Rich Carriero speaks to photographer Frank Payne

Let’s face it; Tarlabaşı does not have a good reputation.  Though once a Greek quarter of genteel homes, today the old buildings are crumbled ruins hacked up into tenements.  You can feel the crush of Istanbul’s eleven million people in Tarlabaşı, a district resembling New York’s East Side circa 1910 -the place where the huddled masses actually end up, where the customs of the Anatolian village form an odd juxtaposition to the prostitution, drug peddling and rampant thievery that have made the place a no man’s land for those who can afford to live elsewhere.
In the midst of it all enter one African-American photographer with a few lira in pocket and an antique Nikon around his neck.  For Frank Payne, the poetic dilapidation of Tarlabaşı and the life that thrives there--the full throated yelling of junk collectors and the endless scampering of children--is too much to resist.  His recent -and first--photographic exhibition, Children of Tarlabaşı, featured in May and June at Galata Fotoğrafhanesi and currently at Bee Café in Beyoğlu through July 14th showcases subjects by turns joyous, brash, threatening and above all startlingly candid.  I caught up with Payne after one of his showings to discuss his work.

How long have you been taking pictures?  What got you started?
I started in 2000 and I got my first job in 2002.  As I was finishing up graduate school, I thought of working in journalism.

Is that what you were studying?
Public policy, but I was always interested in journalism.  I thought about writing at first but felt like if I wanted to be a writer, I was starting very late in the game.  With photography I figure if my pictures aren’t any good, people will tell me "You suck!" Also the work of a writer is limited to the time and place that he is writing about but a photographer has a longer reach.  I mean, a photograph can be from anywhere.  People can look at a picture taken last week or 50 years ago and say “I get that! ”

What do you look for in potential subjects to photograph?  Is the choice to take a picture analytical, intuitive or guesswork?
My subjects always have to do with people.  Social, political, human interest, travel.  No architecture.  No fashion.  Is the choice to take a photograph guess work, intuitive or analytical?  Definitely not guesswork.  I mean when I first started out I would look at some good pictures and say to myself that was a lucky shot but as I learned it became a combination of analytical and intuitive.  The picture of the little girl walking under the clothesline: that was planned.  I sat there on a rooftop with my camera and waited for the right little kid.  The same thing with the two boys looking up in front of the abandoned building.  I wanted that building from that angle. 

What were they looking up at?
A neighbour.  This woman was leaning out the window shouting at someone and they happened to look up to watch at the moment I took the picture. Overall I’d say most of my photos are intuitive but some fall into either category.

Why Tarlabaşı?
My first day I was here I lived in Tepebaşı.  My roommate, he was Irish, pointed out the window and said, "This is Tepebaşı.  That’s Tarlabaşı.  Never come through Tarlabaşı to get here."  Every city has a neighbourhood like that.  What makes Tarlabaşı special is that it’s not geographically isolated.  It’s right next to Taksim.  I’ve always found the contrast to be ironic.  Also Tarlabaşı has a certain beauty.  It’s got Kurds, Gypsies, Iraqi refugees, Africans. There are prostitutes and drug dealers, sure, but also families.  The setting is great, on a hillside where the afternoon light is beautiful.  You can see that it was once nice here.  It just needs a new paint job. 

Would you try the same project back in the US?
I have in the past unsuccessfully.  I think it has to do with the place and with me.  In Tarlabaşı the kids were great, always reacting to the camera and to me.  “Hello!  What’s your name!  Take my picture!”  They loved the camera. Also I am obviously foreign and being black in Istanbul will attract attention.  (Laughing) Tarlabaşı is like a maze.  I never saw the same kid twice.   

You’ve been shot.  You’ve done the West Bank.  Now Tarlabaşı.  Is it a coincidence you’re always working in dangerous places?
Not really.  I mean, danger is always interesting and I think, as a photographer when a project is dangerous, that’s all the more reason to do it.  It makes it that much more likely that you will record something unique that people will want to see. 
I remember my first job back in 2002 was covering protests in Venezuela -where I was “shot at”--that kind of set the bar pretty high. I learned to take calculated risks. In Tarlabaşı I never went at night. I never wore a watch or sunglasses. I never took a wallet. Just 10 YTL.

and a camera…
Right.  But I mean, even that’s not really valuable.  If someone wanted it badly enough they could just take it. 

So what does the future hold for Frank Payne?
I’m not working on anything now.  I plan to enjoy the summer and then afterward go to Israel to do a photo documentary about the Black Jews from Ethiopia and America.  In the long run I want to make something that is contemporary but timeless.  I hope that in the future people can look back on my work and say “that’s today.”

Frank Payne’s work will be on display at The Bee Café, Süslü Saksı Sokak 13-2, Beyoğlu. To view online visit www.pbase.com/fpayne19. 
To purchase, email fpayne19@yahoo.com.