Bangladeshi youth Shadman Shahid has been selected as one of the 10 finalists in the Poland-based Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2016, a major global forum of photographic events.
The 27-year-old photographer made his room in the club of the world's top photographers with his abstract works which he named "Ajna," the third-eye Chakra, is the sixth primary Chakra, or energy point in the body, according to Hindu tradition.
"This is the moment we've all been waiting for! We are happy to announce the finalists of Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2016," read the Grand Prix announcement naming Shadman as one of the 10 photographers, three of them being Germans, two Spaniards, two Belgians, one French and one Polish.
Currently a faculty of country's leading photographic institute "Pathshala," Shadman told the BSS that he developed his storyline as part of his efforts to explore himself with his camera.
"This idea derived from my spiritual feeling that everything in the universe is within you . . . I prefer to call it as 'self actualization' and in my photographic works I largely relied on mythology and symbols," he added.
Shadman said he started works on the project several years ago when his curiosity prompted him to surrealistic experiment with color and light.
"The process of light painting fascinates me . . . It is what photography literally means, painting with light . . . The technique also forces me to grab pictures in slow shutter condensing many moments into one," he said.
A freelance documentary photographer Sadman born and raised in Dhaka and earlier got his works exhibited in Germany, Norway, China, France, India and Bangladesh.
He was nominated for the Joop Swart Masterclass in 2014 and 2015 and was awarded the third prize in the emerging Asian photographer category in the Dali Photo Festival in China in 2015.
Son of senior journalist Shahriar Shahid and grandson of veteran journalist late Shahidul Haque, Sadman said works of famous artist and fashion designer lat Shahrukh Shahid, who happened to be his paternal uncle, widely inspired him to explore the arena of photography.