Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
the type of portrait that I like most is probably environmental portrait... I almost invariably get attracted to the environment that somehow defines the subject... its one of the easier ways to talk about a person.... sure it gets complicated sometimes, and sometimes it isn't even possible... but I do look for an environment around a person.... almost always....
I've always wanted to photograph artists.... I tend to get fascinated by their ways of thinking... their eyes are not like others.... its almost like an extra sensory perception.... and not being in contact with a lot of artists, I grew an interest of photographing artists.... several months back, I got to know that one of my young colleagues possesses the unique abilities of an artist... the moment I learned about his special skills, I decided to photograph him....
but deciding to photograph and actually doing it turned out to be quite far from each other.... it took several months to finally reach an agreement on a specific date and time.... in fact, it was instigated by the coming departure of one of our esteemed colleagues for a far-away country.... Riad, my young colleague, is also a great cook... he decided to invite some of our co-workers to taste his superb dishes.... I gave my consent without a delay... well, not for the feast though... rather I took the opportunity to have the portrait session that we had been planning for so long.... and reaching there, I discovered that his multi-talented hands.... the steaks were awesome!!
I instantly got stirred by the disorganised nature of his room.... there's an absent-mindedness about him... his mind doesn't live in this world for the whole day for sure... the arts hanging and lying around his room instantly catches attention of a visitor... heavily inspired by comic books and characters, his works carry marks of his individuality and uniqueness.... not being an art critic myself I only took note of his philosophies behind some of his most favourite works... I somehow enjoyed that session even though I couldn't relate to all the words he uttered!... its the honesty with which he described and critiqued his own works that fascinated me...
anyway, the portrait session was not too simple, but not that complex either.... it was evening and the sun was down.... so, there was no question of using ambient light..... used a Westcott Apollo 28" softbox as the main light with an SB-900 inside.... another SB-900 was with a grid-spot, illuminating the art-cluttered wall.... used a Nikkor 20mm lens to bring all of that environment in the frame....
I tried to keep the whole shoot as representative as possible... moved around a few things including covering up an air-conditioner unit with an art-piece... also photographed Riad with his unfinished works.... doing some final retouch.... with the same setup.... in the same way and place where he actually does it.... the whole shoot was done within a very short time.... its only the setup that took a bit of time... big thanks to Riad for the lovely evening.... and also for being so spontaneous with the session.... his enthusiasm in explaining his works gave me cues about arranging the frame and lighting...
a lot more to come....
