Lamisa's possessions, part 1

18-19 May 2010
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

too lazy I always had been and had really felt this in my bones this time round.... my daughter is growing out of her possessions and I'm yet to finish my job.... I'm lazy indeed!!

I took this project back in May this year and wanted to shoot the things before they faded away in memory..... and I think I already let a lot of that go away..... I will never be able to forgive myself for that..... anyway, I'm trying to revive this project and really want to pursue this time.... lets see, what happens....

these are some of the shoots from last May.....





















Nikon D700 + Sigma APO 150mm f2.8 EX DG HSM Macro
1/100s, f3.2-5.6, ISO 200
Nikon SB-900 on camera shooting TTL, bounced off white ceiling

tribute to a young artist......

28 August 2010
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

I always believe that creativity can't be taught.... its something that people are born with..... you can groom creativity to pull off something outstanding.... but its a gift that not everyone possesses.....

we (my wife and me) suddenly decided to make a photograph that would pay tribute to a very young creative mind...... my wife once used to be a private tutor to Barnali.... Barnali used to come up with some really cool creative works of her own that looked beyond her age.... my wife got introduced to the world of glass-painting in this way..... you teach some; you learn some.... thats how life goes....

Barnali presented a fantastic gift to her teacher which was a work of emotion and showed her affection in the real world...... we thus decided to remember her affection and pay tribute to her creative mind..... we love her and we also admire her work..... all the best wishes to her....

now the geeky stuff..... I decided to use only one light source for this shot.... the idea was to project the work on the wall right beside the model (my wife).... I wanted the light source to be warm, but direct and contrasty..... I wanted it to have a spotlight effect with all its shadows......










Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-210mm f4-5.6D
f8, 1/250s, ISO 200 @85mm
Strobist info:
One SB-900 (in TTL mode on tripod with grid spot and warm gel filter) on camera right..... glass-paint artwork (held by an improvised boom-arm) placed between the light and the subject....

simulating daylight.......

27 August 2010
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

I've tried this kinda shot at Baliati as well during the last photowalk there in May 2010.... now, I can try to replicate this once again.....

it was a gloomy day.... just rained.... and there was hardly any sunlight, let alone harsh sunlight... I put an SB-900 on a tripod in the balcony and triggered it with the help of Elinchrom Skyport radio trigger.... put a warm gel filter on the flash to simulate late afternoon sunlight..... the grills on the window did the rest..... I just wished I could place the flash a bit further from the window, but the size of the balcony restricted this.... I had to be happy with this.....





Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 50mm f1.4D
1/30s, f8, ISO400
Strobist info:
Nikon SB-900 with warm gel filter on tripod, triggered by Elinchrom Skyport @ 1/2 power

Lamisa's moments with waterdrops......

27 August 2010
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

it was an instant decision to do it..... Lamisa was under the shower and this is something that I've not captured yet... previously I've captured Lamisa in the water-bowl.... but its been a while since then..... so, its time to update.... she's growing up and making her way up the ladder..... it wasn't just she who loved the moment, we all drowned in that short moment of joy and excitement....

now, the geeky stuff..... I wanted the water-drops to feature prominently... and required the stopping power of a flash.... I put on an SB-900 on the camera and relied on its excellent TTL capabilities.... I even brought the shutter speed down to 1/40s to see where it goes..... anyway, I would've loved to get the background as less prominent as possible... lets see, may be next time..... :)









Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 50mm f1.4D + Nikon SB-900

enjoying tethered shooting......

25 August 2010
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

just got inspired by a YouTube video of a German commercial photographer..... he had been using his netbook for tethered shooting..... its not that I haven't seen this before..... but its the first time I've seen someone using a netbook instead of a big laptop or a big LCD monitor..... its a great tool to use, especially for portrait photography.....

I searched the Net and downloaded DCamCapture..... its a free software and supports latest DSLR models...... its simple, but does the most important thing.... it brings the photo into the computer right after the shutter release...... it doesn't have an image viewer, but I didn't find this particularly limiting.... I used the ViewNX software as the viewer and problem solved..... I only needed to push the next button to see the picture..... I wasn't really bothered by that, at least, don't feel bothered right now...

I took the opportunity to shoot some young models in-house and the system tested positive.... seeing the images big right after the shoo is a big advantage..... it helps to check critical focus much more easily and also helps to judge other things in the picture with more ease.... camera LCD does the same thing, but its too small to save a lot of time....



Model: Tabassum
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 50mm f1.4D
f1.4, 1/125s, ISO1600
Illumination from tube-light



Model: Tabassum
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 50mm f1.4D
f1.4, 1/125s, ISO640
Illumination from tube-light

how green my valley could've been........

06 August 2010
Char Washpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

went to the other bank of the Buriganga for two weekends in a row.... this place never becomes too old for me..... and the other weekend I discovered the beauty of the lit-up bridge at dusk... had the plan to go there during the weekdays, but as like any other day-dream of mine, this one was assassinated at the door of my office.....

anyway, was able to capture some eye-catching moments of Nature that reminded me how the River Buriganga could've been if we considered it our river.... now the struggle is on to retrieve what we can.... but the damage is already done......


only if colours could tell the story.......


the chimneys jumping out of the brick-fields are the symbol of air pollution for Dhaka..... they can't possibly make a beautiful backdrop however colourful the sunset is..... and the mirror produced by the water from the River Buriganga has been in the news for all the wrong reasons...... we just wish the reality was as rosy as the sky.....

Taken at on the bank of the River Buriganga, Char Washpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 06 August 2010


a beautiful reminder..........


the Second Buriganga Bridge looks beautiful under the monsoon clouds, facing warm afternoon lights..... this is just a reminder what we are missing by polluting this beautiful river...... there is still time for us to bring the River Buriganga back to life......

Taken on the bank of the River Buriganga, Char Washpur, Basila, Dhaka; 31 July 2010