iPhoneographers In Front Of The Lens #7 – Tuba Korhan

by Pu on April 4, 2013

Tuba Korhan is an interior designer based in Ankara, Turkey. Besides working in design, Korhan is an iPhone artist and photographer. Tuba’s images are extremely fascinating in the way they blend together timeless suggestions and themes, such as the power and importance of imagination, with delicate color palettes, in graceful and pensive atmospheres with a touch of the surreal fairy tale to them.

The Mighty Cat © Tuba Korhan

The Mighty Cat © Tuba Korhan


Korhan’s passion for iPhone’s expressive potential was awakened by observing the work of other photographers. Recalling her beginnings in iPhoneography, she says, “When I discovered some mobile photographers on Instagram and their admirable photos and images in the summer of 2011: that was the moment I began shooting and editing in the way I am doing now.”

Korhan’s exploration of iPhone’s creative possibilities went through experimenting thoroughly with many apps; she finally settled for just a few favorites, which she acknowledges to be using most of the times. “My favorite apps are Snapseed and Photoforge2. I have been using more than 100 apps but I always use these two in every editing. Also, I like using the Hipstamatic camera app, which enables me to post photos directly from the app without editing, and this is sometimes a certain luxury for me.”

Abduction © Tuba Korhan

Abduction © Tuba Korhan


Tuba Korhan shows a deeply rooted love for the arts that goes beyond her direct interest in design and photography and embraces a variety of media, which goes from fashion to literature; the titles of some of her artworks quote diverse sources, including Salinger and Wong Kar-wai. If you look carefully, you will notice how the content of her images is often an almost discreet, hushed up play with a potpourri of influences encompassing figurative art and pop culture.

Korhan likes to select subjects that will have some sort of affinity with her personal sensibility, but without going too much into detailed pre-shooting planning. “I capture every image I find interesting and I like,” she says, “Usually, at the moment of editing I am inspired with the first idea by just looking at my photos. And this first idea usually reminds me of a scene in a movie or a memorable line from a novel.” And she adds, “I have not planned any of these beforehand, I always improvise because I believe that this improves my vision.”

Punk Princess © Tuba Korhan

Punk Princess © Tuba Korhan


Speaking of other forms of expression, like traditional photography, Tuba affirms, “I really like traditional photography, but I would like to approach my material as the beginning of a journey to create an image, so that I am able to tell my own story by the photo I shoot and then edit.” Overall, Korhan considers mobile photography a suitable outlet for her expressive needs. As she states, “I am an interior designer and I have always been interested in art as a spectator, but now I am very much satisfied with taking photos by using my mobile phone.”

Diva © Tuba Korhan

Diva © Tuba Korhan


Korhan measures her words well and illustrates her thoughts in a terse and to the point manner. As many artists, she is quite conscious of her final intents and does not waste her time beating around the bush. About her final objectives she says, “I usually capture a moment which would bring out some emotions and thoughts.” She then clarifies her ideas further, “By using these emotions and thoughts I try to shape a visual integrity which then, I assume, may go on its journey from different perspectives of the spectators.” One of her strongest desires is that her arts should not to force on people a point of view; her images should interact with viewers differently depending on their expectations; accordingly, her way of implying keys to the final interpretation of her art also changes from a piece to the next. “Sometimes I put some titles which help the spectators to understand my point of view,” she admits, “But I am still very much excited with the fact that there are differences in individual perspectives.”

Spring Joy © Tuba Korhan

Spring Joy © Tuba Korhan


But what about those whose perspective is totally different from her own? For instance, what about those who still cannot conceive mobile photography as a full-fledged expressive art form? In a frank manner, showing at the same a totally pragmatic understanding of the tool, she replies quite simply, “It would be more practical to show people what can be done instead of telling them.”

The same pragmatism she expresses when I ask her to offer advice to mobile photography newbies. “I would like to suggest beginners to follow some mobile art communities, blogs and work of other mobile photographers, so that they can have enough material to find their own paths without imitating anyone.”

All images courtesy of Tuba Korhan.

Artist’s Links:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tubakorhan
http://www.iphoneart.com/to_be
http://instagram.com/to_be
http://www.eyeem.com/to_be

RB April 4, 2013 at 5:47 pm

The cat picture is really the most awesomest thing I have seen lately!

Andrea T April 4, 2013 at 8:16 pm

Very nice images, great creativity. To think people just use their phones to photograph their lunch when they could do so much more with them…

Janine Graf April 7, 2013 at 1:31 am

What a great interview Tuba! I’m such a huge fan of your work and it’s great to see you getting the exposure and kudos you so deserve! 😀 xoxo

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