Md Enamul Kabir, a freelance photographer residing in Dhaka, has successfully finished an Advanced Photography course at the Begat Photography Institute. To him, photography encapsulates moments and narratives, serving as a witness to stories.
He prefers his photographs to be succinct and unified, striving for optimal outcomes with minimal subjects. Additionally, Enamul has a passion for capturing images of animals.
1.Welcome to Hardcore Street Collective. We are really amazed by your street photography. Tell us something about yourself. Where were you born and lived and something about childhood days.
I am Md. Enamul Kabir from Bangladesh. I was born in the district of Narail, then grew up in a town called Kotchandpur, Jhinadah. It’s a small but beautiful town.
I was a very notorious kid of my parents during childhood time but was a very good student. My father was only my teacher, he helped me always for my study. During my Primary school final exam, my position was 3rd while I passed class two. The school did not give me a certificate that they provided first & second. I ran away and cried a lot. It was a very shily memory that always makes me laugh when I recall each time. Now I live and work in the capital city: Dhaka.
I wish I could leave my job and travel around the world. But you will not get everything that you wish for in one life.
I believe it is very important to become a good human-being rather than attaining greatness as a photographer.
2. How Photography Happened to you. Who were your inspiration in your early days?
Never have I ever imagined that I’ll be walking around with a camera, stopping at irregular intervals, snapping photos left and right. I never had any interest in photography.
At the end of 2012, I was unemployed and struggling to find a job. The local photography club used to make quite a lot of field trips. I’d tag along, visiting different places, mostly to kill time. I was actually hoping someone will take a good portrait of me and I can use that on my FB profile.
One fine evening on such a photo-walk, I took a snap with my phone, just for fun. The scene was so serene and beautiful that it grabbed my senses by the balls.
Dr. Asim Saha, one of the nicest human beings I ever met, kept motivating me to take photos. Later, I met a photographer named Imtiaz Alam Beg, whose words inspired me to get behind the lens. Now, I can’t take my eye off the viewfinder, it seems.
3. What is Street Photography according to you, and what really motivates you to keep doing street photography.
I think it is the uncertainty and the suspense derived from it that intrigues me most about street photography. You can’t tell what is going to happen the next second. You can’t control any of the elements that will be in the photograph.
Street photography is not like other forms of photography where a photo can be staged and lit perfectly. I do not even have any preconceived idea of what the photo should look like. It is not taking a pictorial photo and there lies the challenge. Most days I come home empty handed from a street walk. Not even a single decent photo in the SD card to show for the effort. I have grown to like the feeling. Street photography helps me learn how to be patient, positive and keep on smiling, not only when it comes to photography, but also in real life. It helps me grow as a person.
4. What challenges do you face in your country regarding photography? Which other country you have been to, which inspires you to go back again and again.
In my country, SP was not very popular when I started. Things have changed over time. More and more people are getting interested in SP and it is slowly being accepted as an art form.
I did not find any challenge on the streets all over Bangladesh. People are very friendly even when you release a hard flash on them.
India. It has so much variety to offer a photographer! I feel like a kid lost in a candy shop.
I wish one day I will visit Pakistan, such a nice country as well.
5. Do you think your work gets elevated by sharing in Social Media? Do you think Social Media really motivates you to work harder?
Absolutely! Sharing my work on social media platforms can greatly elevate its reach and impact. Social media allows people to discover, engage with, and share content easily, so it’s a fantastic way to spread the word about what I can do and how I can assist users. Plus, it opens up opportunities for dialogue and collaboration, which can lead to even more valuable interactions and insights. So yes, sharing my work on social media definitely helps to amplify its impact.
Receiving positive feedback, recognition, or validation from others on social media platforms can boost individual motivation and drive to excel. Additionally, seeing others’ achievements or progress can inspire individuals to set higher goals for themselves and strive to achieve them. Social media can certainly serve as a motivational tool.
6. What change have you seen in yourself after doing photography? Has it changed your life as a person, has it made you grow.
Photography has the power to profoundly impact a person’s life and I am not out of that.
It encourages me to be more mindful and to pay closer attention to the beauty and details of the world. For me Photography is a form of therapy or stress relief.
7. Are you working on any project currently? Do you have any projects which are very close to you?
Currently I am working on two projects called ‘’Dockside Duality: A Portrait of Coexistence’’ and ‘’Arboreal Alliances: A Celebration of Tree-Animal Harmony.’’
Urban Wildscapes Capturing the Coexistence project is very close to me.
8. What do you like more, Color or Black/White and why?
I prefer to see natural colors in my photographs. Each color has its own identity and message. Managing colors in a photograph takes some time to learn. Should we keep two colors or three colors, or just allow the natural distribution of multiple clashing colors in a photograph? For me, it depends on how I want to convey my thoughts through my photographs.
9.Do think cameras really matter in Street Photography. How much do you think the device, be it the camera or phone plays a role as compared to the vision?
Camera really does not matter in SP in my opinion. A camera is but a tool that helps you capture the scene. The main challenge is being in the right place at the right time. Whatever camera I have at that moment is the best device for shooting that photo, even a cell phone.
10. What cameras would you recommend for new photographers who have just started their journey?
To be honest I have very very little knowledge about cameras. My favorite camera is the crop body Canon 550D equipped with an 18 mm lens. Sometimes I borrow gear from my friends.
As a nebbish, I think everyone should focus on learning and developing their own development in the inner part broadly.
11. What you feel about AI. Do you feel it will affect photographers in future?
Yes, AI is already beginning to affect the field of photography and is likely to have even more significant impacts in the future. AI-powered tools and algorithms are being developed that can assist photographers in various ways.
While AI can offer many benefits to photographers, it also raises questions and challenges, such as ethical considerations regarding image manipulation. Overall, AI is likely to have a significant impact on the photography industry, shaping how images are captured, edited, and consumed in the future.
12. What is your suggestion to upcoming street photographers, what should they focus on and how can they grow.
Pre-visualizing what you want to photograph is very important. In the streets you have little or no control over what will happen next so before you enter a scene, you must try and pre-visualize a scene. The scene may not happen this time but maybe later, on another day it will happen.
Secondly, be very quick and flexible so you can react to unexpected events and take a good photo.
One final tip: Always think like a baby when you are taking photos on the street. A baby always tries to learn, he may fall down while trying to stand, but he will get up again and try again. The day you think you know everything is a bad day in your life.
