Güneş batınca martıları fotoğraflayacağım.

batınca comes from the verb batmak, which here means to set (as in the sun setting).

It is made of:

• bat- = the verb stem
• -ınca / -ince / -unca / -ünce = a suffix meaning when, once, or after

So:

• Güneş batınca = when the sun sets / once the sun has set

The exact form of the suffix changes because of vowel harmony. Since bat- contains a, the form here is -ınca.

That is a very good question, because batmak literally does mean to sink or to go down.

Turkish uses the same verb for the sun setting, just like English uses set. The idea is that the sun is going down below the horizon.

So:

• güneş batıyor = the sun is setting
• güneş battı = the sun set

This is a normal and very common use of batmak.

Because martıları is the direct object, and in Turkish a specific/definite direct object usually takes the accusative ending.

Breakdown:

• martı = seagull
• martılar = seagulls
• martıları = the seagulls / seagulls (as a specific object)

In this sentence, the speaker has particular seagulls in mind, so Turkish marks them with the accusative.

Compare:

• Martılar fotoğraflayacağım → not correct in standard Turkish
• Martı fotoğraflayacağım → I will photograph a seagull / seagulls (more indefinite, though this exact form would sound odd without context)
• Martıları fotoğraflayacağım → I will photograph the seagulls / those seagulls

So the -ı on martıları is the accusative marker.

Because the word can be divided like this:

• martı = seagull
• martı-lar = seagulls
• martı-lar-ı = the seagulls (as a direct object)

So the structure is:

martı + lar + ı

Here:

• -lar = plural
• -ı = accusative

This final vowel changes according to vowel harmony, so in other words you might see -i, -u, or -ü instead.

fotoğraflayacağım means I will photograph.

It is built from:

• fotoğraf = photograph, photo
• fotoğrafla- = to photograph
• -yacak / -yecek = future tense
• -ım / -im / -um / -üm = first person singular (I)

So:

• fotoğrafla-yacak-ım
• due to sound changes and normal spelling: fotoğraflayacağım

Meaning:

• I will photograph
• or more naturally in English: I’ll take photos of

The y is a buffer consonant.

Turkish often inserts y when one suffix ending/beginning with a vowel would otherwise create an awkward vowel collision.

Here the verb stem is:

• fotoğrafla-

The future suffix begins with a vowel-containing form:

• -acak / -ecek

So Turkish inserts y:

• fotoğrafla + acak → fotoğraflayacak

Then add the first-person ending:

• fotoğraflayacağım

This y is very common in Turkish.

This happens because of how the future tense combines with the personal ending.

The basic future suffix is:

• -acak / -ecek

For I, Turkish adds a first-person ending, and the form changes in the combined word:

• yapacağım = I will do
• gideceğim = I will go
• fotoğraflayacağım = I will photograph

So although learners often first meet the suffix as -acak / -ecek, in real conjugated forms you commonly see:

• -acağım / -eceğim = I will ...
• -acaksın / -eceksin = you will ...
• etc.

This is normal and should be learned as part of the full conjugation pattern.

It is not stated separately, because Turkish often leaves subject pronouns out when the verb already shows the person.

The ending -acağım tells you the subject is I.

So:

• fotoğraflayacağım = I will photograph

You could say Ben güneş batınca martıları fotoğraflayacağım, but ben is usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

Turkish word order is often Subject – Object – Verb, and time expressions commonly come before the main verb.

This sentence is:

• Güneş batınca = when the sun sets
• martıları = the seagulls
• fotoğraflayacağım = I will photograph

So literally it is close to:

• When the sun sets, the seagulls I-will-photograph

That sounds strange in English, but it is normal in Turkish because the verb usually comes at the end.

A very natural Turkish structure is:

[time clause] + [object] + [verb]

Yes. The suffix -ınca/-ince often covers several closely related ideas:

• when
• once
• after
• sometimes even as soon as

So Güneş batınca martıları fotoğraflayacağım could be understood as:

• When the sun sets, I’ll photograph the seagulls
• Once the sun has set, I’ll photograph the seagulls
• After sunset, I’ll photograph the seagulls

The exact nuance depends on context.

Yes, Turkish can also use an expression like fotoğraf çekmek, which literally means to pull/take a photograph and is very common.

So another natural sentence would be:

• Güneş batınca martıların fotoğrafını çekeceğim.

That also means I’ll take photos of the seagulls when the sun sets.

Your original sentence uses fotoğraflamak, which is also perfectly correct and natural. It is just a more direct to photograph type of verb.

In modern Turkish, ğ (called yumuşak ge) usually does not sound like a strong consonant such as English g.

In many cases it:

• lengthens the previous vowel,
• creates a slight glide,
• or is barely pronounced at all.

So in fotoğraflayacağım, the ğ is soft and subtle. You should not pronounce it like a hard g in go.

A rough learner-friendly idea is:

• fo-to-raf-la-ya-ca-ım with a smooth transition around ğ

The exact sound varies a bit depending on speaker and region, but the key point is: do not pronounce ğ as a hard g.

Yes, that is a very useful way to understand it.

It has:

1. a time clause

   • Güneş batınca = when the sun sets

2. a main clause

   • martıları fotoğraflayacağım = I will photograph the seagulls

So the whole sentence is basically:

• [When the sun sets] [I will photograph the seagulls].

This is a common Turkish pattern, and learning to spot these two parts will help you read longer sentences more easily.