Featured Photo: A man watches hot air balloons as they take off for a tour over the Cappadocia. Turkey. 2025. © Emin Özmen / Magnum Photos
Since 2022, Emin Özmen and Cloé Kerhoas have hosted annual photography workshops in Turkey, helping practicing and aspiring photographers explore the region and develop a new body of work. Previously held in Istanbul—a city Özmen describes as one of “color and contradictions”—the workshop moves to Cappadocia this year for the first time, marking a return to Özmen’s birthplace.
Over five days, mornings focus on critique sessions while afternoons involve photographing Cappadocia’s valleys and villages. The final day centers on editing and sequencing, where participants review their work and receive guidance from Özmen to craft a coherent photographic series.
Ahead of the workshop, Özmen shares insights about the region, its significance to his practice, his vision for the program, and advice for potential participants.
People walk near the fairy chimneys in a valley in Cappadocia. Turkey. 2025. © Emin Özmen / Magnum Photos
”For me, what truly captivates me is the dialogue between this surreal landscape and the quiet, deeply human stories unfolding within it.”
- Emin Özmen
Tell us about Cappadocia and your relationship with the place.
Emin Özmen: Central Anatolia, where I was born and raised, always feels like a return to the beginning. Cappadocia lies at its heart—a landscape shaped by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Wind and time have carved valleys, cave dwellings, and iconic rock formations that feel almost otherworldly. Over the centuries, people have adapted to this extraordinary environment, building homes, churches, and entire underground cities into the soft volcanic rock.
But what keeps drawing me back isn’t only the landscape. Cappadocia isn’t just a place to admire—it’s a place to experience. Behind its famous silhouettes and hot air balloons lie villages, families, and everyday rituals that continue much as they always have. I feel deeply connected to this region because it’s part of my own visual memory. For me, the real fascination lies in the dialogue between this surreal landscape and the quiet, deeply human stories unfolding within it. That’s the Cappadocia I want to photograph, and the one I hope participants will discover.
Horses run in the valley in Cappadocia. Turkey. 2025. © Emin Özmen / Magnum Photos
What is it like to photograph there?
My approach has always been to understand a place rather than impose something onto it. Cappadocia is ideal for learning careful observation and seeing beyond the obvious.
Photographing there sometimes feels like photographing on Mars. The landscape is unlike anywhere else—surreal, sculpted by nature over thousands of years, almost unbelievable until you stand in it.
But the workshop won’t focus only on landscape. What equally fascinates me is the life unfolding within it: the people, the rhythms of towns and villages, markets and streets, everyday gestures. We’ll explore landscapes, portraits, street photography, and documentary storytelling, learning to build visual narratives rather than simply capture beautiful images.
Cappadocia offers something truly unique. It constantly challenges your perception of scale, light, and perspective while revealing intimate human stories.
A man giving soda to his camel. Cappadocia, Turkey. 2025. © Emin Özmen / Magnum Photos
”After years of photographing conflict, protests, and moments of tension, I found myself seeking something quieter.”
- Emin Özmen
Red cars to rent for a tour in the valley are parked in the station. Cappadocia, Turkey. 2025. © Emin Özmen / Magnum Photos
Has your relationship with photographing Turkey changed since you left the country?
For nearly two decades, I’ve documented Turkey’s political and social climate, creating a visual record for history. After years of photographing conflict, protests, and moments of tension, I found myself seeking something quieter. That quest for calm became both a natural counterbalance and a psychological necessity.
This desire was already present while working on Olay, but successive events kept demanding my attention. Today, this search for peace has become far more central to my practice—a form of therapy, both personally and photographically.
Horses run in the valley in Cappadocia. Turkey. 2025. © Emin Özmen / Magnum Photos
Tell us a story from your trip last year—something that has stayed with you.
I’ve photographed Cappadocia countless times, but during my last visit, the hot air balloons captivated me in a new way. At dawn, dozens of balloons slowly lift above the valleys. Before I could even think about making photographs, I simply stopped to watch.
There’s something profoundly peaceful about seeing them drift silently through the morning light. It’s one of those rare moments when experiencing the scene itself becomes as important as photographing it.
Woman stands on a hill as hot air balloons fly over Cappadocia. Turkey. 2025. © Emin Özmen / Magnum Photos
”My goal is not to teach you to photograph like me, but to help each of you develop a stronger visual voice in one of the most inspiring places a photographer can experience.”
- Emin Özmen
What can participants look forward to over the five days?
October provides ideal light for photography in Turkey. Over five days, we’ll immerse ourselves in one of Earth’s most extraordinary landscapes—sculpted valleys, ancient cave dwellings, and hot air balloons drifting at dawn—creating an atmosphere like nowhere else. From first light to sunset, this landscape becomes our classroom.
Together, we’ll undertake intensive documentary practice: learning to observe beyond the obvious, approaching people with sensitivity, building visual narratives, and editing images into coherent bodies of work. We’ll photograph both the iconic scenery and the villages, traditions, and everyday lives that give Cappadocia its soul.
The workshop also features a session with photo editor Cloé Kerhoas, who will share insights on editing, visual storytelling, and the contemporary photographic industry.
Beyond a photography workshop, I hope this becomes an experience that transforms how you see. My goal isn’t to teach you to photograph like me, but to help each person develop a stronger visual voice in one of the most inspiring places a photographer can experience.
A horse seen near the fairy chimneys. Cappadocia, Turkey. 2025. © Emin Özmen / Magnum Photos
”The strongest photographs often emerge when you stop deliberately seeking them.”
- Emin Özmen
Local souvenir seller rests during the day on a couch in Cappadocia, which is a located in the central Anatolian plateau within a volcanic landscape sculpted by erosion into a succession of mountain ridges. Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey. 2017. © Emin Özmen / Magnum Photos
What’s your advice for participants before they arrive?
Arrive with curiosity, not preconceptions.
Stop chasing perfect images. Take time to observe, connect with people, and welcome the unexpected. Your most powerful photographs emerge when you stop deliberate searching.
A Documentary Journey in Cappadocia takes place from October 5–9. Find out more and book your spot here.
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