Along the River Tigris by Mehmet Masum
Captured along the banks of the Tigris River, this poignant image documents the ancient town of Hasankeyf, a site of immense historical significance currently threatened by the Ilisu Dam project. Utilizing a wide 17mm focal length, the photographer frames the rugged landscape to emphasize the fragile intersection of nature and human heritage. The composition serves as a visual protest, highlighting the thousands of historical caves and cultural landmarks destined to be submerged. This photograph is award-worthy for its ability to transform a pressing environmental and political crisis into a hauntingly beautiful, urgent narrative that demands global attention.
Mehmet Masum
Based in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Mehmet Masum Suer is an accomplished international photographer and former journalist with a career spanning several decades. Since transitioning to professional photography in 2005, he has dedicated his lens to documenting the rich cultural and historical tapestry of the region, with a particular focus on ancient sites like Hasankeyf and Mardin. His work, which has been featured in international exhibitions and various touristic publications, serves as both a vital historical record and a testament to his deep commitment to preserving cultural heritage through the art of documentary photography.
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Expert Photography Reviews · 4
What the Water Remembers
There is a weight to things that are about to vanish. We walk past stone and soil, assuming they are permanent, as if the earth itself were a promise kept. But memory is a thin layer.
Read the reflection →The Weight of What Remains
I spent this morning clearing out a box of old letters I had tucked away in the back of my closet. Some were from people I haven't spoken to in years, others were just grocery lists and scribbled notes from a life I barely recognize anymore.
Read the reflection →Reviews & Comments
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The river holds its breath. The stone caves watch the water rise. It’s a quiet erasure. I feel a sudden, cold ache in my chest looking at these cliffs. They’ve been carved by time, not just by hands. The vast, pale sky isn’t a void. It’s a weight. Nothing here is accidental. The empty corner is not empty. It’s the sound of a history waiting to be drowned. Silence is the loudest protest.
Most entries in this category rely on sentimental sunsets to evoke history. Masum avoids that trap. By using a 17mm lens to stretch the Tigris against those hollowed-out caves, he forces us to confront the scale of what we’re losing. It’s a cold, sharp reminder of impending erasure. Looking at these cliffs, I feel a genuine ache for a world being drowned for progress. It’s not just a landscape; it’s a final, desperate inventory of ghosts.
Hasankeyf doesn’t merely exist here; it waits for the water. The shadows clinging to those ancient, hollowed caves aren’t just absences of light—they’re the weight of history refusing to be erased by a dam. I’ve stared at these jagged cliffs until my eyes ache, feeling the cold, impending silence of the rising river. It’s a brutal, necessary darkness. Masum understands that when we drown the past, we’re really just drowning ourselves in the dark.
1/1250sec at f/2.8, 17mm, ISO 400. Wide open on a Tamron 17-50mm at 17mm is a gamble with corner sharpness. You’ve traded depth for speed, likely to freeze the river’s movement. It’s a sharp, calculated risk. I’ve spent years analyzing Hasankeyf’s ruins, and this technical precision actually hurts to look at. It’s too clinical for a place about to vanish. You nailed the exposure, but the optics feel cold. It’s technically sound, yet utterly devastating.