frozen memories....

22 December 2011

Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka, Bangladesh

every now and then these guys make my day.... well, this time it was evening... the Paraboyz are the unique bunch of guys with little similarity... 'living close by'..... yet, that small similarity is strong enough to create a long-term bondage like no other.... this bunch of dudes had been connected for almost twenty-three years.... and interesting to note that some of the members of this group are just too young to remember the early days of interaction!!.... but couple of decades later those early days are more precious than ever...

can't thank Aurnab and Nazia enough for taking the initiative and making it all happen.... would've loved to see the gathering even bigger.... but anyway, thats how it goes now.... people are just too busy to spare an evening.... thats what makes such gatherings so precious.... those who showed up deserve appreciation for daring the weather and weekday traffic.... they all sacrificed their times somewhere else to attend this event.... hats off!!

Aunik and Omi filled the memory cards of their DSLRs with lots of candid moments.... so, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to freeze everyone's face given that every time we see one another, there's always some change happening!!.... the group is already much bigger than before, as Srabon noted out in one of his Facebook comments.... everyone's gone through at least some sort of change.... that makes a frozen moment so much more interesting... 

I took my tiny little P&S, the LX-5.... and also took a couple of flashes and a set of radio trigger for the flashes.... all that fitted in a small bag, which none would believe contained a portable studio.... thanks to everyone who posed in front of the tiny camera against their will and still gave an expression which should hold until the next get-together!!

 

on a technical note, the flashes were two YN-560s.... the trigger for one was an Elinchrom Skyport radio trigger and the other one was in optical trigger mode (S1).... the main light was coupled with a DIY tiny diffuser to soften the light....  thanks to Anonto, Srabon and Rahat being excellent assistant, holding both the light and the diffuser.... the second light gelled orange, was behind the subject, shooting into a white wall....

the last few pictures were in a different setting.... basically one YN-560 on camera right shooting into white ceiling.... simple one-light bounced solution.... Shihab was a bit hesitant to make their couple portrait a bit more interesting.... so, the dudes just showed him how to do it!! :)

a lot more to come.....

an evening of portraiture....

19 August 2011
Bailey Road, Dhaka, Bangladesh

the Paraboyz are some sticky dudes... they don't know how to forget memories.... they know whats important in their lives..... they also know what comes around and what doesn't.... so, when the proposition of a get-together, along with a photowalk came up, it was always a "go"..... the only factor that still remained was when.....

big thanks to the guys for showing up and displaying the affection for that friendship.... a friendship that never had a boundary of age..... this is one multi-age unique group..... the boyz have become men, and busy.... but the effort to keep that friendship alive has never become old.... I am proud to be part of it....

after that short photowalk at Chawkbazar Iftar Market, we had our Iftar at Royal Restaurant of Lalbagh.... but it was just too late for us to sit there and order something good.... but we had enough to call it an 'Iftar'..... anyway, we also wanted to have a guys' evening.... our families (well, those who have!) could wait....

the guys of Paraboyz who had been interested in photography, they were the main participants for this venture.... others were invited too.... ultimately we ended up with just 6 of us.... Omi left right after the photowalk at Chawkbazar.... while the five of us ventured in the evening for something different.... and it was different....

we hung out at Bailey Road; had a lot of yummy fruit juice, and before leaving, we decided to do something that we could remember..... we did some portraiture of ours.... I had a hunch that we might end up doing something like this.... so, I toiled to bring some strobist stuff.... a Lastolite 24" Ezybox Hotshoe softbox, along with a YN-560 flash, Elinchrom Skyport radio triggers and a Manfrotto monopod, to be used as a boom....





Anonto is a great guy.... handsome, good-looking, and creative.... he was a pace sensation in our para cricket team.... but since then he has accomplished a lot more than just playing for his para, though those have nothing to do with his skills as a cricketer..... a young architect in his own right and making his mark in the industry with his creative stuff.... have seen him after a while actually.... his bearded look was something of a surprise for all of us.... he has lived up to his family, which is full of creative people.....








Aurnab is one my favourite subjects because of his expressive nature.... he has been as casual as he has ever been..... great guy to hang around with.... and loveable friend.... would love to see him restart his photography, as he has the eye for it, I believe.....



Shihab has always been a great friend.... one of the earliest enthusiasts among us in photography, he has found his firm footing in mass communication.... and thats where he's discovering his passion for photography once more.... he's been the main instigator behind a photowalk with our click-buddies.... big thanks!!..... and being involved with conservation of Nature, it was just more appropriate to click him in front of that backdrop!!




Anik is one of the funniest guys I know..... I can still remember that trip of ours at Bandarban and Cox's Bazaar five years ago, where we had a great amount of fun having him around..... and as he has found his newly-found passion in photography, it was on me to figure out something unique for him.... I decided to create something that would portray his new desire...... I had only one light... so, I shot two images separately with that single softbox and stitched them together in Photoshop..... never done such kinda stuff in my life.... but it turned out to be pretty good!! :)



the main aim of the photowalk and the photoshoot were to bind ourselves in sort of an activity that would remain in memory for a much longer period..... it wasn't just another adda, or another Iftar or another dinner.... it was a memory.... thanks guys!!

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