a day with the LX-5.......

27 May 2011
Mohammadpur and Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Panasonic Lumix LX-5..... had been thinking about it for a while now, but didn't really make progress for a lot of reasons..... the most important being the lack of supply in Dhaka.... the market looked almost too pessimistic in Dhaka.... but things really took a nice turn when I arrived at Kualalumpur..... it didn't really seem that there were any kind of crisis going on in the supply of photographic equipment.... at least, the impression that I had received in Dhaka was shattered to pieces during the first several hours of my transient stay at KL..... there was an abundance of camera and accessories in every store I looked into..... that gave me strength to go for the LX-5....

had been reading online reviews for some time now.... I shortlisted the brands to LX-5, Canon G-12 and Nikon P7000..... the list contained 3, as there was apparently a "crisis" in the supply chain..... the situation in Japan was talked about so much.... but my visit to KL made the list shorter.... the LX-5 was everywhere.... so, no issues....










anyway, the LX-5 deserved some tryouts.... and this Friday was the day..... because of the presence of the hot-shoe and complete manual control, I decided to start with my improvised studio.... Lamisa volunteered, as usual.... this was her first photoshoot since she lost her hair to an angry hair-stylist.... she advertised my newest DIY thing..... a very small diffuser that can be stowed within my small netbook bag... the diffuser is 60cm x 38cm in size.... folded, this comes down to around 20cm in diameter.... Lamisa displayed the "product" in front of the LX-5 with Elinchrom Skyport trigger.... the Skyport triggered a Ranger A-Head and that, in turn, triggered a Yongnuo YN-560 flash in optical trigger mode (see diagram).....




I shot in RAW mode.... the speed of the LX-5 in RAW mode was definitely impressive.... its not as fast as a D700, but it certainly isn't slow.... struggled with editing the RAW file for a while.... it eventually worked out..... but after that I confined myself to shooting JPEG only.... and I had received some opportunities of that during the day.... went out with the family and had some shooting opportunities.....

used a YN-560 flash sporadically to test out the practical aspect of carrying a flash in some situations..... its portability and capability certainly made it my camera of choice for at least some occasions..... I'm sure that the kind of shooting opportunity I had during the day, I would've left my D700 back home just to save my shoulders..... it was a cakewalk with the LX-5; even with a YN-560 flash and Elinchrom Skyport radio triggers.... I even carried that DIY diffuser that Lamisa tried to market in the earlier images.... the carry-on pack was extremely comfortable.... I usually carry my netbook in it... and in fact, that bag gave me a real push to look for a P&S camera.... another push came from that weird problem I encountered during the Jessore Safari....

I loved the 24mm perspective of this Leica lens... its truly a revelation.... didn't really expect a P&S camera to come up with a 24mmm lens, although now-a-days a lot of the P&S cameras are actually coming with a 24mm wide lens... the image stabilizer is really good.... tried out this below shot at 0.4sec....




the wide aperture and close focusing of the lens gave me a surprise... it produced some nice background blur.... the following was shot at 60mm equivalent at f2.8.... there was a YN-560 flash on top of the camera shooting at the ceiling....



I've also tried out that small diffuser.... it was a bit clumsy to work with, as the wire structure is a bit wobbly for hand-holding.... certainly not for any windy situations.... but it works well for such a small pack.... the light source needs to pretty close to subject to produce soft light.... thats not a real issue for a lot of shooting types....



more to write soon..... especially my KL diaries.....

a small tribute.....

01 April 2011
Dhaka, Bangladesh


had been thinking of this for some time.... but at last I thought the time has arrived.... I had been in photography for more than five years now and it was late last year that I finally understood what the most important subject in photography is.... and thats exactly why I took "people photography" as a resolution for 2011.... to me, its the most challenging and the most rewarding in photography........

everything has a start.... where did this thought start then?..... like a lotta other stuff it didn't start too far away..... it was my workplace where I got that spark.... a very unlikely place considering the fact that its work pressure that actually gave me the biggest push behind starting photography.....

it was late July 2010 when this all happened.... he had been my boss for five years.... it wasn't just a working relationship that I had with him..... he had always been beside me like an elder brother with all his experience and advice.... we spent long enough time to be considered as part of one family.... never really understood when this turned into sort of a bondage..... and also, didn't actually realise this until those last days of July.....

I had always dreamed of taking a portrait of him..... but didn't really know that it would be on his day of farewell that I would finally be able to accomplish this..... it was right after we gave him enough time to shallow those tears.... it was sort of an emotional thing for me as well, but had keep my composure to be able to come up with a reasonable outcome..... I had already thought about this the night before and determined that it had to be an image that shows his inner self..... a self that only those close to him knew about....



I persuaded him to clean up his table!!... wow!!.... that was an achievement.... I had never seen that free of piles of paper!!.... I wanted that window open..... I wanted the light to burst in like freedom, breaking all barriers.... reflecting on that glossy table and illuminating those glasses of his that made him an icon among so many...... and I made him do a thing that he had never done..... stare at that light of freedom!!!..... I felt like finding that soul that always wanted to fly.... it was one of those moments in photography when you feel that you've done something good....

there were just too many moments that reminded of him during the last eight months.... we watched the ICC WC Cricket 2011 together and we felt that empty chair... we felt that absent voice..... and we missed that inspiration.... and when he reads this from that far away land, I'm sure that he will know that there are many a souls that will not forget him....

Day Four: BIF-3...... counting hours.....

28 March, 2011
Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

its been truly a wonderful week.... we now come down to the point that some of us are all familiar with..... its coming to an end..... its really tough to let go.... difficult to believe that there won't be another adda at Drik on Wednesday.... I pass Drik regularly..... I would miss that glorious banner in front of Drik sporting the faces of 71 enthusiastic TTL-ers..... it was a heart-filling experience seeing this event in action..... a gallery full of photo enthusiasts and visitors....

I was privileged to receive Nigel, who came in Bangladesh flying in from the UK to see the Gorai Bridge at Kushtia, which his father built many years ago as an engineer..... he came here with his brother and a friend, who also showed his passion for photography..... spending the evening with them explaining the splendid contents of this exhibit was a great experience.... their nice company made the evening a worthwhile one for me.... it was an honour representing Bangladesh in front of the guests.....

it was already evening when I arrived at Drik.... and when Nigel and company left the scene, it was almost closing time..... but I can hardly write a blog without a photo..... my plan on the eve of the opening day was to take portraits of the photographers with their photos on their lap..... well, for some unknown reason, the project didn't really happen.... I thought it was time to do that at least for once.... I picked up Ronie Amin.... apparently an unusual choice for a subject.... there are people like Avik Bhai, Tinku Bhai or Sadia, who would always attract photographers.... but there are some others who always slip through that net of attraction.... they almost remain invisible in front of other photographers..... I decided to pick him..... he was more than happy to bring his photo from the ground floor to do this.... his enthusiasm made my day..... we got a photo....

From BIF-3, March 2011

D700 + 20mm 2.8 + Elinchrom Skyport
f7.1, 1/60sec, ISO 100
Strobist info: SB-900 triggered by Elinchrom Skyport, on camera right, above subject, (held by Zaim) shooting into a white collapsible reflector (held by Kamrul)


Zaim released his fantastic promo on BIF-3 on Youtube today.... lovely work by a very dedicated TTL-er.... great creativity.... enough to heat up the spirit!!



the last day would make everyone sad.... :(

Day Three: BIF-3..... creative sparks flying!!

27 March 2011 Drik Gallery, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

day three at Drik was not as crowdy as the previous two days.... it was expected; its not a weekend.... but there was a huge gathering of photographers, as usual.... more so because of the special event named Story in Frames..... this is one of the prime attractions of BIF for the last three years.... audio-visual presentations from various photographers were displayed in front of a full house.... we also had photo stories displayed in the exhibit on the walls.... that was a first-timer as well.... the main difference of "Story in Frames" event with photo stories on the walls is that Stiry in Frames is an audio-visual presentation, which may contain audio, animation, words; in other words, its almost a moving story without being a motion picture video.....


Photo credit: Saud Al Faisal

the event started off with a grand display of a promo video for BIF-3 done by Zaim, which warmed everyone up!!....... a total of nine stories were displayed during the exhibit..... Atikullah Sayeed displayed a tough work done on sex-workers.... M A Naser displayed a very unique work based on a poem by Jivanananda Das.... Xoaher displayed a conceptual work displaying his inner feelings.... there was a work on Rush Mela at Dublar Char done by Shabbir Ferdous.... Faisal Bhai displayed two works of his; one on stone workers of Bholaganj stone quarry and the other on "waiting" done at Kamalapur Railway Station..... Mishuk displayed his work on "underground" culture, which was also on display at the exhibit..... Avik Bhai displayed a touching work on his experience with cancer patients in Malaysia....... and I displayed a work on the people who call Cox's Bazaar beach their home....

there were short debates on the stories on display..... unfortunately the time was too short to spend substantial amount of time on each of the stories..... perhaps from next time onwards we can make this event grander..... nevertheless, it was an event where creative sparks were flying and it surely stands as one of the top events of BIF.....

two more days to go..... but I'm already feeling the pain on having to let go....

Day Two: BIF-3..... in full motion!!

26 March 2011
Drik Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh

BIF-3 is rocking, not just Drik, but outside as well.... another great day..... the day started with an FM radio campaign on Radio Foorti.... Faisal Bhai and me went on air at 10:00AM to give an overview of TTL and BIF-3..... it was a pretty good exposure for the exhibit.... thanks goes to Radio Foorti for giving us the coverage.....





it was the Independence Day..... and as expected, the day was pulling a big crowd.... there was hardly a moment during the day when the galleries were not full of people.... Anwar Hossain was there with us for the second day in a row.... our selector Andrew Biraj also spent the day with us.... and the best part of the day was the cake!!.... it was TTL's birthday!!..... a big cake, symbolizing the national flag was introduced.... and almost immediately, it became the most photographer cake ever!!..... the cake-cutting ceremony set the tone for the day..... it was a day of fun.....

the outside weather changed during the evening and we had to remove all the images from the open-air gallery on the ground floor..... but our spirit remained high until the exhibit was closed right after 8:00PM..... the authorities literally had to throw us out..... but before that, we were able to exercise a bit of madness with lights and shadows......


model: Xoaher
D700 + 70-210mm @92mm; 1/400sec, f9, ISO 100
Strobist info: 2 x SB-900 + 1 x SB-600 firing from camera left; TTL, high-speed sync; placed on ground; shielded by human shield formed by several TTL-ers so that the light doesn't spill on to the back wall, which was lit by many lights... well, it still did!! :O
Editing: tilted the image around 90 degrees!! :O

Day One....... BIF-3, the landmark exhibit!!

25 March 2011
Drik Gallery, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

It was the grandest of openings to the Bangladesh in Frames II…. BIF3 is already a landmark and the opening was a landmark within that…. What can I say other than it was a landmark within a landmark??..... it really was an awesome feeling being part of such a grand venture….. we’re mostly amateurs and yet the exhibit image doesn’t make one feel so…. BIF3 is fast turning into a photo festival…. And with time, it sure will….. it’s a lot more than seeing one’s own pictures hanging on the wall of a big gallery…. The birthday cake in coming on the 2^nd day, TTL’s birthday (26^th March), which is also the Independence Day of Bangladesh!..... a great day a awaits us…..

The first day of BIF3 at Drik Gallery saw a great many people showing up…… the number of participants this time (102) tells the story, actually…. It simply had to get the publicity it deserved….. it was also a weekend, so, a big turnover was expected…..

For us, the day started from the morning, seeing the last-minute preparations…… can’t give enough thanks to Shudipto and his team for working feverishly day and night to make this happen….. Avik Bhai worked wonders with the banners, which made visitors stand and admire…… the group shot in front of Drik looked like an achievement….. our chief guest, renowned photographer Anwar Hossain took a pause in front of the group shot to take a snap!!..... that was enough of an admiration for the work!!

Faisal Bhai and me are going to Radio Foorti on 26^th to talk about the exhibit, some time after 10:00AM…. That’s part of the publicity you need for a grand event like this….. Radio Foorti had been a very supportive media partner for us……

The first day ended with some pictures as well….. I was looking for that opportunity to snap a few shots of my photographer buddies….. Kamrul was my first choice…. Big thanks to him for being a very cooperative subject….. Kamrul Hasan is one of the most talented young photographer that I know…. A master in the art of B&W, though of late he has proven his expertise in coloured photos as well….. a great photographer of people in his own right, Kamrul is an icon to a lot of young photographers of Bangladesh…. a very pleasant character; unassuming; a delightful company.... a good friend!

D700+20mm+Elinchrom Skyport

Strobist info: one SB-900 on camera right, above subject, shooting through a white shoot-through umbrella, held by VAL (Zaim), triggered by Elinchrom Skyport radio trigger

Then it was Tinku Bhai again…… a painful subject to shoot!!.... arghhhhh!!.... very demanding…. I now know how perfectionist directors are….. but what a subject he is!!.... so creative; always full of ideas; and what a luck for the photographer to just to make sure that the photo isn’t screwed up…. It’s a guarantee that it will be a killer idea….. it took me some time to figure out what Tinku Bhai wanted…. But once it clicked, it was like cakewalk….. only a handful of shots to make it perfect….. I fetched a scarf, which ultimately made the shot taken from “Good Bad Ugly”….. man!! was I happy?? :D

D700+85mm+Elinchrom Skyport

Strobist info: one SB-900 on camera right, above subject, shooting through a white shoot-through umbrella, held by VAL (Nasif), triggered by Elinchrom Skyport radio trigger

exhibit pics are here in this album....

A lot more to come….. stay tuned….

first corporate assignment.....

03 January 2011
Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

when the opportunity came up for me to shoot in a corporate environ, I just grabbed it with both hands, though I was not gonna be paid for my services..... I actually relished the opportunity to shoot some pics with extremely friendly bunch of subjects.... the ideas were simple enough, but to execute the thing, I had to travel with a ton of equipment..... ended up using most of the things, but also felt the need for some other things that might've made the job easier..... anyway, it was a good lesson for me.... learning to shoot with limitations of space and facilities....

this is first time I've really used the Simpex Pro 400D monolight for any serious shoot away from home..... I took it to the first studiowalk of TTL and also to Rajshahi, but didn't really use it.... I've found its best use as a background light.... it has a fair bit of power (250ws) that can be shot at f10/f11 under given circumstances..... I also used the SB-900s and Elinchrom Ranger units for different shoots..... the 4'x4' diffusion panels did a great job, but proved their limitations for the first time..... I also took all the fabrics for background and go-bo, but didn't really use them for lack of time,space and hanging facilities.... this was another important lesson.....

the first frame was involving three people and a laptop.... and there was a need for a white background.... the background was a 4'x4' white diffusion panel, illuminated by a Simpex Prolite 400D monolight at full power.... the main light was Elinchrom Ranger RX with A-Head, at first shooting through a brolly, then shooting through a 4'x4' diffusion panel..... framing was a real issue because of lack of space and I couldn't flatten perspective in any way because of that..... had to use PS to remove some of background clutter that remained in the frame.....










the next frame was a simple one..... a table discussion of several people..... needed illumination on all the faces...... used the Ranger as the main light with the 4'x4' diffusion panel and used the Simpex Proline 400D with a reflector to bounce light off the white ceiling as fill light....




the next one was an experiment with speedlights..... put one SB-900 on the laptop as the main light..... another SB-900 was camera right, shooting up into the white ceiling as fill light...... used the 28-80mm lens for all these shots.... all lights triggered by Elinchrom Skyport radio triggers....



also shot some available light stuff with aperture wide open..... 50 1.4.... shot between f4 and f2...













we had a lotta fun shooting these boring pics..... and decided to finish the day with a group shot in a non-corporate way.... Elinchrom Ranger shooting into the white ceiling as fill light.... shot at 34mm f8 on 28-80mm lens...

bagfull of memories.....

31 December 2010
Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

I simply couldn't have dreamed of a better ending to 2010.... it all brought back those memories....

I spent twelve of my most enjoyable years at that place..... that place is still there, but what happened?...... we all grew out of our small dreams.... and the place no longer has that human touch, which kept it so close to our heart.... it was almost as if we could even take the place everywhere with us if we could.... but whats the place without that human touch?...... the place found its home in our heart because of the people who surrounded us..... the place was nothing without the people..... I simply can't understate the importance of those years with those people.... I can't forget the past that formed me to be the man I am today.... and finding myself among those people after years was a dream come true....

we have had such get-together before, but none was of this scale.... we still missed some buddies who couldn't join.... the g2g was especially rare because of Andalib, Shouvik, Romel and Saikat, who crossed oceans to be here at year-end.... we have all changed in our own way, and discovering that change was a fun itself.... it was almost as if we were looking at mirrors; only discovering our own changes in the faces of others..... fascinating!!




it was truly nostalgic going to that place once again..... we had a great lunch together, but visiting our old place of living was something..... lotsa things have remained the same; there are still seven building and seventy families; the buldings still sport the cozy names that we once used in our addresses..... but many things did change, most notably, the people.... the playing field isn't the same today.... neglected; almost forgotten..... the mark of time is on the cricket pitch, that used to be our day-home for the winter months... the current dwellers wondered at us, but none called us to know who we were.... perhaps they could guess.....







our generation of children roamed the playing fields and made full use of them.... there had been so many types of games and tournaments; we could hardly notice something like that going on right now..... the days of glory left with the people, as it seems..... but we were able to discover some cricket gear, which still reminded that perhaps some of them didn't forget the game altogether.... we had our short stint with the bat and ball; again discovering how unfit we have become for such activities..... we could also borrow some badminton rackets and do our bit on the court..... evening badminton is still there, but be not with the charm that used to surround us..... anyway, that charm is long gone; only charming memories remain....







we posed in front of the camera and filled the memory cards..... "memory" cards.... yup.... those surely are memories.... a bagfull of them.... the people who called those cards "memory" cards must've thought about this at least once.... :P