Burak Arik
It started in 2006, the first time I held an SLR camera. I had no idea then that I was beginning a relationship that would shape the rest of my life. Over the years I've taken countless photographs, possibly even a million, across macro, portrait, wildlife, and every other genre I could find an excuse to try. Most of them taught me something; a few of them still stop me when I scroll past. But it was the day I packed a camera into a suitcase for the first time that something clicked. Travel and photography, together, set my soul on fire.
The pull of travel
Travel photography holds a special place in my heart, sharpened by my love for exploration. Discovering new cultures and landscapes and pulling them through my lens has become the very shape of my happiness. I've been to 48 countries so far, chasing light at strange hours and sometimes in stranger places, and I look forward to many more. Kyoto at dawn, before the city wakes. The Maasai Mara in the first hour of light, when the lions are still moving through the long grass. The auroras over Tromsø in the middle of a Norwegian winter. Bald eagles wheeling over a salmon run in southeast Alaska. The Great Wall north of Beijing, its watchtowers stepping away ridge after ridge. The desert coast of Paracas, where Peru's dunes run straight into the Pacific. These are the kinds of frames I keep chasing, and the reason I rarely come home with the trip I planned.
Travel and photography, together, set my soul on fire.
Beyond the camera
All of this has run alongside another life. I'm a computer engineer by training, with a Master of Science in Computer Engineering. I later returned to school for an Executive MBA at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Over the years I've also contributed editorial photography to Anadolu Agency, Turkey's national news service. Today I'm a chief executive and tech entrepreneur, and I stay actively involved in early-stage technology investing as a venture capitalist. The engineer in me never really clocks out, which is probably why I care as much about how a photograph was made as about how it looks. The camera, of course, comes with me on every trip.
Where I am today
These days I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, also known as Silicon Valley, perched on the edge of the Pacific. It's one of the most beautiful and most diverse corners of the world, and the light here is its own kind of education. Some evenings the fog rolls in off the ocean and turns the whole city into a different photograph.
What's on this site
Every photograph keeps its precise location, useful if you ever want to retrace one of these shots, and the full EXIF data is right there if you're refining your own craft. Galleries are arranged by country and city, and the world map shows where every frame was made. The numbers below give you a sense of the scale. Pick whatever pulls you and dive in.
Where to go from here
Start with the galleries (sorted by country and city), the photographer's guide (multi-day itineraries with maps and the photos I made along the way), or the journal (essays on technique, gear, and the craft of travel photography).
For prints, licensing, a conversation about photography, or anything you'd like to ask about this website itself, I would love to hear from you.
Warmest regards,
Burak