Fashion Editor Hakan Bahar Shooting with the Sproket Rocket

Our LomoAmigo is Fashion Editor and owner of Monser Vintage Store, Hakan Bahar. Hakan, who visits our store very often, recently added a Sprocket Rocket to his analog camera collection. He is especially keen on black & white photography. We had a little chat with him about his experiences in B&W with the Sprocket Rocket

Hi Hakan! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

After completing my studies in performing arts, I began working in magazine. I worked as a fashion editor for different fashion magazines like Harpers Bazaar and Marie Claire. Currently I am working for different brands and designers as a consultant and also have a store where I sell vintage products. Because of my background as a fashion editor, and my hoarding and collecting tendencies, I have an extensive collection and an archive.

What inspires you in your work? Are there different artists or designers that you are affected by?

I think my life consist of the collection of collecting everything, compiling and combining, then taking photos of the end results, stylizing them or watching them. I get inspiration from so many things :) styles, architecture… Because I’m a fashion editor, my priority and the names that I get affected by are Daido Moriyama, Nan Goldin, Stephen Shore, Issei Suda, Fred Herzog… Actually, I can say that I get inspired by anything I put together.

How did you like shooting with the Sprocket Rocket camera? Do you have any suggestions to people who are new to the camera?

Actually, my relationship with the Sprocket Rocket was a lot different than any other Lomography camera I have used before, because it lets me take wide angled shots and lets me experience the objects I’m shooting in a cinematographic way. Every analog camera has its own language and the relationship with them is a very personal one, so I suggest that the users listen to what the camera is communicating with them.

What is your favorite photo that you have taken with the Sprocket Rocket and why?

The series consists of photos I have taken in the statue garden located within the İstanbul Arkeological Museum. When I look back at my composition, I notice a lot of big statues without heads. I had unintentionally cut their heads of, I don’t know what I had seen when I was shooting these, why I was inclined to shoot headless bodies…

Did anything interesting or funny happen when you were out shooting?

I had spent long weekends in the statue garden. Most of the time, because I’m a fashion editor and I wanted my style to be within the composition I have seen in the garden, I asked strangers “can you shoot me in this photo, like this?” and had them take my photos! I had a lot of fun…

If your photos had a playlist, what songs and artists would be playing in the background?

1 – Coleman Howkins, Smoke Gets in your Eyes
2 – Chet Baker, My Funny Valentine
3 – Fred Astaire, Dancing in the Dark
4 – Chet Baker, It’s always you
5 – Maria Callas, In quelle trine morbide – Puccini

Do you have any projects that you are currently working on?

Actually, I’m working on the series I have shared with you. I am planning to open an exhibition that consists of these photos.

You also have a store called Monser Vintage, where you sell different items. Can you tell us a little bit about that as well?

Monser Vintage, is located next to Cafe Setup, in Kabataş. There a lot of different items in the collection. I have vintage pieces from different brands, such as Yves Saint Laurent, Escada, Bellstaff and Christian Dior. Monser Vintage also joins the bi-monthly pop-up bazaar, Souq in Karaköy. I also have a book collection called Monser Book. This collection consists of photography books I had gathered during my holidays. Our guests can also find books from artists like Roger Ballen, Sergio Larrain, Gilles Ellie Cohen, Danny Lyon, Merly Meisler, Daido Moriyama and Bruce Weber under the Monser Book name.

Thank you so much Hakan for sharing your photos with us and your sincere answers.

You can follow Hakan Bahar’s accounts monservintage and hakanbahar0 on Instagram or follow him on Twitter.

written by nural on 2015-01-01 #people #lomoamigo