskirts of the city, and shared the remnants of our meal with a kitten huddled at the corner of a street while searching for a taxi.

I knew at the moment above that his portrait would touch me so later upon viewing, and this has proven to be quite true.

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Halim Ina Photography