silhouette istanbul street photography in color by pierre belhassen

Istanbul: To the city A photography project by Pierre Belhassen

“Looking at these pictures is an unsettling play of mirrors. The more I look at them, the more they look at me. They don’t testify, they have nothing to tell, but they still leave their mark.

By taking these pictures I do not mean to photograph life but to breathe life and light into images. Istanbul is much more than a city to me, it’s the home of memories.

A place with multiple borders where my childhood rests. This work is a confrontation, a pictorial quest for lost treasures where I build a bridge into the past to reveal a secret present; in them, time does not exist.

The photographic act offers me the possibility to hold back minute fragments of eternity. Here and now, I stop time to see further and harder.

In an ultimate revelation of the soul, I photograph in the manner that poems are written, trying reveal something within us.” – Pierre Belhassen

Call for entries

black and white street photo of man being shaved on the street in China by Jian Wang
© Jian Wang
2025 Street Photography AWARD

Win $2700 Cash Awards & International Exposure

This September, we’re challenging you to capture powerful and inspiring urban stories. Acclaimed Magnum photographer Bruce Gilden will be judging the entries, and we’re excited to see your most compelling images.

 

  • Win $2700 in Cash Prizes
  • International Exhibition
  • +920k Instagram Feature
  • Free Online Portfolio

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