Welcome to the Slices of Time Street Photography podcast. Today, I’m joined by Melik Alperen, a street photographer from London. His work speaks to me because of his approach to getting close to his subjects without interfering.
Follow Melik Alperen
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melikalperen/
Listen to the episodes on:
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4QMO6fGiNG9ONpml4g90jj
- Acast: https://shows.acast.com/slices-of-time-street-photography-podcast
- Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/1001125911
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuRVp34UK3slv3Xfp8g_77opdIlUvfRWU&si=X9eI9mETmt86b_ZW
You can follow me on several social media for updates about the episodes:
- BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/fredpaulussen.bsky.social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fredpaulussen/
- My website: www.fredericpaulussen.be
Timestamps of this episode with Melik Alperen
00:00 Introduction to Melik Alperen and His Photography Journey
02:51 The Influence of Art and Color in Photography
05:51 Approaching Subjects: The Importance of Connection
08:50 The Shift to Color Photography and Its Impact
11:50 Exploring Street Photography Techniques and Equipment
14:51 The Role of Luck and Discovery in Street Photography
17:55 Cultural Differences in Photography: London vs. Istanbul
20:42 Traveling for Photography: A Passionate Pursuit
23:50 Cultural Sensitivity in Photography
26:50 The Art of Street Portraits
29:12 The Hunter vs. Fisher Approach in Street Photography
32:00 Preparation and Gear for Street Photography
34:07 The Role of Mobile Photography
36:53 Film Photography vs. Digital
37:54 Dream Destinations for Photography
Thank you for listening to this conversation with Melik. Don’t forget to subscribe to be updated about upcoming episodes. Reach out via social media if you want to share any questions or ideas.
Don’t miss any episode by subscribing to the podcast on Spotify!
Disclaimer: In this article are some affiliate links. This means that, if you buy or book something, I get a small percentage of the fee. This comes with no extra cost to you but helps me run this website.
Podcast Transcript
Frederic Paulussen (00:01.806)
So welcome to the Slice of Time street photography podcast. Today I’m joined by Melik Alperen, a street photographer from London, originally from Istanbul. His work speaks to me because of his approach to getting close to his subjects without really interfering. So, hey Melik, could you perhaps introduce yourself for a second?
Melik Alperen (00:20.002)
Hello. I’m Melik Alperen parent. I’m from Turkey. I’m based in London now, but I’m originally from Istanbul. I’m taking photographs since I was 11. Why I entered photography was because my dad always took pictures in when we go to holidays. He always like took underwater photography, landscape photography. So it always amazed me how my dad took pictures. And when I look at those pictures, it was
like giving me, how can I say, good feelings. then my mom first bought my camera when I was like 11 years old, when I first started photography. And then I always went out to take photographs with my dad. We went to holiday, I took underwater photography as well. So now nearly like 15 years, I’m still taking photographs. I still love it.
So that’s how I started. yeah. Nearly. Like, I did as a professional work as well. So I worked as a trainee photojournalist for nearly two years here in London. I showed some model photography. Like I had worked in the area a bit, but now I’m going to study university in graphic design.
Frederic Paulussen (01:23.797)
And so it’s like 15 years of photography just like on the side, so just like as a hobby or yeah.
Melik Alperen (01:49.962)
So we will see what’s going to happen, but I’m like 100 % sure I want to be in photography business as well. because, yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (02:02.483)
Okay cool, it’s like you’re going to study a different visual medium as well.
Melik Alperen (02:07.173)
Yeah, I love art in general, to be honest. I always want to really visit museums as well. And it’s always like to look at the paintings, the lightning. It’s always important to me to be honest. I have a bit of influence from the paintings generally, not from the photographs. I generally look at the paintings in the museums and like the greatest artists. So that’s how I influenced my photography back in time.
Frederic Paulussen (02:28.81)
Okay.
Melik Alperen (02:37.233)
I didn’t have a chance to… There wasn’t Instagram that time. I didn’t have a chance to reach a photography book. So I was always looking at paintings. And with the paintings, I learned how to compose, to have light in photography.
Frederic Paulussen (02:52.715)
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (02:57.614)
Okay, that’s cool. And so do you have more of a painterly approach? And is there like a school of painting that you prefer or?
Melik Alperen (03:14.878)
Like to be honest, no but when I… I don’t really like to… When I first started to take photographs I didn’t really like to… Want to see others photographers photo because of… I didn’t want to get influenced by others visions I just wanted to like see my vision, do what I want and so that’s what I did generally and like two years ago I freezed my Instagram account to…
Didn’t look any photographs just took photographs what I want. So that’s like my I don’t know. That’s how I think So
Frederic Paulussen (03:55.074)
So you kept posting but you didn’t look at it or did you just quit Instagram?
Melik Alperen (03:57.947)
Now I just completely freeze Instagram for two years. Didn’t look any like photographs on Instagram. Didn’t use social media at all. I didn’t use any social media for two years, just took photographs. So just, you know, by my style, didn’t influence by anyone. So that’s what I like to do to be honest. But now it’s really, now I’m back in Instagram as well. So looking to look at others pictures is really good as well. So to see and…
Frederic Paulussen (04:09.792)
Okay.
Melik Alperen (04:28.044)
I don’t think that now I’m like nearly 25 years old I’m thinking and saying to myself to get influence is not that bad in one way to be honest like you can get influenced by someone and it can be great so why we like I was like that before but now I’m thinking differently so we can always get influenced by someone and some somebody’s work you can follow and you know admire someone’s work
which is normal here.
Frederic Paulussen (04:59.998)
And do notice now that you really like analyze people’s work or is just like you’re open to seeing other work and it’s just like, yeah.
Melik Alperen (05:03.234)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m always like Instagram like trying to find people’s work, following them. Like I’m now really interested in seeing people’s work too.
Frederic Paulussen (05:18.091)
Yeah, okay, cool. like, do you see it in your photography now? Or is it, do you see already that influence of coming back to Instagram? did it not really?
Melik Alperen (05:29.807)
I think I do see a bit influence too but I don’t see any problem there. Before I was generally shooting in black and white because of the London weather it’s generally cloudy. I generally prefer to shoot black and white in cloudy or bad weather conditions because there is no light to be honest so there is not much really color so black and white keeps it really like…
and how can I say focused, I really like to take black and white in like dark weather conditions when it’s raining. So it really gives what I want. So now, like two years ago, I just started to take nearly like colorful photos, color photos. And it really amazed me how color can tell in photos too. Before when I was shooting black and white, was always like the emotions.
Always the emotions, but now with color it’s interesting you can add so much more like it’s Infinitive like there is no I can take photographs like Sorry for that my I just yeah, I just Forget the words that I want to tell because of my English surf order
Frederic Paulussen (06:45.749)
No, no worries, yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (06:51.118)
That’s okay, I have it too. No, no, that’s fine, I have it too. So the colors opened up a new spectrum of emotions for you. Yeah. Okay, that’s cool. And was it like…
Melik Alperen (06:59.819)
Yeah, for me, yeah. Yeah, 100%.
Frederic Paulussen (07:06.911)
you start using colors because you saw someone else do it or because you just saw your own photos in color because I’m assuming you shoot raw then and so it’s in color anyway but then you convert it to black and white I bet that you noticed that they worked or
Melik Alperen (07:15.82)
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (07:19.725)
Yeah. Yeah.
Melik Alperen (07:25.24)
Like one, maybe one or two years I just shot in black and white in camera mode too, so I didn’t shot in color. I just shot in black and white. Yeah, I did use the JPEGs. And when I both to Fuji, so I still use the JPEGs as well with the film simulation. I don’t really use RAW. Then in professional work I do use RAW, but when I go out in streets, I don’t really shoot RAW.
Frederic Paulussen (07:33.149)
Okay, and you use the JPEG, okay.
Melik Alperen (07:54.483)
I don’t really do editing too much as well to be honest like film simulations because I don’t really, how can I say, change the photograph that much. I don’t know it’s just me or that’s my thinking so… It’s just a bit contrast maybe a bit brightness so that’s the only editing I do generally.
Frederic Paulussen (07:58.584)
Okay, cool.
Frederic Paulussen (08:10.221)
No, but there’s a lot of photographers who do it like that as well. like some just like especially with Yeah Yeah
Yeah, but especially with Fuji because you have like the profiles in it. It’s easy to make like a look to your photos and don’t have to edit it. Maybe, yeah, I shoot Nikon, maybe it’s possible too, but I haven’t figured it out yet. Okay, yeah, I kind of like editing as anyway, so for me it’s no issue.
Melik Alperen (08:26.646)
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (08:35.907)
I do have a Nikon here too. With Nikon I need to edit 100 % but with Fuji I don’t need editing generally because of the film simulations absolutely.
Frederic Paulussen (08:50.187)
Yeah. And so you have like one film simulation you always use or?
Melik Alperen (08:55.318)
It’s like generally Kodachrome 64. Generally, that’s my favorite.
Frederic Paulussen (08:57.922)
Yeah, okay.
Okay, cool. And then you just go out on the streets and then yeah, no, no, not because you can pre like if you look through the viewfinder, it’s already showing you how with the yeah, that’s cool. That’s very handy.
Melik Alperen (09:03.923)
Taking photographs.
Yeah, with that color, yeah, it’s already showing with that color. With digital viewfinder, it’s amazing to see. For example, if you shot in black and white, you see black and white from the viewfinder and it’s amazing that you can see black and white and shoot directly like that.
Frederic Paulussen (09:26.925)
Yeah, that’s something we couldn’t do like 20 years ago or something. that’s a very good evolution. So I notice you get like you always focus on people more or less. I think yeah, usually. You seem to get fairly close. Like I see this photo of a guy lighting a cigarette. There’s like these two guys walking past a wall. Is it something like…
Melik Alperen (09:31.495)
Yeah,
Melik Alperen (09:40.646)
Yeah.
Melik Alperen (09:47.283)
Hmm
Frederic Paulussen (09:55.79)
You approach people, make them notice you or how do you go about…
Melik Alperen (10:01.076)
I’m generally like always friendly with people. So always like chatting with them, always smiling. So I’m always, I’m always having my camera like that, holding, holding my camera in my hand or say that they always see me that I’m a photographer. I’m not doing something like dodgy. I’m always like standing there as a like photographer and they notice me. So, and with that, your smiling face, they don’t really see any problem.
I maybe just had a few problems with taking photographs back in Nike but it was Nike one because it was a bit like paparazzi they were seeing I was shooting with 700 to 300 millimeter that time yeah and when you shoot people with huge lenses people get a bit like scared because they don’t like you know know what you’re taking off but if you take with like small vintage camera they don’t really
Frederic Paulussen (10:46.953)
wow.
Melik Alperen (11:00.839)
say anything because you look like a tourist, you smile, so you are friendly, so they don’t really see any problem with that. I sometimes say that I’m a photographer as well when I took their photograph and I show them the photograph. they follow me on Instagram, so we always add each other and make connections, which is really nice as well.
Frederic Paulussen (11:24.269)
Yeah, that’s cool. That’s nice indeed, meeting up with people that way. And so now you prefer to use a wider, smaller lens?
Melik Alperen (11:33.778)
Yes, when I switched to Fuji, because it was fixed lens, I use X100V because it’s 23mm, 35mm full frame equivalent. I shot always wide now, it’s because I need to get closer to people, so it really changed my view when I was taking photographs with Nikon 50mm, it’s like 70.
300 millimeter it was I was a bit far away from people taking photographs and it far away, but when I bought Fuji I needed to get close because there was no chance to stay away from people so I went close and it really changed my perspective of photography as well like color closing to get close to people when I switched to Fuji I
like started to use color because of the colors on Fuji film I noticed that it was really really good because of the JPEGs. With the Nikon I didn’t really like the colors back one time so I was always shooting on black and white and because of London’s weather so when I bought Fuji I took some trips I went to Albania, Greece so took some photographs and it was like amazing color photographs for me Italy as well
And when I came back in London, I thought I need to take more colourful photos in London too. Then I started to take colourful photos in London. Before that, was always black and white for me.
Frederic Paulussen (13:17.365)
Okay, cool. And so did it also change your approach to people? Because at first you have a long lens, so you can be 30 meters away from someone, and now with a, what was it, 23 millimeter you said? It’s like very, you need to be very close. So did it change your way of photography as well?
Melik Alperen (13:21.999)
Yeah,
23mm
Yeah, you need to… Like, 100 % I think changed my photography. Now, I’m more into like people, more into story, more into like feelings because I’m feeling like I’m inside, you know, I’m really close to that people. I can feel the energy, I can like see they’re smiling. So, like to be close to people is I think a really good way to approach.
to take photographs for me because it changed my mind and mood as well. Now I became more positive when I like become friendly with them, talk with them, get closer. When I was like taking far away, there was no like talking, there was no conversation. Now we always sometimes talk, there is conversation, they are smiling. So I think that’s the most important thing for me now. So the emotions.
Frederic Paulussen (14:30.455)
Okay cool, so that’s what you look for while you’re out on the street, like walking around and looking for people or…
Melik Alperen (14:37.765)
To be honest, worked sometimes on a project for example, I went out one day looking for umbrellas. I did some project photos too, but generally I don’t have anything on my mind. I’m just going outside, walking. I generally go outside once a week, nearly 20-25 kilometers a day in one day.
and taking maybe 10 hours from morning to night I take photographs. So once a week, yeah, on Sundays or on Saturdays sometimes it’s changing. But once a week I spend my 10-15 hours to photography just walking. Sometimes you know cannot see something different, sometimes you see something different. It’s about luck, street photography is about luck, know, sometimes you see something really different. So…
Frederic Paulussen (15:28.172)
Yeah.
Melik Alperen (15:33.783)
Sometimes I spend my 10 hours nearly empty without just taking maybe 10, 20 photographs. Like maybe that’s it, like 15 hours walking and nothing. So it happens too. Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (15:40.469)
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (15:45.227)
nothing to show. Yeah, that’s I think a lot of people will know about that. And so the route you like you have a specific route or is it just like at random or how do you do your walks?
Melik Alperen (15:49.1)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Melik Alperen (15:57.196)
Photography was always my best hobby when I was a kid. As I told you, I started when I was 11 years old. it was like my friends. Photography was like my friends. how can I say, most of my time in my holidays with photography. I was going out always, taking photographs. In holidays too, when I was a kid, we were going on family trips.
and taking photographs. So, and I started to learn editing back at that time as well. And it was always really interesting to edit and doing something by my own at that age. And it always kept me motivated. So my dad told me, need to keep going on to take photographs, like never stop taking photographs. So I didn’t lose my love for photography always. I always love photography and always
want to take photographs until I die. that’s my favorite thing to do when I take a good photograph. The feeling that gave me is I didn’t experience in my life. I don’t know how can I say, but you know, maybe photographers will understand.
Frederic Paulussen (17:09.771)
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (17:13.205)
Yeah, I know I talked about it with a different episode with Iris about like the high of a good photograph like you have a like a really good feeling when you you’ve made it so and so like you you you go out like 10 hours on like Sunday or Saturday and is it like a set route you have or do you just go out into a general direction or how do you plan these walks?
Melik Alperen (17:14.216)
The feelings.
Melik Alperen (17:19.614)
Mm-hmm. Dude.
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (17:37.162)
Like, I generally want to discover new places, so always changing my routes, always seeing new places. once, like back in time, maybe in 2020, I was generally taking the same road, but then I noticed that it was always like the same photographs, same places, so I couldn’t find any differences. Then I told myself that I need to go out to places that I don’t know. So I will…
Then I go out and I just walk by myself without knowing any places, so just discovering. that’s now I see really different places, lots of different photographs, so which is amazing for me now. So I generally trying to discover new places here.
Frederic Paulussen (18:27.295)
That’s cool, yeah.
Melik Alperen (18:28.868)
And I think like going to other countries and traveling and taking photographs on other countries is really, really improving a photography because you’re seeing a completely different environment, different culture, maybe different colors. Like everything is changing when you go to a different country. For example, my country, Turkey, a street photography is like completely different when you compare with London because of the…
culture there. So everything is different when you go to different countries. So I always prefer photographers. Like the most important thing is I think traveling and seeing new places, learning new cultures and talk with people, understand them. So that’s my way to like take photography now.
Frederic Paulussen (19:22.253)
And do you notice a difference in yourself? Like if you’re in London or in Istanbul, do you approach people differently or do you make different photos or is it more or less the same but just in a different location?
Melik Alperen (19:32.615)
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (19:37.351)
Because of the location, I think it changed. In London, that’s always tidy. it’s like, how can I say, Turkey is not a rich country like England. There are some places that people are not that economically good. So the places are a bit like different than England. So you need to talk with them differently, like in the UK.
So because I’m from that country as well, so to be honest, I’m more comfortable in my country. But now I’m getting more comfortable in the UK as well because it’s nearly five years in the UK. you’re right. So you’re always approaching differently because what you’re seeing is different as well. And the people, the culture in Turkey, some people are a bit religious, so they don’t really want their…
photos to be taken. So for example, I maybe had lots of problems in Turkey maybe. In London in five years I just have few, but in Turkey, in Istanbul maybe, in one day I just get told like can you delete that photo maybe 10 times. So yeah, you need to consider that as well. So because as I told you, like places change, people change. So you need to consider that as well.
Frederic Paulussen (20:38.922)
Okay, yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (20:54.346)
Okay, really.
Melik Alperen (21:05.88)
But I never have problem with deleting it because if someone doesn’t like the photo that I took, doesn’t want to be in that photograph, I completely respect that and completely delete and never look back.
Frederic Paulussen (21:21.003)
No, okay, that’s cool, but I didn’t know the difference would be that big between… Okay. Okay, that’s good to know,
Melik Alperen (21:24.354)
Yeah, there are some differences here.
Melik Alperen (21:31.534)
But in Istanbul, to be honest, my hometown is a bit… And it’s up to places as well. Some places are a bit religious, some places are a bit more relaxed. if you go to religious places in Turkey, so people maybe not want to be in photographs. So it changes as well up to city, where you go. photographers always need to, I think, do research and know the…
culture and needs to learn the city and everything before I think visit. That’s what I do generally before I visit a country or any city. I generally watch lots of like vlogs on YouTube or videos on YouTube to see how it’s really the country. So what I expect how I need to act. So it’s really important for me to.
Frederic Paulussen (22:23.443)
Okay, so you really like if you go somewhere like new, for example you mentioned Albania I think, like you really dive into the culture and okay cool.
Melik Alperen (22:30.083)
Yeah. Yeah.
I visited nearly every city in Albania, like spent one day in all of them. So it was really amazing. You see like people are changing, you everything is changing when you, it’s really amazing to notice that and traveling. I don’t know, it’s like my passion to travel and take photographs, know people, talk with them, learn their culture. I don’t know, it’s amazing for me.
Frederic Paulussen (22:55.606)
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (23:01.377)
And was it like a holiday or just like purely a photo trip?
Melik Alperen (23:04.584)
It was like for me, it was like a holiday but I changed it to nearly photo trip. So what I do, I didn’t really like swim, go to beach. I just like took photographs generally. Like I went with my brother and he like went to the beaches, swim but I just took photographs in nearly for three weeks back in Albania. that’s what keeps me motivated. That’s what I love to be honest. Like lying in the beach.
Not for me, but taking photographs, being in the street, Yeah, I do prefer that, be honest. That’s my holiday. That’s how I relax. Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (23:36.907)
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (23:42.872)
That’s recognizable, yeah. And so, for example, in Albania, you notice that doing the research in advance helps you get better photos or does it just help you to not stand out too much?
Melik Alperen (24:00.833)
Before visiting, me, I learned places, I see some places, I say, okay, this place should be a good photo place. So before visiting, I generally, as I said, look from Instagram location, like what photographers took that place. So I generally try to see the place, what photographers take, what are people taking. And in Albania, was
not that relaxed in London too. I took some photographs. There was a butcher loading his meats in the butcher and I took his photograph and he directly told me can you delete that with aggressively tone. So I deleted that photo. But in the UK I didn’t really get any aggressive behaviour.
Frederic Paulussen (24:50.817)
Yeah.
Melik Alperen (24:59.048)
But in some countries you need to respect that because people, maybe culture is different. So it’s always changing and you need to accept and see.
Frederic Paulussen (25:11.521)
Yeah, of course. Also because a lot of your photos are… see… Well, you see faces, but there’s also anonymous photos. There’s also some portraits on the street, like have the Charlie Chaplin guy and there’s a guy with a hat. Is it something you ask people to pose because you like their look?
Melik Alperen (25:15.648)
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (25:21.875)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (25:35.807)
Generally, it’s always changing. that Charlie Chaplin photo, I was just walking. I already saw that guy, but I didn’t want to take a in my mind. But when I was walking, I saw a lady coming to a Charlie Chaplin guy, and the guy, I think, told her that I found your lost phone. And there was an interesting conversation there.
She was crying that she found her phone. The Charlie Chaplin guy gave her the phone. I think he found it on the floor. So there was an interesting conversation. And then I chatted with them for 5-10 minutes. Then I took his photographs. I generally always talk with them first and try to know them better. So then I can take the photographs. Without knowing a person, just with their face.
Frederic Paulussen (26:21.354)
yeah.
Melik Alperen (26:33.797)
You cannot know how to take photographs of them because everyone has their own story. I always spend time with people that I took portraits on. minimum, I think I speak like five minutes with them, always trying to know them. So that’s my way to take portraits on street generally. There was a homeless guy, I was taking a photo in Camden town.
Frederic Paulussen (26:59.694)
That’s cool.
Melik Alperen (27:04.029)
There was a homeless guy, he wanted to buy me a beer. I told him I can buy you a beer but I want to take your photograph. And he told me, okay, you can take my photograph. I went to a shop and bought him a beer. So we just sat there and talked 15, 20 minutes about his life. And I took his photographs. So like that’s how I approach on birthdays on the street generally. So with knowing people.
Learn their story. Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (27:35.147)
Yeah, and really take your time with him because 20 minutes is… yeah, that’s plenty. That’s cool, yeah.
Melik Alperen (27:37.158)
Yeah.
Melik Alperen (27:41.774)
I just don’t see it as a photo, Tibionus. It’s like a story, it’s like a documentary. I don’t know how to explain, but for me, I’m trying to show his life from just one photo, maybe from his looking, maybe from his face. So, looking at photos, I don’t know, it’s really, really amazing feelings. When I go back and look at those photos, I remember that…
Frederic Paulussen (27:51.213)
Hmm.
Frederic Paulussen (28:07.766)
Yeah.
Melik Alperen (28:12.247)
We talked with him, it was a nice moment, yeah, nice memories behind taking lots of photographs.
Frederic Paulussen (28:18.157)
And is it, do you like take one photo of them or is it like a few minutes that you take several shots?
Melik Alperen (28:24.506)
I generally do not try to disturb them, so maybe just take maximum five photos. it doesn’t take more than like 30 seconds, 20 seconds maybe. Because like if I take more than 30 photos, 50 photos, like two minutes, three minutes, they are going to, I think, feel a bit strange because I want it to be natural.
Frederic Paulussen (28:31.99)
Okay.
Melik Alperen (28:50.65)
If you take more than one minute or 30 seconds, they’re going to maybe pause. So I don’t really want that as well. So I’m just trying to take it naturally. So just five photos maybe. And if it’s nice, it’s nice. If it’s not, I cannot do anything. So I don’t go and ask him again, can I take your photos? I don’t try to disturb anyone too.
Frederic Paulussen (29:15.457)
No, I get it, yeah, that’s nice. like in general, do you like roam around the streets a lot or do you, are you like, is it like, you a fisher or a hunter if you know those, those separation street photography? Like what direction do you lean?
Melik Alperen (29:28.025)
Hmm
Melik Alperen (29:32.921)
Can you ask that question again? Just… Yeah. Waiting. Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (29:36.736)
Okay, so like in street photography you have like hunters and fishers. So fishers are people that like sit in one place waiting for the right person to pass by and hunters like they… And it feels like because you like one way you say like you talk to the people for at least five minutes so that’s like fisher leaning but at the same time you say like I only take like five photos of them which is like maybe more anthropological so I’m curious to…
Melik Alperen (29:52.899)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Melik Alperen (29:57.665)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, as I was going to say, think like mixed. do hunter. I do sometimes do that as well. Sometimes I’m finding a spot waiting there like 20 minutes, maybe taking like 10, 20 photographs waiting for someone. If there’s a good light, Sometimes there is no one passing by. I spent more than 10, 15 minutes by maybe just for one photo.
and nobody is coming in, sometimes it happens too. But it’s like changing too, for example, in London, in Beausie Street, you need to be like really fast. You cannot really wait for people’s reactions. So you need to always be close to them. So always wide open eyes, try to see what’s happening around you.
Frederic Paulussen (30:29.451)
Okay.
Melik Alperen (30:56.215)
I don’t really listen to music or anything when I go out. I always focus on the streets, trying to hear what’s happening around me. So that’s really important because one of my photographer friends actually told me I was listening to music maybe five years ago when I was taking photographs. And I went out with my friend and he told me that I never listen to music because it distracts me. And then I really noticed that.
If you listen to cannot really… I just speak by myself, you cannot really focus on the street. But when go open wide eyes, I don’t listen to any music, any distraction, then I can completely focus on the street. I try to focus on people’s expressions. Like are they smiling, laughing? It’s really… I don’t know, I’m really interested to see people’s…
reactions and impressions as well. That’s why I’m close sometimes and nowadays I’m really close to people like yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (31:58.7)
Yeah, OK, cool. Yeah, that’s one of the…
Frederic Paulussen (32:08.493)
Cool, yeah, that’s actually one of questions I ask sometimes too, like do you listen to music or not? But that’s question answered. And like…
Do you have like before you go out for example on Saturday or Sunday, do you have like a general idea of where you’re going? Do you just leave the door and see where you go? And do you have like something like a routine you do before? Like just like, I don’t know, like checking up on your battery, checking up on your memory cards. I don’t know, like choosing a lens, but you it’s a fixed lens, right? So yeah.
Melik Alperen (32:20.937)
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (32:32.01)
Hmm
Melik Alperen (32:36.765)
Yeah. Yeah, now it’s fixed and I use it. I generally take like two SD cards with me because I had that problem once. My SD cards were broken. I learned my lesson. Yeah. Yeah. So that’s I always like carry two SD cards with me checking out my battery. And because of the new Fujifilm, I can charge my
Frederic Paulussen (32:52.115)
Broken, okay not filled, okay.
Melik Alperen (33:05.502)
camera with USB-C so I carry a power bank with me and even when I take photographs at the same time I can charge my camera too so which is like it’s like a phone it’s like so it’s really easy for me so I don’t carry batteries with me I just have one battery inside of my camera and just charging with my battery even but generally my charge is always like keeping me and end of the day
Frederic Paulussen (33:10.653)
Okay.
Frederic Paulussen (33:16.109)
Mm.
Frederic Paulussen (33:20.428)
Yeah.
Melik Alperen (33:35.56)
But sometimes if it’s a heavy day, if it’s a good day in photography, I need to charge my camera back again. I sit in some cafe, drink something and charge my phone, charge my camera and then go back and take photographs.
Frederic Paulussen (33:51.79)
Okay, that’s cool. Yeah, it’s I’ve never I know that the new Nikons can do that as well with the power banks I haven’t used it yet, but I have like four or five batteries. I usually only bring one and maybe a second one But it’s it’s that’s a cool trick to to to share yeah and
Melik Alperen (33:56.424)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (34:07.891)
Yeah and because I do have problem with my phone’s battery too like carrying a power bank is a must for me so yeah that’s why I don’t carry a camera battery. Maybe if my phone’s battery would I would maybe think differently.
Frederic Paulussen (34:15.435)
Yeah. Okay.
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (34:23.533)
Do you, because like I saw one of the portraits was like shot on your iPhone, do you often shoot with phone as well or?
Melik Alperen (34:29.298)
Yeah, yeah, like I have nearly 170,000 photographs on my iPhone since just from my iPhone and I took like 100,000 photos with iPhone XR and I just changed now but I have in my gallery too so now from 2015 to 2025 I do have 1,700 photographs
Frederic Paulussen (34:38.153)
just from your iPhone.
Melik Alperen (34:58.744)
and sometimes I’ll go back and I look at them. There are for me now lots of good photos but I just need to have a time to edit and maybe see how are they. So I do have lots of, how can I say, I think photos on iPhone, yeah lots of photos.
Frederic Paulussen (35:17.301)
Yeah and do you like using the iPhone or is it like something you try to stay away from or?
Melik Alperen (35:21.596)
Mm-hmm.
To be honest, sometimes, because I go out once a week, if something happens around me and I don’t have my camera, I always shoot with my phone too. I don’t want to lose that moment. I don’t care if I have a phone or I have a camera. There is a vert, like they say, the best camera is the one that is with you. So I believe that too.
So it doesn’t really matter for me the gear is not really matter. So it’s about the moment. So you can really maybe see a really good moment and you maybe take I took with iPhone 4 too. I made a project. I used my old iPhone 4 like nearly more than 10 years old. for me that was good results because I was how can I say focusing more on
Frederic Paulussen (36:09.665)
Yeah.
Melik Alperen (36:19.79)
emotions and more on like moments other than sometimes you try to take quality photos like try to get really sharp or clear photos but in iPhone 4 I didn’t really have that you know opportunity I just took what I what I saw what I feel so it’s really interesting to work on other gear and see but it’s
As I said, it doesn’t really matter. really, for me, took good photographs with iPhone 4 II. I took with 15 pounds, like analog camera, film camera as well. It’s really good for me too. So it really doesn’t matter the camera quality or the gear for me.
Frederic Paulussen (37:06.773)
Yeah, do you enjoy analog photography or is it something you don’t really do much anymore?
Melik Alperen (37:11.022)
I don’t really do much anymore because of the film simulation and because of the film prices. I really enjoy the film prices. For me, think it the enjoyment. So it’s expensive for me, unfortunately.
Frederic Paulussen (37:18.805)
Yeah, true.
Frederic Paulussen (37:29.613)
Yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (37:33.227)
Yeah, I get that, no, that’s, yeah, film prices are a bit ridiculous, but yeah, that’s…
Melik Alperen (37:40.333)
But for special moments, film photography would be a really good option. But not for everyday photography for me, because for me, economically, cannot really afford it, to be honest. Because I take more than maybe 500, 600 photographs when I go out, I need maybe 10, 15 films in my pocket just to take those photos with film cameras.
Frederic Paulussen (37:54.989)
Nobody else.
Frederic Paulussen (38:05.901)
Yeah, it’s like, yeah, that’s like easily a few hundred euros worth of, yeah. So, no, I get that, yeah. So are there, maybe as a last question, are there any places you have on your wishlist? Like places you like, I want to go there for like street photography and…
Melik Alperen (38:11.502)
You’re nearly…
Melik Alperen (38:24.429)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
For me, always saw Cuba on photographers’ feeds and always amazed me because of how they live there and the cars and the culture. Everything looks different when you compare it to the UK, when you compare it to any other country in the world. Cuba is different. And in my wishlist, I want to go to…
Frederic Paulussen (38:32.876)
Okay.
Melik Alperen (38:57.598)
Mongolia too, because it’s really amazing for me, like horses, mountains. For me, I really want to visit those two countries, Cuba and that country. for me, I really want to visit. And I want to visit whole world too. is now I visited, I think, 27 countries in total. When I be like 40, I want to visit maybe minimum 70 countries I want to visit.
Frederic Paulussen (38:59.15)
Okay.
Melik Alperen (39:27.584)
So that’s, as I said, my favorite thing to take photographs and to visit other countries. But now because I’m a student, I’m going to be a student. don’t have the economic thing in my now, but after maybe I graduate. Yeah, maybe.
Frederic Paulussen (39:39.34)
Yeah, yeah. But yeah, it will come. Yeah. That’s cool because Cuba and Mongolia are not really like very… Well, Cuba is a popular photo destination, but like Mongolia is… It’s on my wishlist as well. But it’s not very often that I hear about it. Usually it’s like certain cities, usually New York or like London.
Melik Alperen (39:57.674)
Interesting, I didn’t…
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Frederic Paulussen (40:09.835)
But it’s, yeah, that’s cool. That’s fun.
Melik Alperen (40:11.402)
Because I really do have a Asian culture and because I’m from Turkey, there are lots of Turkish countries, maybe as you know, like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, like Azerbaijan, lots of countries. Mongolia, I want to visit and see how… It’s really amazing. I always watch videos on YouTube and see photographs from Mongolia and…
One of my dream countries, I said, yeah, amazing place. Always want to visit.
Frederic Paulussen (40:42.893)
Yeah, I can understand that entirely.
Melik Alperen (40:48.516)
I’m happy that you want to visit. Maybe we will visit together one day. Because I didn’t heard anyone want to visit Mongolia. I expect you.
Frederic Paulussen (40:52.59)
Perhaps who knows? Yeah, that would be cool.
Frederic Paulussen (40:59.79)
It’s on my wishlist for about 10 years maybe or so now, it’s fairly expensive to get there I think. Because there’s not a weekly airplane going there. When you’re there you need a guide and everything.
Melik Alperen (41:03.114)
Same for me, same for me.
Yeah, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (41:19.069)
It’s my dream from my childhood, maybe more than 10 years. That’s my dream too, yeah.
Frederic Paulussen (41:23.327)
Okay cool. Okay that’s nice. Yeah for me it’s Mongolia and Svalbard but that’s… Apparently I choose the most expensive destinations. So yeah let’s wrap it up there. Melik, I’m going to put all your information like the link to your Instagram and stuff in the show notes for people to find and follow you because there’s a lot of nice work on your profile that they need to see. And I’m not sure if you’re on any other platforms as well apart from Instagram.
Melik Alperen (41:28.136)
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (41:32.795)
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (41:40.264)
Mm-hmm.
Melik Alperen (41:47.752)
Thank you very much for that.
Melik Alperen (41:52.68)
I’m just on YouTube, but I just like play piano and publish my videos on that. But I don’t it’s not about like photography. So I just have my Instagram about photography now.
Frederic Paulussen (42:01.626)
okay.
But yeah, maybe people can watch your videos or listen to the music while they watch your photos. So that’s cool. Okay, so let’s wrap it up there and thank you for being here.
Melik Alperen (42:13.864)
Thank you very much. Thank you.