BANGLADESH – The Shipbreakers and so much more

BANGLADESH: CULTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS WITH WILD IMAGES

Bangladesh, the emerald of South Asia, is one of the world’s most intriguing and beautiful countries.  It is a world of friendly people, rich cultures, vibrant festivals, ancient traditions, bustling streets and industries that are toiled by hand in the same way they have been for centuries

Wild Images is excited to announce its inaugural photo tour to this incredible destination.

Imagine a world of colourful women sitting in the middle of a million chillies, sorting them by hand.  A world where local fishermen head to sea in moon shaped boats or catch fish using ‘pet’ otters.  A world where children play in between gargantuan lines of tie dyed cloth, huge stores of betel nuts and among thousands of drying fish.

This is Bangladesh, one of the world’s most fascinating street and people photography destinations.

We have teamed up with one of the leading photography guides in the country, Yousef Tushar, whose work is internationally acclaimed. Joining him is Wild Images leader Inger Vandyke whose humanitarian photography has been showcased globally.  Between them this tour will be a joyous experience filled with laughter, light and colour.  With Inger’s creative attention to detail and Yousuf’s superior knowledge of our shooting locations, you will learn from both photographers in a some of Bangladesh’s most fascinating locations including the famous ship breakers, brick makers, otter fishermen, stone miners and chilli harvesters in this must see destination.  This is a tour suited to all photographers, from beginners to professionals, who truly want to capture the soul and beauty of Bangladesh through a series of spontaneous and laid back situations combined with carefully curated, private photo shoots.

The Ship Breakers

The ship yards of Bangladesh are where ships go to die.  Each day over 200,000 people head to these famous ship yards to work breaking ships down, salvaging metal and disposing of what cannot be recycled.  It is a frenetic place of welding, cutting and carrying by hand.

Bangladesh is the largest centre for breaking ships in the world.  Around a decade ago, the country was responsible for breaking down over 150 large freight ships and recycling their components by hand.  With the ever growing increase in shipping trade, this number has now increased exponentially and now it supplies over half of the country’s demand for steel.

We will make two visits to these famous shipyards, exploring them on foot and also by boat. We will seek out people dismantling some of the world’s largest ships and photograph them from permitted positions of safety, as they go about their daily work in this labyrinth of ship skeletons.

Dhaka

During our excursions in Dhaka we will experience street life in the city’s oldest quarter doing street photography.  This incredible corner of Dhaka is a beating heart of the city, filled with colourful cycle rickshaws, street vendors, markets and some of Dhaka’s most iconic colonial buildings.  It is the sort of place you could return to again and again and come away with completely different images.  During our time in Bangladesh’s capital we will also spend a morning at the Old Dhaka riverside, where thousands of people cross the river each day in over 3000 small traditional boats.  Many of these boats are beautifully handcrafted out of timber and the local people tend to moor them up in flower-like formations, turning them into incredible photography subjects.  Of course, the friendly Bengali people will be a huge feature of our walks through some of Dhaka’s most photogenic quarters.

During our time in Dhaka we will enjoy a photo shoot at one of the city’s most busy train stations.  We will wander the platforms taking portraits in train windows and photographing  people on their daily commute.  From footbridges over the tracks we may get to photograph people riding on the roofs of trains as they come and go from the station.

On our final day of the tour we will visit the country’s largest chicken market for photography.  Here, thousands of chickens are sold each day from cone-shaped, hand made nets.  We will photograph the chicken sellers within the market and also those who walk the alleyways carrying baskets of chickens on their heads as they go about their daily trade.

A Life of Colour

We will visit the largest tie dying fabric centre in all of Bangladesh, a place where workers dye fabrics by hand and spread them on the ground or on racks to dry in the baking sun.  This riot of colour changes every day and we will spend some time creating images of the workers of the cloth while exploring lines and composition in photography.

Our tour is timed to coincide with the peak season for harvesting many different products including chillis, rice, betel nuts and other produce.  We will visit some extraordinary centres where brightly clothed women sort through millions of red chillies, where children help to carry baskets of betel nuts and where rice workers ensure that their produce is lined out to dry each day.

Stone Miners and Brick Makers

Perhaps some of the most confronting work sites we will visit in Bangladesh will be traditional stone and coal mines.  In these sites over 20,000 people work each day to winnow, sort, wash, carry and load rocks and coal in an industry that dates back hundreds of years.

In a similar fashion, Bangladesh also has large plants for manufacturing bricks by hand.  Unlike elsewhere in the world where brick manufacturing is mechanised, in Bangladesh people form bricks by hand, dry them in the sun and then kiln fire them before taking them to storage areas to be sold. During our visit to a brick making plant we will be able to photograph workers carrying brick sand on their heads and toiling in the dust.

A Rich Tradition of Fishing

Bangladesh is where the largest river in Asia, the Ganges, pulses life through a myriad of tributaries braiding the country with finger-like waterways.  These waters eventually end up in the Bay of Bengal where fishermen take to the sea in vibrant moon boats to fish near one of the world’s longest sea beaches.  It is here we will stay until sunset to watch fishermen dragging their boats ashore, mending nets, untangling their catch and then drying fish on huge racks, before it is sold.

In the tributaries we will spend a morning with the world’s only Otter fishermen, who ply the waters with their habituated otters that they have trained to catch fish for them in the rivers. This fascinating tradition dates back to the 6th century and is handed down through generations. There are only around 300 otter fishermen left in Bangladesh, yet around 2000 people depend on otter fishing for their livelihoods. As younger people opt to get an education rather than fish, the numbers of fishermen utilising otters to catch fish is dwindling rapidly so our tour is a unique chance to photograph this unique relationship between man and otter before it disappears forever.

Food For Life

The process of feeding one of Asia’s most populated countries is fascinating and during our tour we will visit traditional makers of yoghurt and a number of markets selling poultry and vegetables.  Home to thousands of small sellers who trade in everything, Bangladesh’s markets are a riot of colour and activity.

We will visit a large floating market for vegetables and street markets that trade in other foods and wares.

During our time exploring the various food production areas of Bangladesh, we will meet with groups of people who keep large herds of buffalos and flocks of ducks.  Combining photography on foot and with drones, we will spend time with these amazing farmers as they care for their animals, bathing them and feeding them.

An Aerial and Eye Level Odyssey

For the first time Wild Images is offering a photography tour where there will be several spectacular possibilities for drone photography.

Street and drone flyers are welcome here and we will work closely alongside you to create a portfolio of aerial and street images that encapsulate the beauty of our photographic locations.  Without a drone your ability to capture ‘aerial’ type images is still possible as we find vantage points from bridges and buildings to gain unique ‘birds eye view’ perspectives on our shooting locations.

Join us on this immersive, imaginary photo tour through one of South Asia’s most mesmerising countries.

Why visit Bangladesh with Wild Images

There are already a few companies offering tours in Bangladesh.  Most of these tend to be straight street photography trips where guests take their chances at the scenes they are presented with. Photography in places like Bangladesh is a challenge we’ve overcome by working with an unrivalled level of expertise on the ground.

Our itinerary has been timed to run in the peak season of harvest for red chillies and other produce.  We have also timed our morning and afternoon shoots to ensure you are in the best locations for photography each day.

We have carefully crafted our itinerary to offer a truly unique, insider perspective of some of Asia’s most industrious work places. Through a series of private, curated shoots you will capture an intimate portfolio of images that encapsulates the life and colour of Bangladesh like few others can.

Combine this with spontaneous street shoots, portrait and drone photography opportunities and we hope to take you on a fascinating, once in a lifetime, journey to Bangladesh.

Accommodation & Road Transport

The hotels/lodges used during our Bangladesh photography tour are almost all good tourist standard. Road transport is by small coach or minibus on mostly good quality bitumen and dirt roads.

Walking

The walking effort during our Bangladesh photography tour is mostly easy.

Climate

Daytime temperatures in Bangladesh will be hot, humid and sunny.

Photographic Equipment

This tour is largely centred around street photography and is best suited to smaller lenses including smaller primes, zooms, wide angle lenses, bridge cameras and even phones.

During our attendance at large gatherings of people and also when we visit some communities, you may wish to have a larger zoom similar to a 100-400 or 200-600 with you.

Drones are welcome on this tour.

If you have other questions about what equipment you ought to bring, please contact us.