The Family Camera

The Family Camera
Originally uploaded by Arup / অরূপ

My dad was never a photographer nor he had the love for the art. But when he went to Japan for higher studies he ended up buying this wonderful range-finder camera.

Yashica started their very successful Electro 35 series in 1966. In 1970 they came up with the superb Electro 35 GS model armed with a sharp 45mm f/1.7 Yashinon DX lens. The same year my dad purchased it and eventually became one of the long lasting family properties (almost 40 years!!).

This "Aperture Priority" range-finder runs on a obsolete Mercury battery (I had to order an adapter so that I can use a regular one). The lens looks fine, so do the mechanical parts. I'm practically dying to take some snaps with this...

Not sure if my kids will be lucky to use my 5D Mark II, but I'm certain that this toy will be able to survive at least one more generation..!!

আজ তোমার মেঘে মেঘে রঙ..

ভাবতেই পারো ক্লান্ত কোন দুপুরে
ধুলো মেখে মেখে বেজে ওঠা নুপুরে
সুর মেলে ডানা আকাশের ওপরে
যাও যদি সুদুর পানে
চেনা কোন অন্যখানে
ভালোবাসার মেঘে ঘেরা
আসবে যে আমার মনে
আজ তোমার মেঘে মেঘে রঙধনু
আজ তোমার মেঘে মেঘে রঙ..

......

দীর্ঘ বেকার জীবনে আর কী-ই বা করার থাকে, ক্যামেরা নিয়ে খুটখাট করা ছাড়া। ছবিটা তোলার পর থেকেই Prayer Hall এর এই গানটা মাথায় ঘুরছে

কবিতা শেখা

আকিমুন ম্যাডাম একবার জিজ্ঞেস করলেন, "কবিতা জানিস?"
আমি নিরীহমুখে বললাম, "না"
ভদ্রমহিলা খানিকটা আহত হলেন, একটা মানুষ জীবনে একটাও কবিতা জানবে না সেটা তার পছন্দ ছিল না। তিনি সেই রাতেই (আমরা তখন লিভ-ইন ফিল্ড এক্সপিরিয়েন্স নামের একটা কোর্সে ছিলাম বগুড়ায়) গাছতলাতে বসে অরুণকুমার সরকারের এই কবিতাটা শেখালেন আমাকে

প্রার্থনা
যদি মরে যাই
ফুল হয়ে যেন ঝরে যাই
যে ফুলের নেই কোনো ফল
যে ফুলের গন্ধই সম্বল
যে গন্ধের আয়ূ একদিন
উতরোল রাত্রিতে বিলীন
সেই রাত্রি তোমারই দখলে
আমার সর্বস্ব নিয়ে জলে
আমার সত্তাকে করে ছাই
ফুল হয়ে যেন ঝরে যাই....

এই কবিতার কথা মনে ছিলনা বহুদিন। আজকে একটা ওয়েবসাইটে দেখে টুকে রাখলাম..

Steve McCurry @ IAMM Masterclass

Steve McCurry @ IAMM Masterclass
Originally uploaded by Arup / অরূপ

Steve McCurry (born February 24, 1950) is an American photojournalist best known for his photograph, "Afghan Girl" that originally appeared in National Geographic magazine.

McCurry's most recognized photo is that of "Afghan Girl", a previously unidentified Afghan refugee. The image itself was named as "the most recognized photograph" in the history of the National Geographic magazine and her face became famous as the cover photograph on the June 1985 issue. The photo has also been widely used on Amnesty International brochures, posters, and calendars. The identity of the "Afghan Girl" remained unknown for over 15 years until McCurry and a National Geographic team located the woman, Sharbat Gula, in 2002.

Faces of Cambodia - 02

Faces of Cambodia - 02
Originally uploaded by Arup / অরূপ

We were about to enjoy the sunset in front of the temple of Angkor. While we were having some snacks he showed up, hoping to grab some of the thrown away foods. He became very happy when I gave him a piece of garlic bread!! We met this kid a few more times at the same spot. It was always a nice experience to meet him :)

Meeting Steve McCurry.. Again!!

I was browsing through a forum last night and suddenly spotted McCurry's name. Last time when he did a presentation at the Annex Gallery, I was lucky to get a seat. This time it seemed I was too late. He's having another talk as well as a 3 hour long "masterclass"!!!

Alas!! The deadline for registration was Dec 30, 2009. I got really depressed. As a last resort, I decided to write a mail to the organizers informing that I was coming from Bangladesh and as an international participant they should reconsider my case.

Waking up, the first thing I did was to call them up over phone and tell the same thing. It partly worked, there's still some space for the talk but they couldn't promise anything for the "Masterclass". I was almost 2pm and the venue is not near. Getting prepared in 2 minutes I rushed with my little green car.

The venue was Islamic Arts Museum, Malaysia. (Funny Ah!!?) The last time, it was crowded like hell. Luckily Thursday is a working day and the auditorium is quite big. I was early and successfully managed myself a front row seat.

The talk was supposed to start at 3pm. But as usual there's no sign of the guest around 3! Suddenly I old fellow in a white shirt sat next to me. O! It's McCurry himself!!



I kinda had some idea about the talk so it was not that exciting. I enjoyed the Q&A session more. I asked him what's the difference in shooting people in developing countries and developed countries. I had the idea that it's a bit easier in the developing countries. McCurry echoed that. He said people are kinda neurotic about getting photographed in developed countries whereas taking a photo of a person in Bangladesh actually makes him/her happy.



I was waiting for the program to end. I brought a 8RW print of a photo taken at Bangladesh last year. The moment his got back to his chair, I held the print and a signature pen in front of the man. He smiled and quickly put an autograph.. YES!!! I was happy like a kid! But then it came to me that I was missing the masterclass :(
But luck was with me the whole day. When I got back home, I got a invitation for the Masterclass in the afternoon!!! YES!!!

Here are some shots and a video of today's session for you guys to enjoy..


Q&A Video (Very Interesting)




The photo used in the billboard above was taken in Bangladesh!

Ref:
www.stevemccurry.com

দীর্ঘভ্রমনে সাথে যা নেওয়া জরুরীঃ সফটওয়্যার

লম্বা সময়ের জন্য দেশবিদেশে গেলে সাথে কি কি সফট্ওয়্যার নেওয়া জরুরী সেটার একটা তালিকা করা যাক

১. TinyXP DVD
২. Adobe Photoshop CS4
৩. Adobe Premiere Pro CS4
৪. Picasa ৩.৬
৫. Firefox (Regular and Portable)
৬. IDM Portable
৭. অভ্র
৮. Canon Utilities DVD
৯. Total Commander 7
১০. Media Player Classic
১১, VLC Media Player
১২. Quiktime Player
১৩. MS Office 2003
১৪. Sony Sound Forge 9
১৫. 7 Zip
১৬. WinRar
১৭. Inkscape
১৮. Adobe Dreamweaver CS4
১৯. Faststone Image Viewer
২০. Adobe Acrobat 8 Pro
২১. XAMPP Toolkit
২২. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
২১. Skype
২২. Microsoft Live Messenger
২৩. GoogleTalk

(বাকিগুলো মনে পড়লে আপডেট করা যাবে পড়ে)