the K.A.K. story..... part 1

31 March 2012
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

the original proposal for this photo-session came from Kamrul, an old photographer buddy of mine... a very popular photographer among the online photographers' community here in Bangladesh.... the basic idea of this photo-shoot was to highlight the exclusive friendship of Kamrul, Arif and Kamal... K.A.K., which is what they choose to call themselves... ("kak" in Bangla means "crow")... these three friends had a lotta photos taken as they're part of a pretty large photography group... so, it was a real challenge to do a photo-shoot that would not just tell a story of relationship, but would be different from all others photographs of theirs previously taken...


with Arif and Kamal already married, and Kamrul still being single, the story had some twists and turns that were dramatic in themselves... but we had to figure out where to start and where to finish up... we had a lotta brainstorming before we touched the camera... practicality prevented some of the photos... but that also opened the opportunity to tell an even better story...

every story has a start... and to start with, we decided to concentrate on the very backbone of their relationship... photography.... photography is the thing that brought them together and made them bosom friends... this friendship is a lot different from friendships that start in student life... having found one another during a more matured period of their lives, their story had more matured thoughts... anyway, their closeness was carried on by social networking.... that networking included physical hangouts, web chat, and mobile chat.... another very important thing that brought them on the same level field was their professional backgrounds.... they all work in the field of information technology.... that made it much easier for them to integrate different technological advances and put them to use....

to show this base of their friendship, we decided to make a photo that would not just show photography as the real base, it should also show their tech savviness and networking skills... this called for a complex lighting scenario.... we used a total of six lights for this one.... three YN-560 flashes were hidden on each of their laps which illuminated their faces and resembled the lights coming out their electronic gadgets... a fourth flash, a Nikon SB-900 was on top with grid-spot to put a focus light on the camera... we needed some fill light, as some details needed to been seen as well... the devices in their hands and also the networking cables coming out of their devices and joining up with the camera needed to be seen properly.... fill light was given by an Elinchrom Ranger RX + 100cm Rotalux "Deep Octa" unit on camera left and a fifth speedlite, a YN-560 was on camera right bouncing from white wall... the fill flashes reduced contrast to some extent.... camera was D700 with 28-80mm lens.... one Elinchrom Skyport radio trigger was used... all the other flashes were in optical trigger mode...

stay tuned for much more... :)

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….