Born in 1963 in Paris-France. I began snorkeling at the age of seven so that I could catch the marvelous Marmara Sea prawns using plastic yogurt boxes. When I was fifteen, I began collecting seashells from all over Turkish seacoasts and brought them to my home city of Ankara, 300 miles inland from the seacoast. These shells became pleasant reminder to me of my summer-time diving activity, which let me be witness to the awe of the diversity of sea life (see Exvivo Reflections) While in my mid-twenties working long, exhausting hours as a medical student, I maintained my physical fitness sufficiently that I could free dive down to 30 meters.

The year 1990 was a turning point for me when I began scuba diving. I soon realized that diving with hands free was of little purpose if one could not produce something from that activity. I acquired a cheap point-and-shoot analog camera so that I could show others what the fantastic scenes were revealed to me. In a short time I realized that taking pictures in a marine environment was an excellent way to express my vision and thoughts. Beginning in 1996, I published articles and images in popular underwater magazines. To date, I performed over 1200 dives at various spots in Mediterranean Sea and Indo-Pacific Ocean, opened four exhibitions, performed more than 120 slide shows. I think that my education and career - I am a university professor in molecular cell biology and human embryology at Ankara University in Turkey - gives me the ability to appreciate the diversity of marine organisms and the mechanisms by which they adapt to their circumstances. While I endeavor to bring an understanding of the magnificence and colorfulness of these underwater beauties, I also continue to emphasize that many of these species are in danger of extinction in the near future.

Between 1997-2003, I conducted a scientific project funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) and by Ankara University whose purpose was to build a visual database of benthic marine fishes along the Turkish coastal areas. More than 120 species have been photographed in their habitats, and the accumulated data were published as the “Atlas of the Benthic Marine Fishes of Turkey”.

My devotion to research in the medical faculty and in underwater photography has always been supported by a happy marriage for over 23 years to Dr. Ufuk Can. Our 21-year old daughter Selin and 13-year old son Barış have been the closest fans of their father. Their father also enjoys very much diving with his children.