Biography Mehmet Biber e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it KABE yi NGM in kapagina tasiyan ve Dunyaya acilan ilk Turk foto muhabiri MEHMET BIBER- AJANS BIBER I am the first press photographer from Turkey start to work for world. I started my career in photo reporting 1951 in Istanbul, working locally in at a IFA Photo Ajancy and AFP. Later on I worked continuously for several news papers (Yeni Istanbul Daily, Istanbul Exspres, Yeni Sabah.Turkiyespor, Aksam, HHA, Hurriyet). I also covered events for foreign press and TV from Turkey. In 1962, I came to the USA to learn color photography, working at the UN in New York as a photo reporter for Turkish newspapers and, freelancing for European and American publications. Time Magazine, Bunte Ill and many other publications used my photos. I have covered many event: Peace March in Washington D.C. with Martin Luther King in 1963, the funeral of J.F. Kennedy, the Chicago riots 1968, Astronauts Parade in New York, United Nations activities, President Nixon’s visit to the Soviet Union, covered Pilgrimage to Mecca seven times, for Bunte Ill. Stern, GEO, National Geographic, others Magazine and newspapers. I worked for Saudi Arabian Magazine Al Faisal in Saudi Arabia 82-92 monthly. In addition, I have also covered ten Olympic Games (7 summer Olympics and 3 Winter Olympics), , covered Many Islamic Summit Conferences also covered White House and Capitol activities in Washington. I covered World Cup Soccer Games and World Wrestling Championship as well as other sport events for UPI, DPA, Reuters and Turkish Publications (Muhammad Ali’s fights, including the Foreman fight in Kinshasa, Zaire). My pictures were published all over the world in newspapers including Stern and others special books by Time Life book company. My pictures and articles in Albania have been published in National Geographic and other publications. TIME Magazine, Stern, Bunte Illustrierte used my pictures from my work all over the world, especially Turkey. National Geographic’s book “Odyssey” (100 years of art photography in NGM) used one of my photos and it was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. National Geographic used my Pilgrimage to Mecca photos as their cover story. The book “Splendors of the Past”, published by NGM has my photos in it as well (Hittite section). Leica camera company’s Leica Magazine published my pictures in their calendars, brochures, Photo Kino exhibition and their 75th year anniversary book. I had many requests from magazines around the world to use my photographs. I had a book published in Turkey, titled the “Hajj”. I received prizes from Eastman Kodak company photo competition “The World and its People” with more than 300 000 pictures entered the contest (received 4 First Prizes and 3 Second Prizes, exhibited at World Fair Kodak Pavilion in 1964). I received third prize with 4 photos I had taken during the summer Olympics 1996 Atlanta Photo Contest. I received many first and second prizes from the Turkish Press Association and Turkish sports writer association (Sedat Simavi Award, (Press) with my Hajj pictures.1977, equaling the US Pulitzer Price). I received third prices Sound of Imagination in USA. I returned to Istanbul in 1970 where I was working as a stringer early years for NBC, CBS TV, European Agency DPA Time and European magazines from Turkey covering earthquake, revolution and some other important stories. I was also the photo editor for Hurriyet Daily Newspaper. From 1992 to 1995 Turkish Atlas Magazine used my photo stories When it was time for our son to start school, after Moscow Olympics we returned to the US and settled in Virginia in 1980. I am still freelancing at my agency AJANS BIBER for newspapers and magazines and keep taking pictures, movies everywhere, and wherever I go. I work from my US home office, archiving digitally 55 year work including more than hundreds of thousands slides, negatives, and prints, putting them into web pages. So far more than ten thousand documents are digitally archived.