Loss! by Mehmet Masum

The war between the Kurdish armed organization PKK and the state of Turkey came to the stage of finish with the loss of 4,500 Kurdish civilian lives. They were killed or disappeared in last 30 years in Turkey. But heir killers have not yet been caught.Mothers and other female relatives of disappeared Kurdish men gathered in the Galatasaray district of Istanbul and Diyarbakir, every Saturday, and call on the state to recover their lost sons and relatives. These Kurdish women and their Turkish female supporters came to be known as the “Saturday Mothers.”

PENTAX K5 with DA 50-135mm | Exposure 1/160sec @ f/2.8 | Focal Length 135mm | ISO 400
Loss! by Mehmet Masum

Award Winner: Photo of the Day | November 29
Award Score: 73 (Value 14, Clarity 13.5, Composition 18, Style 13.5, Skill 14)
Photo of the Day Award Category: Candid Photography
Photograph Location: Diyarbakir | Turkey

Photographer: Mehmet Masum Suer (Diyarbakir, Turkey) Registered
Mehmet Masum Suer is a Kurdish international photographer and freelance journalist living in city of Diyarbakir in Turkey. He began his career as a journalist in 1974, then worked for different agencies and newspapers of Turkey as a reporter, photo-journalist, writer, redactor and representative. He quit journalism after 1993, and got involved on his researches about history, culture and language. Mehmet Masum Suer has been taking photos professionally in different fields besides photojournalism since 2005. Suer takes pictures of historic places and buildings especially in citys of Diyarbakir, Mardin, Van and Hasankeyf. Meanwhile he has been involved on a project of taking photos of famous Kurdish politicians and artists. Cultural, historical values, and works of art are the subjects that take his attention. Suer also records the cultural festivals, and presentations as documentaries. Some of his exhibitions took place in Turkey, Iraq, and USA. Photos of Suer are especially used in touristic publications such as guide books, brochures, and postcards as well as they are used in international tourism fairs, newspapers, and magazines.

Portfolio: http://www.photo.net/photos/diyarbakir
Portfolio: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/masum
Portfolio: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/myshot/gallery/367769
Gallery: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/user/Id=21052
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/masumsuer
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mehmet-Masum
Twitter: http://twitter.com/masumsuer