Hasan Hüseyin

HASAN HÜSEYİN

Born in Cyprus and having lived as a child in England, where he was educated in photography, Hasan Hüseyin has become one of the most esteemed advertising photographers of Turkey. Having shot advertising photographs for the best known brands of the world, Hüseyin now owns the El Sabor Latino restaurant in Nicosia.


Your name is widely recognised in Turkey especially in the field of advertising photography but this may not be so in Cyprus. Tell us something about yourself.
I was born in 1962, in Nicosia. My family emigrated to England when I was 10 and I lived in London until the 1990s. Having an interest and ability in mathematics as a child, I had always planned to study mathematics at university. However, I realized I wanted to do something quite different rather than become an accountant or something like that and I changed my mind to study photography. I had been an amateur photographer since I was 14 when I decided to become a professional.

I think it first started with drawing?
Yes, I have been drawing since I was a small child. I enjoy paintings in renaissance style, however I prefer drawing in charcoal. I was not trained in drawing, I only attended photography school in England. After working as an assistant to many photographers until 1987, I started searching for professional jobs. I photographed for some magazines in London. I started to concentrate on the market in Turkey in the early '90s. I moved to Istanbul in the wake of the Gulf Crisis. It was a visit in the sense of a trial and experience first but, as time went by, I saw that I was able to get good jobs even in my earlier days. Then a come-and-go period followed, and I realised that I enjoyed it besides developing an interest in Turkey’s exciting atmosphere. I decided to stay for some time, then I stayed forever.

Then, you moved to Istanbul?
I started living mostly in Istanbul, yet I never became a real citizen completely. I always had one foot in London. I fell in love with a girl who was born in Germany and she did not want to stay in Turkey, upon which I decided to follow her to Germany. As the saying goes, “love conquers all”. I spent five years travelling on planes - to Hamburg, to Istanbul, to London. Each week I was to fly somewhere. My friends used to ask me where exactly I felt at home, to which I replied “at ma’s home”. Where I was from, I did not know. I started visiting Cyprus more frequently and made some investments here. Now, I concentrate on Turkey and Cyprus. I work in Turkey but I come to Cyprus at the first opportunity. If there happens to be a 3-day break, I fly immediately to Cyprus.

Photography has become easily accessible with the popularity of digital cameras and portable photographic telephones. Most people take photographs to keep memories but you are a professional earning a living from photography. What is your conception of photography?
Nowadays everything has become simple for everyone and information is easily accessed through the Internet. Photographic equipment has become cheaper and shooting has become easier. The cameras of today can do nearly everything in the process of taking photos. It was more difficult before, as cameras were much more expensive and you had to do a lot of research to find a really good camera. Today it is possible for everyone with a reasonable budget to get a good camera. However, the main issue is to concentrate on good photography and get the result you want. Everyone can catch a moment in life. However, at the very moment that a photograph aims to become more than a picture but a mise-en-page, it requires thought, creativity, production and intelligence. Above all, it needs a particular eye in order to capture the esprit of the moment. Portraying the tiniest details or the spirit of the person in front of you requires some experience. You should consider the whole thing, the whole event. There are generally 30 to 60 people at the set of a camera shoot. You have to manage everyone around there; the model, hair designer, light operator, etc. Above all, you have to be creative in such an environment and achieve what the client wants. The essence of being good at your job is hidden in these smallest details. However, many people can just push a button to take a photograph.

Do you think it is more crucial to create a mise-en-page before seeing and photographing what is there?
It is important to catch a viewpoint in advertising photography. You have to tell a tale and, as such a tale is not written, you have to create one. Thus, I can say that everything is mise-en-page in advertising photography.

What kind of a relationship can you establish between a drawn picture and a photograph from this point of view?
You can do whatever you like in a drawing using your materials. In photography there are many different factors; however, while in drawing there is only you and your brush. You are alone with your imagination and you have a chance to change what you have painted, unlike in photography, where you have to get everything in its right place to capture a perfect picture in a split second. And then it is permanent. You shoot many photos just in order to achieve that perfect one. Consequently, that one photograph tells the whole story and brings either success or failure in an advertising campaign.

For you is photography a source of income or a way to express yourself?
Both actually. Of course, photography is a source of income for me. I have been working as a professional photographer for 20 years now. I feel I have already earned a satisfactory amount so far. But photography has always been a pleasure to me. It means more to me than simply providing my living.

Your name is mentioned among the most important fashion photographers of Turkey.
Yes, they say so after many years. I can say I am the one who created fashion photography in Turkey. There was no such thing as fashion photography when I came to Istanbul in 1990. There was not anyone concentrating on this field. I forced the market towards the field. Tamer Yılmaz also used to work with me. However, later on I concentrated on advertising photography. I'd had enough of fashion.

What does fashion mean to you?
Fashion is transition; everything is changing and developing with unbelievable speed these days. Fashion is a market of mere consumption; in the past people used to buy clothing much less frequently and they used to wear what they had for a couple of years. But now, people buy clothes continually as the mode changes even within the season. And we, as the fashion photographers, are required to adapt ourselves to this rhythm.

Do you think the reason for this may be the need of people to express and differentiate themselves?
It may well be, but also it may rely on some personal deficiencies. To take it further, why would people want to look different? For instance, male frogs swell up their throats to attract females for mating, and some of them have coloured backs. All these rely on sexuality; not completely maybe but simply this kind of attraction: receiving attention from the people around. What lies behind this is the ego for sure; the reason for many things. People will do a lot to satisfy their ego. You can see this in every field of life: even in presidents and prime ministers. They can cause wars and attack other countries just to satisfy their ego. I say people can reach maturity only after they have beaten or understood their ego.

Besides your photography, you own and run a restaurant, El Sabor Latino, am I right?
The design of El Sabor is an idea of mine. Actually, this idea stemmed from a lack; I could not find any place to drink a good cappuccino. I am serious. There was not a proper place to have nice food and drink. As I saw this building I said, “I have found a place to drink cappuccino”. Then I calculated that if 30 tourists came per day and drank a cappuccino, we would be able to pay the rent and, besides, we could eat all day long. This is how we launched the project but we were pretty surprised when people started to come in good numbers even in the first week.

Yet El Sabor is an unusual place to encounter in North Cyprus. It may well fit a street in Milano or Paris.
We have occupied ourselves with the design and concept of this place for approximately 8 months. I had everything done and transported from Turkey. We took pains to achieve exactly what we wanted. Finally, it has become a place out of a city from Europe and attracted attention. Furthermore, the food is really good. I can say that among the many places I have visited across Europe, or even in Istanbul, the food in El Sabor is supreme.

The cook is a relative of yours?
Yes, he is the husband of my sister. He is Portuguese and a wonderful cook. They used to run a cafe in London with my sister. They decided to sell the cafe and move to Cyprus to open a small cafe just for business, whereas I am a man of big business and never take a fancy to small occupational activities. One day, I took them here and said that this place would be our new restaurant. I provided the design and investment but my sister took on operational matters and her husband was to cook - and there was our trio.

The menu is composed mostly of Mediterranean cuisine.
Spanish and Italian cuisine. We have an open kitchen for people to see what is being done. You can see flames rising, people shouting at each other, like a scene from a show. The people coming to the restaurant enjoy such an atmosphere. Actually, we define this place as an “eatery”, like a big canteen, rather than a “restaurant”. This is not a place where people come in fancy clothes and sit like models; quite the opposite, this is a place where people can feel free and relaxed, where they can eat and drink all day long. We want people to feel at home. You know most parties start in the kitchen. The living room is left empty while everyone stuffs themselves in the kitchen. This is exactly what I want to achieve in this place. There are people coming here three or four days a week and they get to know each other. Moreover, it is cheaper to eat here than to cook at home. Consequently, there is in many ways a family atmosphere in El Sabor, exactly as we intended.


PHOTOGRAPHY OF CYPRUS
As a photographer, what do you think would be the best photograph to reveal and encapsulate the spirit of Cyprus?
Cyprus is a very complex place. The Cyprus issue alone is highly complicated. For many years there has been no solution and, as far as I can see, no one wants it solved as many people profit from such chaos. I would want to shoot a picture of deadlock. For example, a knot that is trying to be undone from many sides, and yet can't be undone. You know the Venetian walls of Nicosia with 12 points, each corresponding to one spot on the face of a clock. It is as if there was a big knot above these walls, being pulled upon at each of the 12 spots in order to be undone. I say this would be a perfect photograph to portray Cyprus.

Cyprus is a country mostly identified with its natural beauty, and so we have tourism. How would you photographically promote the natural beauty of Cyprus?
My company PPR was once asked to promote Cyprus, and we had some photos taken. The aim, or the target of the promotion, is of great importance under such circumstances. It is important to know and understand who will see your promotional photographs of Cyprus. Are they aimed at West European countries, Scandinavian countries, or Eastern countries like Russia? For instance, if you want to promote Cyprus to German people, then the sea becomes of primary importance; then you can suggest a photograph displaying a wonderful sea view or a beach. However, Girne Harbour is generally shown in promotional pictures. I, for instance, visit Girne Harbour only once a year because I am not attracted to it. What attracts me in Cyprus is its culture and people; and these would be in my photograph.

You have spent many years in London. What would be your best photo of London?
London is often portrayed with its double-decker buses, telephone booths or policemen. This is a pretty hard question for me, though. Nothing changes significantly in England. I have been travelling to and from England for 25 years, and even if had been away from England for 15 years it would be like only 15 days of absence. England is essentially the same today as it was 100 years ago. You know the characteristic terraced houses of England? If I was asked to reflect England with one photograph, I think I would use these houses in my picture. However, London has various places to see, not forgetting Camden Market which everyone visiting London has to experience at least once, like İstiklal Caddesi in Istanbul. It is one of the most cosmopolitan areas in the world where you can see all sorts of different people and, undoubtedly, I would include one shot from there among my best pictures of London.