Yellowknife (Jan 28/05) - Look outside at this time of year and all you'll see around Yellowknife is white.

Maya Culha attended the opening of her first photo exhibit last weekend wearing a relative's traditional Turkish wedding dress.

But if you'd like to be reminded of what colour looks like, check out the new photo exhibit at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.

On the second floor, in the Heritage Cafe, images of Turkey and its people are on display from now until May.

The photos, taken between 1995 and 2000, are mostly portraits of people young and old, working and playing, all bathed in sunlight and featuring vibrant, bright colours.

One in particular, titled "Happiness doesn't listen to tiredness" shows a group of female olive pickers sitting in the back of a truck, all beaming at the camera with the sheer joy of life.

Too excited to sleep

Photographer Maya Culha, who is originally from Turkey, arrived in Yellowknife three months ago by way of Toronto and Edmonton.

The exhibit at the museum is her first ever.

"I couldn't sleep last night," she said at the opening on Saturday.

Recorded Turkish music filled the room and there was a generous spread of Turkish treats to sample.

Culha developed her hobby of photography as a break from intense science courses while she was working on her degree in meteorological engineering at Istanbul Technical University.

During her stint in Edmonton she put together a few slide shows for her ESL class and friends encouraged her to mount a professional exhibit of her work.

She's been working at a bank here for the past few months but Culha will be able to combine her technical skills with her love of the arts when she takes over as NACC's office manager in February.