The unexpected side of Istanbul: Photographer captures quirky and colourful modern architecture beyond the traditional sights

The historical city of Istanbul is usually captured through photographs of its picturesque mosques, elaborate palaces and winding streets and markets.

However it is the ultimate city of contrasts, with vibrant developments springing up in the middle of the old Turkish city. 

Architect and photographer Yener Torun sought to challenge the one dimensional view of his changing city, and captures the new, minimalistic buildings that add a splash of colour to Istanbul.  

Architect and photographer Yener Torun sought to challenge the one dimensional view of the changing city of Istanbul

Yener spends his time wandering around the city looking for bold, geometric buildings to photograph, and documents his work to his Instagram, which has over 50,000 followers. 

The photographer, who has lived in Istanbul for 14 years, aims to show a clean minimalistic view of the city, as it contrasts with the ornate, Ottoman architecture.

'Istanbul is mystical and historic but it is also a modern city and I believe increasing the variety of aspects provides a better understanding of the city,' the 32-year-old photographer said.

'I decided to look for something different and started searching less ornate, simpler, modern lines of the city.

'I dig every corner of the city and I spend most of my free time looking for them and finding them is like finding an oasis in a desert because Istanbul is quite like a desert of grey buildings.'

The photographer captures pictures of the bold, geometric buildings as he walks around the city

There has been an explosion in construction business in Turkey in the last 10 years with many new structures bringing different stylistic approaches. 

Yener admits that he has to hunt around in order to find the most dramatic and colourful ones.   

While photographing the colourful balconies of an apartment block, Yener also captures a resident spring cleaning

'I usually focus on the part of the building I am interested in and crop the rest,' he said. 

'Istanbul is eastern and western at the same time. It is historical and ornate but also modern too. 

'I have been living here for 14 years and it still finds a new trick to surprise me and I share some of these little surprises on Instagram.'

By placing people against the bright background, Yener adds another layer of interest to his Instagram pictures

Explaining why he snaps the unusual images, Yener explained: 'I decided to look for something different and started searching less ornate, simpler, modern lines of the city'

The photographer, who has lived in Istanbul for 14 years, aims to show a clean minimalistic view of the city

The bright, minimalist designs are contrary to the opulence of the sights that are often associated with Istanbul

Yener has more than 50,000 followers on his Instagram page thanks to his unusual images

The perfect honeycomb shape of the building design is given an unusual twist thanks to one open corner in the bottom right corner

Entitled 'Overlap', the colourful shutter give this otherwise standard apartment block a fun flash of colour

Alongside the photo of the coloured shutters, Yener playfully wrote: 'Hi, My Name Is Yener And I'm A Symmetry Addict'