Pristine panoramas

The course fee that the students pay covers the cost of the camera. After the training at the school the students decide what camera to buy. "I give them a theory class and based on that I take them for a practical class outside Dhaka, such as to Keraniganj, Savar, Mirpur, Chittagong, Narayanganj. The choice of the places we go to naturally depends on the subject we aim to cover. Sometimes we go in for the environmental portrait, sometimes nature. For the present exhibition we had to go to places in Chittagong and Narayanganj. For instance we visited the zamindar house of Shibaloy in Aricha," says the teacher Mujibur Rahman.

He decides his subjects on the basis of the techniques that he teaches. The cost of the trip is borne by the students. At times they do face difficulties while they are outdoors for their work. The school has a camera and all the students work on this in turn. So far they have taken pictures of street scenes, tombs, railway stations, riversides, landscapes, portraits and other subjects.

In Village side by Saif, we saw covered boats in brown and black. We see silhouettes of people, haystacks, houses and trees in the distance. The camera had been panned 180 degrees. The camera was set up on a certain point. The picture was taken on 10 shots that divided the scene into 10 sections. As the camera moved the exposure variation had to be kept in mind.

Riverside by Sulaiman brought in once again boats, with a large machine in the distance. It was gray, green and brown in colour. It brought into focus a woman returning home from her daily bath in the river. Clusters of homes along the waterway were seen in the Sulaiman's Char. There is a marvellous feeling of open space in the picture.

There was, alongside, Chandralekha which depicted a Hindu shrine, where devotees collected from India. This was in Shitakundo and it took hours to climb the steps that led to the temple. This picture was taken by Mujibur Rahman.

Sunset by Maruf captured men in boats. The water appeared gold while the men appeared dark brown. Sixty domed mosque by Imroze brought in innumerable red walls and gray domes. Rani Bhabani House also represented a historical place

The exhibit was a good display of promising photography among amateurs.