Victory Day
16 December 2011
Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
the moment we had come to know that Pretty and her brother had the most unique of birthdays, we knew we had to do something about it.... and then when we learned that Pretty's dad was a freedom fighter, we thought it would be a huge missed opportunity if we couldn't manage time for an exclusive photo-session.... the Victory Day was coming; so, we planned for the session right away... and when we ultimately met the family and spent some time with them, we knew that we were about to do one of our most important shoots.... it was a privileged evening; some heart-warming moments and an opportunity to tell an exclusive story; a real-life story....
Professor Abdul Halim had been in the Pakistan Air Force when Bangladesh's independence was declared.... he joined the struggle for independence from the very first day and fought in the Tangail and Pabna areas of the country.... he had been one of those early venturers who risked everything and never looked back.... never had a doubt about what he was fighting for.... he remembrances from those fiery days of 1971 ignited that passion in our heart, and we almost forgot that we had a photo-session to do.... his real-life stories we so vivid and earthly, which could easily differentiate with the unreal.... his descriptions were pure, raw, and uncut.... thats history has to be read; unexpurgated.... he still remembers how after the capture of three Pakistan Army vehicles early in the war (probably around April 1971), he was hailed along with his few brave colleagues.... and how people turned against them when they were forced to retreat from Madhupur.... his words are as fresh as they had happened yesterday.... the history is as real as it can get...
Professor Halim's two children carry the flag of the nation which was born after a few like him decided to raise their voices.... Professor Abdul Halim fought off the enemy in 1971 with his gun.... that was just the beginning of another struggle.... the struggle to build a nation.... Pretty was born on 26th March, the Independence Day, and Hameem was born on 16th December, the Victory Day.... they are the children of the sun.... the flag bearers of today.... they carry forward the struggle to build the nation that their proud father dreamed of....
and there is the family.... spending time with Mrs. Halim showed us the value of this proud family.... their struggle to raise this family is an epic one; something that can inspire people.... her descriptions of the early days were vivid and captivating; capable of brining emotions.... these conversations made our stay over there truly worth-it.... Pretty and Hameem are lucky to have parents like that.... our salute!
the photo-session wasn't complete without some intimate portraits of the family.... we saved it for the last part of the session.... but this time, we did a change.... there was no national flag in the back.... the flag was a very important part of the shoot.... and as it was the Victory Day, and Hameem's birthday, it was all the more appropriate....
technically speaking, this group shoot was dependent on some moody light; yet, the contrast had to be lessened.... the main light for the whole shoot was a Elinchrom Ranger RX + Rotalux 100cm "Deep Octa" softbox combo.... the power of the Ranger was needed to get enough depth for group portraits.... trigger for the Ranger was the Elinchrom Skyport... to reduce contrast, we set up two YN-560 flashes in optical trigger (S1) mode aiming for the ceiling on the other side.... that light trickled down just about enough to cut contrasts.... two lights allowed for a faster recycle time.... the big size of the room allowed the use of 70-210mm lens, compressing perspective.... yea, we turned their living room into a temporary studio!!
anyway, a lot more to come.... getting little time to complete blogs now-a-days... but hope to catch up soon enough.....
16 December 2011
Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
the moment we had come to know that Pretty and her brother had the most unique of birthdays, we knew we had to do something about it.... and then when we learned that Pretty's dad was a freedom fighter, we thought it would be a huge missed opportunity if we couldn't manage time for an exclusive photo-session.... the Victory Day was coming; so, we planned for the session right away... and when we ultimately met the family and spent some time with them, we knew that we were about to do one of our most important shoots.... it was a privileged evening; some heart-warming moments and an opportunity to tell an exclusive story; a real-life story....
Professor Abdul Halim had been in the Pakistan Air Force when Bangladesh's independence was declared.... he joined the struggle for independence from the very first day and fought in the Tangail and Pabna areas of the country.... he had been one of those early venturers who risked everything and never looked back.... never had a doubt about what he was fighting for.... he remembrances from those fiery days of 1971 ignited that passion in our heart, and we almost forgot that we had a photo-session to do.... his real-life stories we so vivid and earthly, which could easily differentiate with the unreal.... his descriptions were pure, raw, and uncut.... thats history has to be read; unexpurgated.... he still remembers how after the capture of three Pakistan Army vehicles early in the war (probably around April 1971), he was hailed along with his few brave colleagues.... and how people turned against them when they were forced to retreat from Madhupur.... his words are as fresh as they had happened yesterday.... the history is as real as it can get...
Professor Halim's two children carry the flag of the nation which was born after a few like him decided to raise their voices.... Professor Abdul Halim fought off the enemy in 1971 with his gun.... that was just the beginning of another struggle.... the struggle to build a nation.... Pretty was born on 26th March, the Independence Day, and Hameem was born on 16th December, the Victory Day.... they are the children of the sun.... the flag bearers of today.... they carry forward the struggle to build the nation that their proud father dreamed of....
and there is the family.... spending time with Mrs. Halim showed us the value of this proud family.... their struggle to raise this family is an epic one; something that can inspire people.... her descriptions of the early days were vivid and captivating; capable of brining emotions.... these conversations made our stay over there truly worth-it.... Pretty and Hameem are lucky to have parents like that.... our salute!
the photo-session wasn't complete without some intimate portraits of the family.... we saved it for the last part of the session.... but this time, we did a change.... there was no national flag in the back.... the flag was a very important part of the shoot.... and as it was the Victory Day, and Hameem's birthday, it was all the more appropriate....
technically speaking, this group shoot was dependent on some moody light; yet, the contrast had to be lessened.... the main light for the whole shoot was a Elinchrom Ranger RX + Rotalux 100cm "Deep Octa" softbox combo.... the power of the Ranger was needed to get enough depth for group portraits.... trigger for the Ranger was the Elinchrom Skyport... to reduce contrast, we set up two YN-560 flashes in optical trigger (S1) mode aiming for the ceiling on the other side.... that light trickled down just about enough to cut contrasts.... two lights allowed for a faster recycle time.... the big size of the room allowed the use of 70-210mm lens, compressing perspective.... yea, we turned their living room into a temporary studio!!
anyway, a lot more to come.... getting little time to complete blogs now-a-days... but hope to catch up soon enough.....
