THE POWER OF THE LENS

Atish Saha, Photo: Courtesy

Photographer Atish Saha is someone whose love for the arts led him to where he stands today. Today he is recognised at home and abroad for his fantastic work with photography and evident dedication to the art form.

"I completed my Higher Secondary Certificate at Notre Dame College in 2009, with a science background," says Atish. "I didn't enjoy studying at all, so I didn't know which universities to apply for.  Instead, I started reading, writing, and following lots of artists all around the world. I would read about all their art movements, and the beauty of an artist's life fascinated me. I really wanted to be a painter!" he continues. 

During a season of ChobiMela, he not only found his love and passion for photography but also came across the prestigious institute- Pathshala South Asian Media Institute. "So I applied to Pathshala for a one month basic course," he says.

Atish's teacher named Tanzim Wahab, who became vice principle of Pathshala, was one of his earliest inspirations to take photography seriously. "His inspiration led me to apply for the 3 years Advanced Diploma in Pathshala," shares Atish.

He recently got an award, along with his friend and journalist Jason Motlagh, from the 76th Overseas Press Club of America for their collaborative work on a publication of Virginia quarterly review. "I had given a talk with Jason in the Washington DC Pulitzer Center on crisis reporting, and also presented my work on the Rana Plaza tragedy," he says. He was a part of another talk with a panel in The Joseph S Murphy Institute. The speakers included a former New York Times labour journalist, the executive director of the International Labour Rights forum- Judy Gearhart, the director of Global Strategies for Workers United – SEIU- Jeff Hermanson, and a co-director of NYU Stern's Center for Business & Human Rights.

"This April, I had an exhibition at "Out of the Blue", an Edinburgh gallery, collaborating with Mexican artist Carla Novi where my photography and her film were shown. The show was about Rana Plaza. Carla had come to Bangladesh to work on her film, and she used my photographs. We were talking about exhibiting it to together somewhere, and it ended up happening in Scotland," shares Atish.

"It's tough to photograph religious violence and political violence. Once I stop focusing on these issues, I look forward to travelling with a studio and taking photos of people around Bangladesh," he says, even though he still wants to go back to school for a few more years and study studio art, writing, and performance art.

According to Atish, Bangladesh has always had many good photographers, but before Shahidul Alam's work, the world used to know little about them as there was no bridge in between. "Bangladeshi photographers are everywhere, they can be found all around the world. There is simply no big festival, no award ceremony, where you won't see a Bangladeshi photographer's work. Students are trying different kinds of photography and Bangladesh is becoming stronger everyday in the world of photography." To aspiring photographers, Atish requests them to never stop taking photos.