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Underwater Photography Exhibit at The United Nations

By Jason Heller, September 24, 2008 @ 02:00 AM (EST)

The entire team at DivePhotoGuide and The New York Underwater Photographic Society are proud to announce that NYUPS member Cagatay Erciyes, a career Turkish diplomat and a hobbyist underwater photographer featured an underwater photo exhibition entitled “Colors of Oceans Through a Diplomat’s Lens” at the United Nations Headquarters in New York during UN Week Sept 8-19, 2008.

The exhibit was the first of its kind in many respects as it was the first ever photo exhibition organized by a diplomat, solely dedicated to underwater photography in the United Nations building. The presentation of the exhibit was also unique as Cagatay’s underwater images were printed on a custom stretched fabric and backlit by energy efficient LED technology.

Colors of Oceans Through a Diplomat’s Lens”

DivePhotoGuide has recently interviewed Cagatay about his exhibition:

“Diplomats may have many different hobbies. My favorite one is underwater photography as I have a great passion for the oceans. Indeed, my underwater photography journey started five years ago in Turkey, when I received my first digital camera and underwater housing from New York. At that time, I never thought that my journey would lead me to an exhibit in the heart of the diplomacy capital of the world.

Click on image above for full panoramic

I believe when diplomats take up transnational issues like environmental protection, a visual reminder could be most instrumental to demonstrate what actually is at stake and thus to provide better guidance to their hearts and minds. It would be even more convincing, yet unusual, if this reminder could come from a diplomat him/her-self, through a photo exhibition. With these thoughts, I decided to open this exhibit a year ago.

The preparations took almost a year. Duggal Eco-Imaging, a New York City based photographic lab and graphic display company was kind enough to be one of my sponsors. With Duggal, we thought that the traditional way of printing and gallery production wasn’t going to be enough. We therefore collaboratively choose to use a more conceptual way of dealing with my photography and decided that the prints should illuminate from the back giving the viewer the feeling of actually being under the water. This makes the blue tones of the water even more vibrant, setting the marine life apart by emphasizing their distinct beauty. We decided that the best and most eco-conscious way for these images to be represented was to create custom stretched fabric displays that allow the photography to be backlit with the newest energy efficient LED technology. By using fabric rather than the traditional heavy, non degrading PVC vinyl, we designed a high efficiency, high impact and a very eco-conscious exhibit that can be easily installed and shipped.

The exhibit has reached hundreds of diplomats from 192 countries, the UN Secretariat staff as well as members of several NGOs. The feedback is extremely positive and encouraging, particularly from the representatives of the small island states.

The exhibit consists of 40 images taken mostly from the Caribbean Sea, the Red Sea and the Aegean Sea (Turkey).

My images are just little drops from our oceans which have a vital importance to the survival of all life forms on our planet. Yet we still know very little about them. Given the recent changes and degradation of marine habitats, we are just starting to realize that we can no longer take oceans for granted and that more needs to be done to protect them from natural and man-made threats. Coral reefs, for instance, are among the most biologically diverse, yet highly fragile splendors of our oceans. Unfortunately, threats such as over-fishing, destructive fishing practices, coastal development and rising sea temperatures, caused by global warming, are increasingly decimating sensitive corals and shredding the web of life they support.

I therefore could not think of a better place for a display of conspicuous visual reminders than the United Nations where diplomats from all corners of the world should strive to protect our environment. This is indeed our collective responsibility towards future generations if we genuinely want to leave behind a world that can not only sustain itself but its inhabitants too.

Cagatay Erciyes Underwater Photography United Nations

For those of you who were wondering, Cagatay Erciyes shoots with an Olympus C-7070 compact digital camera, Olympus PT- 027 housing, Olympus PTWC-01 wide angle lens, Olympus PTMC-01 macro lens and two INON D2000 strobes.

His images and travel notes can be found on his web site colorsofoceans.org.

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