Abdul Momin is a photographer from Bangladesh who documents the culture of his homeland. He focuses on bright colours, mesmerising patterns, and captivating perspectives to tell the stories of people in his country.
Alamy’s creative experts have selected Abduls photography for the Ultimate collection because of its edge and artistic flair.
We spoke to Abdul about his journey and creative approach.
Hi Abdul. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a photographer?
I was born in a small village in northern Bangladesh called Baghopara, which means “Village of Tigers” in Bengali. In reality, it’s a village of people who live below the poverty line. Somehow, I managed to survive.
I started photography when I was a graduate student. I used to sell used mobile phones back then. One day I got my own second-hand mobile phone with a 5MP camera, and started taking photos of flowers, butterflies and insects. I really liked it.
One day, I shared some photos of my images in a photography group on Facebook. People appreciated them and told me to capture and share more photos. I was really encouraged and started to take more and more photos.
With the help of tutorials online, over time I learnt rules and tricks, but I still wanted to enhance the quality of my photography. So I made an external macro lens for my phone.
Others were impressed with the external lens I had made and asked me to make lenses for them. It was cheap and I sold many.
I won several online mobile photography competitions from my shots and bought my first DSLR camera, a Nikon D5200. I was so excited as I knew the full potential of owning my own camera would help me.
After graduating, I needed a job but it wasn’t easy to get one. I realised the reality of the world I was living in. So, I decided to stay with photography and make it my profession. Now I am a full-time photographer.
If you aren’t taking photos, what are you doing?
When I’m not taking pictures, I read books. Philosophy and history attract me a lot.
You have an impressive collection of aerial photography. How do you manage to get the perspective you do?
I started as a macro photographer, but I’ve always had a strong interest in aerial photography.
I noticed that everything we see in everyday life looks different from above. In the beginning I would stand on building roofs, tree branches, bridges and high walls to get this different perspective. Later drones made it much easier.
How would you describe your style?
I would like to call it “freestyle”. Actually, I shoot pretty much anything that looks interesting to me.
How do you make your photography stand out from the crowd?
To me, the best part of being a photographer is having the ability and the power to show others exactly how you see the world. I just listen to my heart and photograph the things that looks beautiful and are interesting to me. Luckily, many others find them interesting too.
You beautifully capture the Bangladeshi communities. The people, their lifestyle and the work they do. How do you use photos to tell their story?
I think simplicity is the most important thing of any art form. I always try to exclude all the unimportant elements and details from my composition to keep it simple so that viewers can easily connect with the stories.
I think it’s important than companies source content from photographers all around the world so that campaigns and adverts are diverse and inclusive. What’s your perspective of this?
Yes of course, I agree with you. This way everyone will know about everyone’s culture too.
What’s next on the horizon for you?
I just want to keep doing what I am doing now.
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Explore Abdul Momin’s collection to discover culture, colour and a new perspective.