İ walked up from tarlabaşı to galatasaray, speeding in order not to come late to my job. suddenly just on the opposite side of the street someone fired 6 times in one row. evrybody was shocked, hiding behind cars. İ didn`t see somebody injured. At first İ thought, it sounds like a gun, but didn`t really believe. İ can`t really believe yet, that it were real bullet. maybe teargas, but the people reacted like it was serious. but they reacted. the gunman was pressed to earth immidiatly and disarmed by some passer-by. İ was confused. İ know that people here are not so much looking the other way, if there is fight in the street. But this was to much for me. İ couldn`t react at all, not even hide. And there were people, who trusted in this story, that there is a pause after six shots, İ know from bad western movies.
İ didn`t feel fear, just confusion. And İ still don`t know, what happened, if thre was someone injured. İ just swa the smiling face of the gunman, when he was overwhelmed. And then İ decided to go. İ didn`t here something from the news, so İ think, nothing serious happend.

ps.: İ live in an area, which is said to be dangerous. but this happened hust 20 m from istiklal. İ always was sure, taht istiklal is more dangerous than the dark areas because of all these drunken man looking for enjoyment, which might mean using violence in a sense of hate crime. But this was somehow different …

70 million Turkish are said to have been crying, when Turkey lost the chance to go to the football world cup finals. İ can say, that`s not true at all. Nobody İ know was. But nevertheless football is playing its role here. İf there is a major match, there are less people on the street and those who are on the road are trying to catch a view on a TV, e.g. in a shop.
Now there is this story about the fight between turkish and swiss football players. Some are concerned about the image of turkey in the world. However, there was written much about that in turkish and international newspapers, so İ don`t have to do.
İ went to a match a few days ago. some normal match, beşiktaş vs. gaziantep. İ don`t know, whre gaziantep is , but probably quite far, because there where only about ten fans from there. The match was boring, but anyway İ`m more intersted in fan culture and İ want to make some remarks on that.
First of all something, which is not really surprising, if you know turkey. before the match the national hymn is played and sung by the fans. evrybody stand up and some are raising their hands.
İ didn`t see too much hooliganism. ok, the last match İ`ve seen was dynamo dresden, so İ compare wıth the situation there. And in a way there was also know enemy for hooliganism, because there haven`t benn any guest fans. The only ugly scene was a moocher beaten by some idiots. most fans seemed to be just bored. beşiktaş was really playing bad and lost.
so the fans where booing their team and applauding the gaziantep team when the match finished. So nothing special happened.

to all those, who are speaking about their addictin to the www: İ have to state, that İ like to hang around in the www from time to time. yesterday İ was working in a bar until 4:30 and İ will do today as well. so anyway, there`s even not much, İ can do in daytime. but even if there are only intersting and important things to do and discover in “real life”, İ need my time to sit and surf. and İ don`t think there is anything bad about that.

Today İ visited a friend, who visited a school for tailors. He has a book, where the cuts of many standard skirts where eplained. İt was quite interesting. But the most faszinating was something, İ didn`t exspect. Although it`s obvious, that a turkish tailor has to learn. İn the first chapter İ found this:

For those who want to go to their sewing machine right know, the messures:

L is 1 1/2 G
B and A are 1/2 G
D is 4/10 G
C is the distance between the inner and outer circle of the moon, 0.0625 G
E is 1/3 G
F is the diameter of the circle around the star, 1/4 G

So İ don`t slander about this, it would be forbidden by turkish law. İ do not say that the size of a flag is reciprocal to the İQ of those using it, like bigmouth did. İQ is 1/G * K, no İ don`t say it, because maybe this is forbidden as well.

And İ do respect the laws of the country, İ`m living in.

business is not going good these days selling fotos. it`s cold and sometimes raining, people aren`t going out for a walk but staying at home or heading to the next warm place. so my self-confidence is a little bit damaged and my wallet quite empty.
Beside of that İ`m a little bit bored by the way, some people are looking to my fotos. There are the one, who just say, its nice and nothing else. ok, thats normal and not meaning anything. There are the others, asking me, “are you professional” and i don`t know what they mean. They see, that I do want to earn money, and if they want to estimate, weather my pics are “good”, they have to do by their own.
But what İ really don`t like, are the one, who just talk about tchnikal stuff, focus and light and perspective. Ok, it is something you can and should think abouıt making fotos, but first of all it`s about content. What is shown and how. And İ can observe myself getting angry, if people are criticizing my “work” just by these issues, not willing to discuss the view on the city, İ show.
There is one old man passing evry day and watching my fotos each time, then shaking his head and saying: “you are pessimist”. İ like him, although İ don`t agree. maybe İ show melancholy, but İ don`t think, that`s the same. But anyway, this is a critic, İ can appriciate.
İ don`t say, that one shuldn`t talk about technics, but İ think it shouldn`t come before the question, what is expresed. So anyway, İ think it`s a little bit symptmatic for all these people, wanting to be artist in this city. And mostly doing nothing else than commercials.

İ left my shoeprints in istanbul. Not in any sense motaphorical. At the moment evry street in beyoğlu is renovated. the asphalt is completly removed and then all this infrastruktuere stuff, water, elecriticity, canalization and so on. afterwards there is build about 20 cm of concret. İ don`t know, what will be done afterwards, maybe aspahlt.
Anyway, all this work is done without any barrier, so at least pedestrians are passing the building sites all the time. The result looks like this:

as you can see, İ have stolen the pictuere somewhere. in reality, the prints are much more deep, sometimes 15 cm. yesterday İ went home quite late and suddenly stepped into liquid concrete. İ just didnt expect, that there is no barrier, even then so İ was quite surprised. so İ left my prints, too.

İ started to sell my fotos again, on the street. İt`s all in all a good job. You can start and finish, whenever you want. You can speak to a lot of people and you get some reaction on what you are doing. Selling two is giving me the money as working in a bar until maybe 4 o`clock in the morning, and selling just one is at least providing me food and cigarettes for one day. So İ don`t have to complaign, as long it is not raining or snowing.

And İ like the idea of street business as well as the idea of street exhibition. Art should not be something about galaries and big money. As far as possible, evrybody should be able to afford art and to do art. İ`m selling for 8 YTL per foto, and of course, they aren`t unicates but İ reprent them some times, as long as they are not getting boring - it`s me myself who gets bored at first by the way.

The foto İ sold today is this:

İ espacially like selling this foto, not because İ think it`s my best, but it`s my most abstarct. İt should be part of a serial, but it was never finished. İf İ sell it ance more, İ`m maybe motivated to finish the serial.