I have decided to put up a selection of images that I shot in Bangladesh over the couple of weeks that Benjamin and I were there. I have chosen to present this selection in mono as I feel that works best for most of these images. Originally of course they were all spat out of the camera in RGB, and indeed many of them will be presented again in colour depending on the end use. There is no audio to accompany these images…just the captions beneath them. The audio will come soon when Ben and I have decided how best to present the pieces. They form part of the journey that Ben, Rajib and I took trying to get a handle on how the effects of climate change are affecting the people of Bangladesh.
I hope the pictures convey the seriousness of the situation for the people of Bangladesh. I would ask you to try and look through the photos. Click the full screen icon (bottom right) to view the set more clearly, and click the image for the next one.
DW
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David- the images are beautiful, the essay strong. The former gets your attention, and the content and captions definitely help get the message across.
Congratulations on a job well done. I only hope those pictured will somehow stand to benefit…
they’re haunting. I’d be interested to know exactly why you think they work better in B&W though David. The b&w v colour debate is one i’ve seen around a bit. Is it because it’s a serious subject? or because the colourfulness of places like bangladesh (clothes etc) distracts the eye from what you as the photographer are trying to show us?
Thanks you two.
Re the colour/mono thing…It’s not because it’s a serious subject, it’s because there’s very little colour in most of the images anyway.
The images in the show above are also quite graphic shots, clean of line and shapes, which again leans towards mono. There are a few in there that work better in colour, but I wanted continuity so put them all into mono. I love colour, but try to work with it, and so if it’s not there, or hardly there, I may remove it.
You will probably get to see most of the above again in colour though when we present our final pieces.
cheers, it’s useful to have a logical explanation
nice work david.
seems to be a lot of photographers working in bangladesh covering this issue right now, but almost no one in the pacific where nations will soon be under water and gone forever due to sea level rise.
I think that’s a good point Joe. We do hear a lot about climate change and Bangladesh and hardly anything about islands in the Pacific.
Maybe it’s because here in the UK we have such strong ties with South Asia because of the large numbers of British families that originated from that part of the world.
I think its also worth pointing out that Bangladesh has always prone to flooding. In 1970 300000 people died as the result of a cyclone that caused massive flooding.
On the color v black and white, some I prefer in color, some in black and white. To spend time in Bangladesh is a humbling experience because of the generosity of the people.
Thanks David (and Benjamin)for this great set of photos. For me they give a flavour of what it is like on the ground for those at the edge of the flood zone (I travelled through this neck of the woods in March but didn’t get to look in this depth). Did you get audio / video testimony? I feel that would add a great deal to these images as I can imagine those pictured have some compelling stories to tell. Personally, I am not a fan of b&w in this context – I think this is because for me it tends to date the images, or at least make them timeless, where in this case I would want them to be as contemporary as possible to emphasize the ‘live issue’ of climate change.
I’ll be interested to hear how these are eventually used.
Nice work.
Best, Rob
The Rights Exposure Project
Rob,
thanks for your thoughts.
David and I have different opinions about the use of black and white photography.
I know David pretty well and he’s not someone who would ever turn a picture black and white to accentuate misery. He carries the respect he has for the people he photographs back to his editing and I know for a fact he would rather burn a photo then win an award by misrepresenting someone.
I ‘enjoy’ these photographs in a different way, when I see them in color. But my eye on Bangladesh is very subjective and very different to David’s. That said, I think in some of the portraits I can see deeper into the souls of the people David has photographed when the photos are black and white.
We are producing multimedia pieces and I’ll send you a link to one by private email.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment.
Wow! Great work there… I too love color, maybe I won’t love them more in color. I guess you understanding the issue better know how best to deliver the message to us. They images are still powerful. Now for the audio.
really beautiful images. i went to satkhira with oxfam late last year before cyclone aila, an amazing place that feels like it’s on the edge of the world – you can see some photos from our local photographer shehab uddin here. we went back there with the BBC after cyclone aila.
oh, and there are some beautiful images of a trip i went on to a different part of bangladesh, with dan chung, here.
Yeah Oxfam have done some good work in the region that’s for sure. Dan and Ben’s videos are decent and its worth looking at the photos to see a more colorful Bangladesh. Only gripe is that I wish Oxfam wouldn’t publis the pics so small on the screen.
When you go to all that trouble, it would be great to see them big.
STRONG WORK BEN
thanks duckrabbit! know EXACTLY what you mean about the photos being so small, it’s been a gripe of mine for a long time…
i’ve been lucky enough to go to bangladesh a few times over the past few years, and it’s really got under my skin. it’s clear that these amazing people are already being affected by climate change…
You are so right about ‘amazing people’. Bangladesh is a very, very special place on this earth and the people deserve so much more.