|
learning to fly mahbubur rahman's photoblog |
about · fine art/prints · archive · rss · misc |
Photography in my mind has always been about evoking emotions. I'm most attracted to photography with a statement - and usually, a statement that is somewhat socially aware. This
process falls mostly in the realm of photojournalism. However, photojournalism is most known for accurately photographing the events that one is witnessing - covering all sides of the story. Documentary photography and photojournalism overlap a lot,
but documentary photography is where one photographs from a somewhat biased point of view. A documentary photographer asseses a situation and then exagerrates the aspect that he/she finds most interesting. Given that certain issues are more important to me than others,
this is the type of photography that I relate to most.
My given name is Mahbubur Rahman - but I go by a bunch of other names: Mickey, Mahbub, Boobie, Romel and Bhabi. I've lived in many countries during my lifetime, but Bangladesh is the country I call home, and Dhaka is the city I call my birthplace. My second home is Long Island, New York, where I currently spend my time.
I've long wanted to make a difference with my photography, but alas, I'm not there (yet). I'm taking pictures of anything and everything right now, but however, I AM able to do something indirectly - any photography you see here is for sale along with a set of limited edition prints from the fine art section of my website. 100% of all profits will go to various charities that work to make the lives of people and children better in Bangladesh. Some of these include JAAGO, Save the Children, BRAC and independent orphanages. With your purchase, not only will you own a beautiful print/artwork, you will also be making a huge difference in a kid's life.
Inspirations
I guess it should be obvious that my favourite places to get inspiration from is other photographers - especially documentary photographers who have some sort of an agenda - most of them have used or are using photography to bring about social change.
- Yann Arthus-Bertrand: the man behind the famous 'earth from above' pictures. His agenda is to capture pictures that inspire people to think about sustainable living.
- Henri Cartier-Bresson: although hailed as the father of photojournalism, he has enormous body of work in the documentary realm.
- Steve McCurry: the man behind the famous Afghani girl and her eyes - no introduction needed. Steve McCurry also does a lot of photography to bring awareness to a lot old world cultures that are endangered by modernization.
- Arnold Newman: One of the best environmental portrait photographers of all time.
- Eric Lafforgue: Travel photographer with an eye that makes your speechless. Not a documentary photographer in its strictest sense, but the concept is there.
Learning to fly
The name of this photoblog comes from a Pink Floyd song called 'learning to fly' - it was written when David Gilmour, then assumed the position of the leader of the band after Roger Waters
left the band. I feel it was written as metaphor for starting something new, venturing into the unknown....not knowing where you will end up.
More tid-bits and links can be found on the miscellaneous page.
