Ara Güler, who is the considered one of the most important representative of creative photography in international circles, describes photography as “a more important activity than art.”

Traveling to some of the most difficult places to reach in the world, Güler has photographed in such countries as Iran, Kenya, Kazakhstan, New Guinea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Borneo and all parts of Turkey.

Ara Güler was born in Istanbul in 1928. His father was a chemist and had many friends in the art circles of the time, including actors, writers, and the founder of the theatre in Turkey, Muhsin Ertugrul Growing up in such an environment had a great affect on Güler. As a young man he started working in film studios in Istanbul and also attended theatre courses given by Muhsin Ertugrul. In 1950, he started his career in journalism at the “Yeni Istanbul” newspaper.

He is now considered one of the “seven best photographers in the world,” and was given this honor in the Photography Annual in Britain in 1961. Ara Güler’s photographs were exhibited in the New York Modern Arts Exhibition in 1968. He has also produced a film entitled, “The End of the Hero” based on a fictional story describing the sinking of the Yavuz Battleship. Beautiful books of his work have published in several countries. He has had numerous exhibitions and has received many awards. Today, many of the most important printing houses in the world have Güler’s photographs on their walls.

“Ara Güler’s Creative Americans”, “Ara Güler: Photographs”, “Ara Güler’s Movie Directors”, “Sinan: Architect of Süleyman the Magnificiant”, and “Living in Turkey” are among the books which contain Güler’s work. He also has an 800-piece dia-positive archive.

Ara Güler said: “Photography is something real. It is a moment in our lives and it should ‘say’ something. A photograph is more important than the arts. We, photographers, are also historians who write the visual history of the century we are living in. When you glance at 19th century photographs, you learn about the century in the most ‘realistic’, way. While writing history, historians add some feelings and imagination into their writings. Whereas, a photograph only depicts reality. A photograph is living history. The arts are not real but false. Hamlet dies on the theatre stage every night. Why? Because theatre is false. However, when Hamlet dies, I would take his photograph only once; at the moment of his death. A photograph is nothing other than reality.”

He goes on to point out that in his view there is no “artist-photographer,” but rather a photographer is someone who pursues reality. Some of his best photographs are his portraits, and there are a great many portraits in most of his photographs. Ara Güler describes himself by saying: “I feel as if I am an explorer. The primary aim of a journalist should be to explore new places by traveling. That is to say he or she should be today’s Christopher Columbus.”