Projects
The Great Drought Survey of Türkiye
For many years, I have wanted to create a long-term photographic project documenting one of Türkiye’s most urgent environmental challenges: drought.
Several years ago, I approached Fujifilm Türkiye with this idea. While I received a kind response, I was informed that only equipment discounts—not project sponsorship—were available at the time. Today, seeing Fujifilm support photographers worldwide through the GFX Challenge Grant Program has inspired me to revisit this project. For me, this represents an extraordinary opportunity.
My inspiration comes from the award-winning 2012 documentary Chasing Ice, in which National Geographic photographer James Balog documented glacier retreat across Alaska, Canada, and Greenland through the Extreme Ice Survey. By installing cameras in remote locations and photographing the same landscapes over several years, he created one of the most compelling visual records of climate change.
I believe Türkiye deserves a similar long-term visual archive.
Drought is no longer a distant environmental issue. Rising temperatures, climate change, and unsustainable water management are causing lakes and wetlands across Türkiye to disappear at an alarming rate. As a country located along one of the world’s most important migratory bird routes and home to internationally significant wetlands, protecting these ecosystems is vital—not only for Türkiye, but for the region and for the planet.
The purpose of this project is to create a visual record of that transformation before it is too late.
Over the course of one year, I plan to revisit ten lakes experiencing severe drought every three months, photographing each location from carefully selected viewpoints to document visible environmental change. Rather than creating isolated landscape photographs, the project will build a chronological visual archive that reveals the gradual disappearance of water and the changing character of these ecosystems.
The locations include:
- Acıgöl
- Burdur Lake
- Eğirdir Lake
- Ladik Lake
- Marmara Lake
- Salda Lake
- Terkos Lake
- Seyfe Lake
- Sapanca Lake
- İznik Lake
To keep the project realistic and within the scope of the grant, I intend to work with a single Fujifilm GFX camera body and one wide-angle lens. I am not seeking financial compensation. My primary request is access to equipment, logistical support where possible, and the opportunity to present the completed project in collaboration with Fujifilm.
The final outcome would include a curated photographic series, an exhibition-ready presentation, and potentially a documentary film that raises public awareness about drought and water conservation in Türkiye.
Hakkında
So Long, and Thanks for All the fish
As someone who has always felt a strong connection to the Fujifilm brand, it would be a privilege to realize this project with its support. However, regardless of how the opportunity comes, my greatest ambition is simply to complete this project one day and contribute to raising awareness of Türkiye’s disappearing waters.
Abdullah Özgün - Fine Art Photography 