Kuakata youths fight poverty with lenses
Some of the Kuakata beach photographers pose for a picture themselves.
Professional photography has taken a fantastic shape on the Kuakata beach. More than 51 local young men, who used to be fishermen,van pullers, day laborers or unemployed in the recent past have formed a society to work on the beach taking pictures of hundreds of tourists and delivering those to their hotel rooms.
Not long ago Mohammad Zakir, a young man about the age of 23 from Kuakata used to work on a fishing trawler for meager wages. With almost no education, Zakir could not think of any other employment in the area.
Zakir was first attracted to the profession on the beach when a photographer friend revealed how much he was earning every day during the peak season. Above all, he was inspired to know how his friend photographed great people visiting Kuakata and got to know them personally.
“My friend also told me he had rid himself of all his debts by working as a photographer,” said Zakir. “I immediately thought of learning the trade,” he continued, “ In the beginning I rented a camera for profit share of 20 percent and learnt how to operate it. Zakir never looked back ever since.
Within months Zakir made a saving of TK 25,000 and went for a new camera. The local shop owners, especially the computer labs where they get the pictures printed came forward to help those who wanted new cameras.
“I had Tk. 25,000 and I needed another 5,000 for my Nikon D40 and the shop owner agreed to give me a soft loan to buy it,” Zakir added.
According to the Photographers’ Society resolution each photographer is required to wear a yellow tunic while working. For a 4R size photograph the charge is a minimum of TK 20. The lab charges for the photographers are also fixed at TK 10 each. So each photograph fetches the photographer at least Tk. 10.
Abul Hasan, another photographer used to pull van since his childhood. The arduous job of pulling the van did not generate enough revenue to run his family. With the help of a friend he became a photographer. Hasan said clients sometimes asked for large photographs of nature, which he takes with lot of pleasure.
“On a good day I earn up to Tk 1500 net,” he said.
Every story of the Kuakata photographers is strikingly similar. Deprived of education and basic rights since their childhood, these young men of Kuakata are fighting abject poverty, not with any other means but the artistic lenses.
Report and Photo by: Morshed Ali Khan
Short URL: https://reportsbd.com/?p=302
Posted by Reportsbd
on Mar 8 2015. Filed under Home Slide, National, Travel.
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