About Alptekin Baloglu
20 years in search of true colors of the silent world

Born in 1966, Turkey, Alptekin Baloğlu experienced his schooling days for the only target of architecture, but for the past twenty two years he has his roots in the print industry. It was back in 1994 when he let himself into the gravity of the underwater photography, the true sounds of the colors of the silent world.

In 1999, he had his first book published in underwater photography which indeed was also the first for Turkey, “The Reflections of Underwater”. He broke the silence of the underwater world with the success of this book and traveled more then thirty cities in Turkey for the so called slideshows.

Baloglu has participated in many competitions and built himself his invaluable achieve of 47 big awards from all over the world. 

2003 was the year for Baloğlu to have his second book published, “The Stars of Underwater”. To the wonderful combination of stunning underwater photographs, a documentary DVD and 3-D underwater images accompanied this splendid work. Hardly had the book been published, it was awarded “The World Prize of Underwater Book” in the prestigious, “The World Underwater Imagery Festival” in Antibes, France. It was the same year the book also received the award of “The Best Book of the Sea” from “The Celebrate the Sea Festival” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In 2005, he entered the 10th World Underwater Photography Championship in Spain, representing Turkey as the captain of the National team. Among the 50 photographers from 25 participating countries, he was awarded with the Gold Medal in the “Fish Category”. In 2006, he won the “Jury Prize” of “The Challenge of Marseille”, France. 

In 2006, his project “Underwater Life in Istanbul” came to an end with a big exhibition at Taksim square, in the heart of Istanbul. More than 300.000 people visited this event. It was the first complete photographic work and research ever done about Bosporus, the strait, connecting the two terra firmas, meeting cultures. The third book of Baloglu besides 80 minute documentary footage was then published on this project.

Alptekin Baloglu has participated in eleven exhibitions that took place in Istanbul, Berlin, Moscow, Barcelona, Brussels, Antibes and Paris.

All of his work piled after his indefatigable dives in coasts of Egypt, Sudan, Maldives, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Philippines, Belize, Spain, France and surely Turkey for his underwater photography.