CONTEST JURY MEMBERS
Dr. Bülent Kahraman ÇOLAKOĞLU
He completed his BA in the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of KTÜ in 2000, and his MA in Turkish Language at the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at the Institute of Social Sciences of Niğde University in 2003. He graduated from the Department of Public Administration at the Faculty of Economics at Anadolu University in 2012. He earned the title of "Dr." with his doctoral thesis titled "A Research on the Vocabulary in News Bulletins," which was an interdisciplinary study in Turkish education, communication, linguistics, and information technologies, prepared in the Turkish Language Education Department of the Department of Turkish and Social Sciences Education at Gazi University Institute of Educational Sciences. He has written many books and articles. He has performed important duties in projects of the Ministry of National Education, the Presidency, and TRT (Türkiye Radio and Television). He assumed responsibilities as a program producer and manager at TRT. Since 2022, he has served as the President of the EYDB at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Editor-in-Chief of the Tarım Orman Ekranı (Agriculture TV).
Reha BİLİR
He graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Pharmacy and works as a self-employed pharmacist. He has served as a jury member in more than 300 national and 170 international photography competitions. He is the founder and manager of the art community named Sille Art Palace in Konya, which is accepted as ‘FIAP Exhibition Hall’ by the International Federation of Photographic Art. In 2014, he was awarded with ESFIAP (FIAP Successful Service Award) by the International Federation of the Art of Photography - FIAP and in 2022 he was accepted as an Honorary Member of FIAP and given the title of Hon. EFIAP title. He is an honorary member of many associations in Türkiye and more than 20 photography societies and federations in many countries. Reha Bilir is the first and only Turkish photographer invited by FIAP to the World Cup as a jury member.
Hande GÜNER
Hande Güner, a graduate of Bahçeşehir University's Department of Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design, pursued postgraduate studies in advertising and brand communication. Having worked professionally in this field for over 15 years, Güner continues her career with a focus on brand management. Currently serving as the Strategic Planning and Segment Management Manager at DenizBank Agricultural Banking, Güner has been actively involved in UTOIFY organizational processes for many years. Combining her professional experience with her interest in visual arts, Güner takes pleasure, inspiration, and pride in being part of projects that bring together the story of agriculture and humanity within the same frame.
Perihan YÜCEL
Born in Zonguldak, graduated from Anadolu University, Faculty of Business Administration. She started her career at Ziraat Bank, continued at the Ministry of Finance and then at Ciner Group in the private sector. She worked as DenizBank Culture and Arts Manager between 2004-2020. She works as a volunteer and Board Member in non-governmental organisations such as CEKUL, TEMA, TOVAK, TURSAK etc. She studied painting. Since its inception, she has been a jury member of the International Agriculture, Forestry and Human Photography Contest, and she has edited 3 separate books for DenizBank consisting of the archive of the contest. In the past years, she graduated from Anadolu University, Department of Cultural Heritage and Tourism and continued her studies at Istanbul University, Department of Public Administration in 2023-2024.
Mehmet Arslan GÜVEN
In 1976, he started to work on photography. He has won many awards and exhibitions in competitions he has participated in since 1980. He has served as a jury member in photography competitions, as an expert and consultant in photography-oriented studies and projects, as a board member in photography associations (AFSAD, FSK) and as the president of the Photography Art Association (FSK), which he co-founded. His photographs, portfolios, critical writings and articles were published in art and photography magazines, prestigious albums and encyclopaedias. He wrote dozens of forewords to photography and painting albums and exhibition catalogues. He participated in radio and TV programmes, wrote scripts for TV documentaries. He worked as a curator and consultant. Selected as ‘Artist of the Year’ by a non-governmental organisation for his photography works, he was honoured with the ‘Silver Medal of Honour’ by an art foundation.
Prof. Dr. Ozan BİLGİSEREN
He is a lecturer at MSGSU Department of Photography and a conceptual photography artist. He has developed cultural projects and vocational training programmes with various ministries. Selected works have been exhibited in international exhibitions. He was the publishing consultant for the photography and video books published by National Geographic Türkiye and the visual consultant for the film ‘Kaybedenler Kulübü’ (2010). Aziz Sancar has voluntarily participated in many social responsibility projects, especially ‘#gisproject’, managed photography projects themed on climate change and environmental problems, etc., and collaborated with Asperger Syndrome and Life with Autism Association, Spinal Cord Paralytics Association and Koruncuk Foundation. His articles were published in FOTOSFER, Fotoğraf Dergisi, Photo Digital, PhotoWorld, F and Foto Atlas magazines. He is a member of the Photography Foundation of Türkiye (2018) and a founding member of the Association of Photography Organisations FOTON (2019).
Doç. Dr. Cihan Şule Külük
She graduated from Gazi University, Department of Painting and Art Education in 2004 and Gazi University, Fine Arts Education Master's Programme in 2007. In 2006, she was appointed as a research assistant at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University. Between 2007 and 2015, she worked as a research assistant at Ankara University and completed her doctoral studies in Fine Arts Education. Between 2009-2011, she studied at Bank Street College in New York City, United States of America with a doctoral research scholarship and worked as a guest lecturer. She specialises in plastic arts and museum education. She has opened eleven solo exhibitions in Türkiye and abroad and has participated in many international group exhibitions. She was appointed to Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University as Assistant Professor in 2016 and Associate Professor in 2020 and still continues her duty.
Aykut ÜNLÜPINAR
Since 2004, he has worked as a reporter, photojournalist, chief photojournalist and deputy global photo news manager at Anadolu Agency. While working in conflict zones such as Ukraine and Syria, as well as during natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes in the Philippines and Pakistan, Ünlüpınar has been featured in the printed headlines of major newspapers such as the New York Times, The Guardian and Los Angeles Times, and has received awards from various organisations, especially the Turkish Photojournalists Association. He also contributed to various photography exhibitions and book projects. He continues to work as Visual News Director V. at Anadolu Agency, where he is responsible for the production of photographs, videos and infographics from Türkiye and all over the world.
Sabri SAVCI
He was born in 1963 in Merzifon. He started working as a camera assistant at TRT in 1987. For nearly 40 years, he worked as camera assistant, cameraman and cinematographer in various films and documentaries. In addition to his work as a cinematographer at TRT, he gives training in camera, colour, light and composition at various institutions and universities. He is known for films such as ‘Museum of Sunken Loves’, ‘Field of Poppies’, ‘Cloud in the Air’, ‘Five-armed Chandelier’, ‘Patron Queen’ and TV series such as ‘Şaşıfelek Çıkmazı’, ‘Bizim Evin Halleri’ and documentary films such as ‘Haberci’, ‘Bela Bartok’, ‘Drina Bridge’, ‘Türküsü of Egypt’, ‘Anadolu'nun Gözleri’, ‘Aşıkların Veysel'i’. He continues his professional life by making films for cinema and television at TRT.
Serkan TURAÇ
After studying Advertising and Public Relations, Photography and Videography, he received Basic Press Photography Training. He started photography in a local newspaper in the early 1990s. His photographs, interviews and articles were published in various national and international magazines, newspapers and websites. He worked on short and feature film and documentary projects. He participated in group photography exhibitions in Türkiye and abroad and received various degrees. He was a member of national and international photography and cinema jury. He founded the Bodrum Short Film Workshop. He took various positions in IFSAK for many years. 2013-2015 He served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of IFSAK. He contributed to the training book of IFSAK and TFSF. He continues to organise exhibitions, talks, seminars, books and performances in Türkiye and continues his work as a curator, consultant, trainer, photographer and director, and continues his photography, video and film works under the roof of Akya Film. He is an Honourary Member of Sille Art Palace, a member of IFSAK in Türkiye.
Prof. Dr. Emre İKİZLER
Born in Istanbul in 1969, he graduated from the Department of Environmental Engineering at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), the Photography Master's program at Marmara University, and the Photography Proficiency program at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. He became an Associate Professor in 2011 and a Professor in 2017. Since 1985, İkizler has primarily photographed nature, people, and architecture, and is interested in "computer-aided photographic design." To date, he has prepared 22 photography shows, held 5 solo exhibitions, participated in numerous group exhibitions, and his photographs have appeared in various publications. He has published 4 photography training books and his educational articles are published in photography magazines and websites. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Head of the Photography Department at Marmara University.
Vladimir Jovanovski
Vladimir Jovanovski, M IAAP, MPSA, GPU HERMES, RISF5, was born in 1983. He is a distinguished photographer from Macedonia and the most successful representative of Macedonian photography, having taken part in numerous international exhibitions around the world. He has exhibited his works in 35 countries and as a result, has received over 100 awards and certificates. He was proclaimed by The Photographic Society of Macao as one of the 100 most influential photographers in the world. In 2018, he has received the award for best world photographer from the SSS in Turkey. His biggest successes, according to him, are the projects The other one hundred" and On Macedonian photography". He was a member and president of the Photo cinema club Kozjak" from Kumanovo. Currently he is an active member of Photo club Kumanovo". He is also the director of Malinski Photo Festival, an honorary member of Image Sans Frontier, Image Colleague Society and the Photo Club Kragujevac". He is also a representative of PSA, GPU and ISF for the Republic of Macedonia and the current president of IAAP. When it comes to his photographs, he is not a mere recorder of things. He has a sense of the space around him, feeling the light, the ambient and life. He is constantly in search of all these things, confronting inner feelings, transferring them into his photographs. In the last couple of years, his approach has been more thematic.
Mr. Lu Ming
Lu Ming was born in Jinan, Shandong, China. A photographer and curator with an established presence in the photographic community in China and abroad. Currently, He serves as the Executive Deputy Representative of FIAP in China, Executive Deputy Director of FIAP China Office and the Executive Deputy President of Shandong Eastern International Photography Art Association. In his various leadership roles, Lu Ming actively promotes photographic activities at local, national, and international levels. He particularly committed to fostering photography cultural exchange between countries. He firmly believes that planning and organizing these events can inspire photographers at all levels to develop, innovate, and enhance their understanding of different culture. Lu Ming frequently serves as a judge for numerous local, national, and international salons and possesses a passion for photography that captures people, cultures, nature and wildlife. His extensive travels locally and internationally are mostly combined with arranging photography tours. Throughout his career, Lu Ming has achieved significant photographic accolades and recognition in both national and international exhibitions, with his works being showcased in multiple countries.
Luis Jose Vigil Escalera
He began his photographic activity in 1988 with analogue SLR cameras and black and white development at the F15 association in Llangréu. Since 2004 he has been working in digital photography. Self-taught, he has collaborated in various specialized forums and has been interviewed in national and international media. He has won numerous awards, including the Human Values Award of the Spanish Air Force in 2010. She has been part of juries in international competitions in China, Argentina, Turkey and Spain. It has multiple group exhibitions and shared projects.
Application Dates
13/04/2026 - 31/08/2026
The Contest; General, Farmer, Student, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Employees, DenizBank Employees and Theme it consists of six categories. The results of the contest will be announced between 28 September - 29 October 2026. Awards will be given to the winning photographs in their categories at a ceremony to be held later.