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Bangladeshi Photographers

Abbreviation	"BP"
Formation	September 2005
Type	Non-profit organization
Purpose	Photography
Headquarters	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Region served	Bangladeshi photo enthusiasts all over the world
Administrator	M.R. Hasan, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, Kazi Tahsin Agaz, Aftabuzzaman
Volunteers	Numerous
Website	Bangladeshi Photographers on flickr Bangladeshi Photographers

Bangladeshi Photographers (BP) is a community of photographers from Bangladesh living at home and abroad. It was founded in September 2005 as an online group in Flickr. Although the primary goal was to provide a worldwide online platform for all the Bangladeshi photo artists, the group gradually evolved and adopted a cross-platform approach, providing support both as an online and a real world photography community. During the last few years, BP has actively organized and participated in real world exhibitions, competitions and community meet-ups, while its online platform in Flickr continues as a stable support for new and veteran photographers. Till date, approximately 4,000 members (and increasing) have joined the group online. A large number of these members eventually meet during various events related to photography hosted by BP. The motto of BP is "We share, we care, we inspire!”, which aims to inspire new talents in photography. BP regularly organizes photo outings (popularly known as photowalks), workshops, exhibitions and knowledge sharing sessions.

Although a number of online photography groups have been created in various web platforms, Bangladeshi Photographers (BP) stands as the pioneer online photography base of Bangladesh to extend its grasp in real life. From the beginning of its journey, BP has taken several initiatives to promote young talents (both home and abroad) who have pushed themselves in establishing photography as one of the leading art forms in Bangladesh. Every year, BP hosts two notable photography competitions cum exhibitions, namely '60 Shots' and 'Bangladeshi Photographers (BP) Challenge' along with several other regular online competitions. Additionally, photography workshops and outings are organized by the group so that new photographers can get insight about photography and can share their new-found knowledge.

Annual Events

Bangladeshi Photographers has two regular annual events. '60 Shots' is an exhibition where young photographers have an opportunity to showcase their work. ‘BP Challenge’ is an exhibition cum competition where photographers of all ages can participate in three different age categories competing with their best photographs to win several cash prizes.

60 Shots

The name '60 Shots' has been coined based on the fact that sixty photographs are curated for this exhibition from the images submitted by young Bangladeshi Photographers. An age limit of 28 – 30 is usually set.

In September 2009, the first season of 60 shots was organized in 'Chhobir Haat' premises of Fine Arts Institute in University of Dhaka. Fifty young photographers participated in the exhibition with their images depicting different aspects of their homeland.

The curtain of the second season of ’60 Shots’ was lifted in February 2011 in DRIK picture gallery, Dhaka. Again, this exhibition featured sixty images from sixty young souls who adopted photography as their medium of expression. This exhibition ran for five days and was inaugurated on 25th February by renowned Bangladeshi artists Shishir Bhattacharjee and Ferdousi Priyobhashini.

BP Challenge

'Bangladeshi Photographers (BP) Challenge' challenges the photographers to compete with their best images. The aim of BP challenge is to bring out the best from the photo enthusiasts of all ages. This juried competition is usually held in three age categories encompassing both the newbies and the veterans in the field of photography. Upon curating and judging, an exhibition is held with the competent images where three photographers from different age categories are awarded with cash prizes.

The first season of BP Challenge was announced in February 2010. From over 275 submissions, judges chose 50 photographs and declared three winners in different age categories. The exhibition was inaugurated on August 10, 2011 in Dhaka Art Center. Prominent photographer Mr. David Barikder and Mr. GMB Akash along with photojournalist Mr. Kawser Mahmud were present as special guests in the opening ceremony. Thirty more photographs from the veteran photographers were also exhibited along with the competing entries.

'BP Challenge – season II' was brought to light on May 25, 2012 in Dhaka Art Center, the same venue where the first season of the event took place. The callenge continued its tradition in the second year, presenting around ninety frames which consisted of competing shots and works from prominent photographers of Bangladesh.

Regular online events

BP continues several online events in its Flickr platform. Among these BP Photo Marathon, BP Photo Olympiad and Feature Photographer of the month are the most significant ones.

BP Photo Marathon is a monthly event where members can post their photographs complying to a selected theme. The winners are determined based on the member votes. This event is aimed to provide continuous inspiration to both the regular members.

BP Photo Olympiad is a quarterly juried competition. The photos posted in an online thread by members are judged and winners are announced thrice a year. The winners are awarded with cash prizes.

To highlight new talents in photography, Bangladeshi Photographers group focuses on a member every month in its 'Feature Photographer' thread. A new yet notable photographer is invited into a discussion where he/she can answer questions posed by other members in an online thread. The goal of featuring new talents is to inspire the photographer under spotlight and to share his/her vision with the fellow photo mates.

Workshops

Bangladeshi Photographers organizes a basic photography workshop under the banner 'The Elements'. While the first and second season of The Elements were limited to three sessions and a single day, the third one spanned into two consecutive days covering both the techniques and aesthetics of photography. Administrators, experienced members and well-wishers of BP are invited to conduct The Elements.

Photowalks and Member meet-ups

‘Photowalk’ is a popular term for the event where photographers in groups go to different places to capture variegated aspects of life. Although organized frequently, such walks don’t have any specific schedule. Sometimes a moderator of BP can call upon the interested photographers in an interesting location, or members can themselves organize such walks under the banner of BP.

Other notable exhibitions

While holding regular photography related activities, BP participates in noble causes by arranging special exhibitions. In January 2008, an exhibition was organized in Russian Cultural Center to support the victims of Cyclone Sidr in remote parts of the country. The exhibition was inaugurated by prominent poet and novelist Syed Shamsul Haque. The revenue generated from the exhibition print sales was donated to the Sidr victims. In February, the same exhibition was continued in Fine Arts Institute of Dhaka University to aid in the treatment of famous poet Samudra Gupta.

'Globalization: A Bipolar Story', an exhibition bringing photographers from Bangladesh and United States was a notable project of BP. This was a collaborative venture with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which consisted of two exhibitions of same set of photographs in both Bangladesh and USA. The project was funded by Council for the Arts, MIT. The exhibition presented a distinct yet broad picture of Globalization as a global phenomenon influencing the local cultures and lifestyles of two completely different countries. Young Bangladeshi photographers studying in local universities and MIT participated in this exhibition.

Since the beginning, ‘Bangladeshi Photographers’ has become a stable and growing community of photo enthusiasts from home and abroad. It maintains a regular group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/bangladeshiphotographers and a website at www.bangladeshiphotographers.org