Interview: Ci Demi on the quiet tension of the urban landscape

ISO 200 | 1/2500 sec | F5.6 | 23mm (35mm equiv. full-frame) Photo: Ci Demi Camera: Fujifilm X100F

Ci Demi has spent most of the past decade discovering how to document the life and landscapes of his home city, Istanbul, and has developed a unique pastel street style that is at once both comforting and unsettling.

He began to photograph Istanbul, taken by the ‘instinct to witness’ the happenings of life around him, especially the nearly endless protests of the era. It didn’t take long for him to love the process and, as Demi puts it, ‘recording things no matter how ‘insignificant’ they seemed’.

Demi picked up photography through ‘a series of coincidences,’ he said, after an unexpected bonus in 2015 from his advertising agency job. He had solely used an iPhone 5 to take snapshots prior, but was interested in developing his skills further. Demi told me that he was ‘intimidated by DSLRs,’ and mirrorless cameras seemed more approachable. He went to a Fujifilm store and bought an X-E2, and from there got serious about photography.

ISO 640 | 1/640 sec | F4 | 18mm (28mm equiv. full-frame) Photo: Ci Demi Camera: Fujifilm X70

Demi did, indeed, get serious. In the eight years since he bought his XE-2, his skills and his camera collection have both developed tremendously, and today, his work has been featured in exhibitions around the globe, including one recently at the Pera Museum in Istanbul. No matter what camera or subject Demi chooses, his style has stayed strongly recognizable (and consistently eerie), even when he relies on using his collection of point-and-shoots.

He has also published two photobooks: Şehir Fikri (Notion of a City) is his most recent photobook, and focuses on the unsettling nature of a city without people or language.

ISO 200 | 1/1000 sec | F5.6 | 18mm (28mm equiv. full-frame) Photo: Ci Demi Camera: Fujifilm X70

DPReview spoke to Demi to learn more about his unique approach to horror, color and even how to use a Sony RX0 to get a newspaper-worthy photograph. What follows is a portion of our chat (edited for brevity and clarity).

DPReview: You’ve produced beautiful gallery and book projects such as 2022’s Notion of a City and 2019’s No Offense If You Forget, where you use a very pastel color palette that still maintains its vividity. What led you to this style choice?

Demi: My distinctive color palette comes from Italian horror/thrillers of the 1970s called giallos. They were my initial inspiration to create my look because they are so unique and effective at setting a certain ‘mood.’

“My distinctive color palette comes from Italian horror/thrillers of the 1970s called giallos.”

While photographing in Istanbul, every detail around me adds up to a complete ‘horror film set’ in my mind. It’s eerie, and you can feel that something’s off, but you can’t quite put your finger on what it is. I very much enjoy acting like a horror film director who only works during the daytime. I never stage my photographs, though, or utilize darkness/nighttime. Daytime is ‘scary’ enough. I am in love with photographing what I call ‘quiet tension’ in the city, so the colors work in my favor.

ISO 200 | 1/125 sec | F4 | 8mm (24mm equiv. full-frame) Photo: Ci Demi Camera: Sony RX0

In the past, you’ve used minuscule point-and-shoots (such as the Sony RX0) for some of your work. How did changing your camera to something so small and so wide (24mm equiv. lens) influence your style and your stories?

For the photo series that you mentioned, No Offense if You Forget, I used the Fujifilm X70, Fujifilm X100F/V, Sony RX100 V, and Sony RX0 over a span of five years.

In the entirety of 2018, I only used the Sony RX0. Well, I can’t recommend that to anyone because, as you can easily guess, it’s crippling. I missed more shots than I captured. But at that time, I had no desire to carry a ‘larger’ camera, so it somewhat worked out.

ISO 200 | 1/160 sec | F4 | 8mm (24mm equiv. full-frame) Photo: Ci Demi Camera: Sony RX0

The Sony RX0 is frustratingly beautiful. Carrying it for the purpose of shooting a story is simply liberating. It’s the closest I have ever gotten to ‘photographing without a camera.’ I worked with 28mm and 35mm my entire life, but 24mm is a whole other thing; it requires you to get up properly close. It was experimental to use that camera, and it still is, but I think I enjoyed the challenge.

In the entirety of 2018, I only used the Sony RX0. Well, I can’t recommend that to anyone…

Fun story: In early 2023, I went on an assignment for an international newspaper. I had the Fujifilm X100V and Sony RX0 with me. I shot the entire assignment with the Fujifilm, but for one shot, I needed a wider angle, so I snapped a picture with the Sony. Guess which picture the photo editor picked for the article? It was amusing to see a photo that came from that camera in a newspaper.

Currently, I primarily shoot with a Ricoh GR IIIx. The Sony RX0 is always in my bag as well.

Can you delve a little into the process you use to create your color palette and style?

I have been using Adobe Lightroom to edit my pictures almost exclusively on my tablet for the past five years. So, years ago, I got to work and tried to imitate giallos. I don’t think I succeeded 100%, but I did end up with something special: my own color palette. In my case, negative contrast values and keeping hue saturation and lightness consistent are the keys to my approach.

ISO 200 | 1/1000 sec | F4 | 18mm (28mm equiv. full-frame) Photo: Ci Demi Camera: Fujifilm X70

Where do you derive your inspiration from? I know that you mentioned a while back that photography was a way to get out of the house after a serious depressive episode.

All of my stories are about Istanbul, my relationship with it (and my criticisms of it), and myself. Therefore, I would say that my life itself inspires me; it is my driving force. Ever since I was little, I have wanted to tell stories. This is what I am constantly doing now with my photography, and I am very content with a zen-like approach to life.

“I’ll forever be grateful to that clueless me who got himself a camera for seemingly no reason.”

At one point in my life, photography was my therapy – pretty much my excuse to live my life. I can confidently say that it saved me from the depths of depression. Its impact was massive. I’ll forever be grateful to that clueless me who got himself a camera for seemingly no reason.

Do you shoot to discover new areas, or do you find new compositions in familiar places?

I think it’s a little bit of both; sometimes, I feel like going far into the city, while other times, I just walk around the city center for a couple of hours, always hoping to come across something interesting. Istanbul never fails to deliver; I keep seeing these little details that make the city what it is. So, I photograph them. Discovering those moments gives me immense joy.

ISO 200 | 1/1000 sec | F4 | 18mm (28mm equiv. full-frame) Photo: Ci Demi Camera: Fujifilm X100F

You’ve shot many series featuring your home city of Istanbul. What about the city speaks to you so creatively, and how do you try to capture its spirit even without people or text (as in Notion of a City)?

There are countless layers that make up Istanbul. Peeling them off with photography and attempting to capture the essence of the city is extremely satisfying to me. Istanbul is a mysterious and crowded city with a unique sense of humor. There are so many possibilities for photographs in every moment. I keep coming back for more because I never stop discovering new layers in it.

ISO 200 | 1/400 sec | F5.6 | 18mm (28mm equiv. full-frame) Photo: Ci Demi Camera: Fujifilm X70

Is there any other city you’d like to photograph aside from Istanbul?

I did try photographing in New Zealand. I was faced with a complete culture shock, I think. While I was able to capture some meaningful pictures, they were nothing like what I would shoot in Istanbul. So, I guess Istanbul also defines my style to some extent. I know the ins and outs of it, and we can work together to create a narrative. In New Zealand, I felt like an outsider for the first time. Not necessarily a bad thing, as I was a tourist, but I didn’t capture what I was after with my photography there.

I do, however, want to photograph Berlin and try to find traces and clues of Istanbul in that city, as it has a sizable Turkish community. But that’s a story for the future.

ISO 200 | 1/1800 sec | F4 | 23mm (35mm equiv. full-frame) Photo: Ci Demi Camera: Fujifilm X100F