Seda takes us into a psychedelic utopia

"I am Seda and I am based in Aarhus, Denmark. Normally I am from Turkey and

was living in Istanbul before I moved to Aarhus. Currently, I am a MSc. student in Marketing and sometimes working as a freelance social media manager. I love

analog photography because of the unexpected results you get at the end. As a

person who used mostly compact cameras, I generally don’t care about the

composition or the tricks to have good photos. Most of the time, I am a memory

collector and beside that I am into multiple exposures and film manipulations. Film photography is my passion which is in the center of my comfort zone. Whenever I take photos, I feel pure “myself” and never want to leave that moment. Besides, I am addicted to film manipulations with different film soup techniques. Having progressive results at the end and seeing the same place with psychedelic colors and motives on it just make me feel like I am in my own Wonderland and I love to show these manipulated results to people and invite them to my utopic world."

IG: seda_akay

ALTER/ANALOG: How long have you been shooting with film?

S: Even though I was used to film cameras since my childhood ( thanks mom), myself analog photography journey has started when I moved to Istanbul for

university. Through social media, I was already following Lomography and

Lomography Turkey. And every photo that has been uploaded to the page was

inspiring me. I saved money and the first thing that I’ve done when I move was to buy my first camera. Since then, the camera family has expanded and still every single day I am learning new things about it.

ALTER/ANALOG: What got you interested in alternative processes?

S: While I was working for Lomography Turkey, most of the time I was responsible for translating the articles. And there was a lot of experimental way to take photos with film cameras. People from different part of the world were trying new things like film soup, burning the film and more… And I said yeah! This is how I started to use alternative ways for my 35mm rolls.

ALTER/ANALOG: Can you tell us a bit about the location where these photos were taken?

S: Well, Cappadocia is one of the “fairytale” location for me in Turkey. It starts to

inspire you as the city itself is the result of nature! And history inside of these caves and rocks make you feel like you are changing time repeatedly. The last time I’ve been there when I was 6 years ago and after 19 years I wanted to go there with my best friend to use my “already” manipulated film. The thing is, I knew that the psychedelic colors and the unique views of Cappadocia will be fit so good but I was also scaring at the same time because you never know what you are going to get if you are using analog cameras.

ALTER/AANLOG: What inspires you?

S: My biggest inspiration is music and dreaming. I am always creating stories in my head and most of the time my photos base on these stories. Even though the

person/ people inside of the frame are strangers or my friends, actually they are

“me” and I feel like I am taking the photos of myself when I am in different body. Another inspiration for me is melancholy ( I am sorry but this is true). I feel like I am more creative and more tend to take photos when I am in melancholic mood. Because during these times, I am talking, evaluating myself and it is a phase like I am creating a new me after every melancholic mood.