Photographer Challenges Stereotypes With Beautiful Snaps Of Overpopulated Bangladesh
An amateur photographer from Bangladesh has been challenging the images of one of the most populated countries in the world as a dry and arid wasteland by showing some of its rich scenery.
Sabbir Hossain, 20, is from Rangpur, a major city and region in north-western Bangladesh and he does not even use a professional camera, taking all his pictures on his mobile phone instead.
He spoke to Newsflash in an exclusive interview and said: “When I look at nature my eyes glaze over. My mind wonders. I start seeing things as I would see them through a lens. I walk at a slower pace with my eyes locked on the particular scene, strategically placing myself to appreciate my vision from various angles.
“I’m inspired. I already know this will make a breathtaking picture.”
He added: “Every place has some different beauty. It’s a part of your journey. Every time I look at nature and the surroundings I see some stories hidden behind them… by taking pictures of them I try to depict the true beauty of nature.”
He said that he uses some special effects, like an ultra wide lens, or sunburst. But he explained that he is not a professional photographer and mostlyhe just likes to photograph things as they are.
He said: “I actually do photography because it’s my hobby. I’m not a professional photographer. In my leisure I do photography.”
Speaking about his equipment, he said: “I use a Samsung M21 mobile to do photography.”
He said that he likes to share what he finds adding: “I always try to inspire people from all walks of life. Cause I want to show them the true colour of the nature of my country. Those pictures will make the foreigners interested in my country and they will visit my country. And also my photography will inspire the young and create new photographers.”
Bangladesh is the eighth most populated country in the world – with 163 million people. But Hossain says there are plenty of places with very few people that make for great photographs. He said: “Bangladesh is full of natural beauties.
“It is a land of enormous beauty . There are many beautiful places like the world’s longest natural sea- beach, Cox’s’ Bazar, Kuakata beach, the Tea garden of Sylhet, the sundorbon (Mangrove Forest) on saint Martin Island, the Chittagong hill tracts, Bandarban, Rangamati kaptai, etc. These are some of the places you can go to photograph nature.”
While the population of the country is huge given its size, Hossain says that “Bangladesh is full of greenery, as most of the places in my country have rural areas.
“Those areas are full of unsophisticated nature and vast, agrarian fields with green crops. The trees are bent with green leafs.”
But he said it was not all rosy, with climate change becoming an increasingly alarming threat. He said: “Climate change in Bangladesh is now a critical issue.
“People are now cutting trees indiscriminately and making buildings and it ruins the natural beauty. Now the evergreen in Bangladesh is turning into a desert. When I compare my old pictures with the new ones, I see a lot of differences.”
On top of that, there are severe economic issues. Hossain said: “Most of the time, our farmers are struggling to produce crops. They use outdated agricultural machines.”