Semiha Es (1912 – 11 December 2012) was the first

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

female war photographer.

Early years

Semiha Es was born into a modest family to Bekir and his wife Lütfiye at

Vefa Vefa is part of the district of Fatih in Istanbul, and lies inside what was once the old walled city of Constantinople. It lies roughly northwest of the eastern section of the Aqueduct of Valens, and is rich in monuments, both Byzantine and Otto ...

quarter of

Fatih Fatih () is a district of and a municipality (''belediye'') in Istanbul, Turkey, and home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the governor's office, police headquarters, metropolitan municipality and tax office) but not the co ...

district in İstanbul in 1912. She had a sister. At the age of 15, she jobbed as a

switchboard operator In the early days of telephony, companies used manual telephone switchboards, and switchboard operators connected calls by inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks. They were gradually phased out and replaced by automated system ...

in a telephone company to financially support her family. During a beauty contest application, still underage, she met Hikmet Feridun Es, a well known Turkish journalist. She eloped and married to Hikmet Geridun Es as she learned that her parents were prepared to give her away in marriage with someone she did not know.

Career

Semiha Es felt longing as her husband was away on journalistic trips from time to time. He decided to teach her to take photos so that she could be with him on journeys. Their first collaboration was in Holywood, California. She took photos while her husband was interviewing the celebrities of that time, among them future President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. She accompanied her spouse when he was sent to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

as a war correspondent by the daily ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is one of the major Turkish newspapers, founded in 1948. , it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' has a mainstream, liberal and conservative outlook. ''Hürriyet ...

'' to report about the Turkish Army Brigade's involvement in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

between 1950 and 1953. She served as a

war photographer ''War Photographer'' is a documentary by Christian Frei about the photographer James Nachtwey. As well as telling the story of an iconic man in the field of war photography, the film addresses the broader scope of ideas common to all those inv ...

. She was five days a week in the front in military uniform, spent the weekends in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan, where they were flown by military aircraft. Her photos began to be published in the newspaper from November 5, 1950. However, later it is revealed that only some of her photographs were actually published. These were the photos, which showed heroism of the soldiers. On the other hand, the photos reflecting the tragedy of the war were deliberately edited out. She became so the first female war photographer of Turkey. Semiha Es was five years at the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and remembers that she experienced the

was more horrific than the Korean War. She shot photos while she traveled around the globe with her spouse for the newspaper.

Later years and death

Semiha Es lost her husband in 1992, and lived her later years in loneliness because childless. Her life story was told in a documentary film titled ''Nisvan- Tarihe Adını Yazdıran Kadınlar'' ("Nisvan-The Women, who Made Their Mark"). She died at the age of 100 in her home at Balmumcu,

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

in İstanbul on 11 December 2012. She was laid to rest in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery next to her husband.

Legacy

On 28 November 2003, an international symposium, the "Semiha Es - Women Photographers International Symposium" organized by the Sabancı University, was held to commemorate her.Women's Museum page
/ref> During the event, the concert pianist Ayşe Tütüncü performed her musical work named "Second Eye: Women Photographers in Turkey".Sabancı University document
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Es, Semiha 1912 births People from Fatih Turkish women photographers Turkish photojournalists War photographers Hürriyet people 2012 deaths Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Women photojournalists