Elif Gülen —

— Understanding cities' genius loci an actual spirit, Suyabatmaz is a photographer—a ghost hunter. She uses just an iPhone for her atmospheric, almost esoteric, city portraits. 

Elif was born in Baltimore, USA. She moved with her family back to Turkey and lived most of her life in Turkey. After graduating with a BA in Graphic Design, she traveled the world for a year taking photos in numerous countries such as Cuba, Yemen and China. She opened an exhibition of her black and white Cuba photographs at the British Council, Ankara.

After finishing her master's degree she photographed and filmed the urban transformation of Galata. In 2011 she completed a long term first documentary by showing the changes in a building before and after renovation and getting the impressions of the new owners.

The documentary was shown in the Boston Turkish Film Festival and was a finalist. Currently she is working on a new documentary about a French building in Vincennes, Paris, France and its 86 year old owner. She is a PhD student in Art-Design and a passionate photographer photographing Istanbul. Elif is a member of a photography group Tiny Collective.