Pioneers of photography in the country honoured

(L-R) Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Morten Krogvold, Pedro Meyer, Geerte Wachter and Shahidul Alam at the opening ceremony

The much awaited photography festival Chobi Mela III began on December 06 with a total of 14 exhibitions at seven venues in the city. Internationally acclaimed Mexican photographer Pedro Meyer inaugurated the festival at a ceremony held at Alliance Française. Photographer Morten Krogvold of Norway, Tarek Al-Ghoussein of UAE and Geerte Wachter of the Prince Claus Fund of the Netherlands were on the dais. Besides, all participating photographers from across the world also attended the opening ceremony presided over by Festival Director Shahidul Alam.

Organised by Drik Picture Library Ltd. and patronised by the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development of the Netherlands, Chobi Mela is a biennial event. Always showcasing photographs on a theme, the third edition of the event depicts 'resistance' through the colossal photographic works of about 90 photographers of 17 countries.

This year's Chobi Mela has introduced an award for lifetime achievement in photography. Four legendary pioneers of photography in Bangladesh--Golam Kashem Daddy, Manzoor Alam Beg, Amanul Haque and Shamsul Islam Almazi--were announced as the recipients of the award at the opening ceremony. These internationally acclaimed photographers have largely remained unrecognised in our own country.

Golam Kashem is considered the first semi-professional photographer of the country, having started taking photographs in the early 1900s. He set up the Tropical Institute of Photography, one of the first such institutes in the region, in 1951. In 1961 he started the Camera Recreation Club which ran until his death. Manzoor Alam Beg endearingly gave him the name 'Daddy'.

Manzoor Alam Beg was the first to give photography a professional form. He established Beg Art Institute of Photography in 1960, which produced a huge number of today's renowned photographers. Manzoor Alam Beg was honoured with the title 'Alokchitracharya' in 1998.

Amanul Haque is one of those few living photographers who documented the historic Language Movement in 1952. His photo album Amar Desh Chitromala is a classic collection of images of rural Bangladesh. Considered to be the pioneer of romanticism in photography in Bangladesh, he spent a considerable time with legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray making many portraits of him. Unfortunately, most of these photos and negatives were lost during the Liberation War.

Shamsul Islam Almazi is the first Bangladeshi photographer to win an international gold medal for photography. Besides photojournalism, he was equally at ease in fashion photography. He contributed a great deal in creating the visual style of the once most popular magazine Bichira. His photographs of the famine of 1974 remain one of the most important documents of the time.