A photography exhibition is going on at Drik Gallery from January 9 until January 13. The exhibit is a part of a photography competition which is organised by Robi Axiata Limited and Drik.
The prize-giving ceremony held on January 9 was also the inauguration of the exhibition. The event is the culmination of a photography training campaign that was launched on the Robi Facebook fan-page on November 14, 2013. Abdullah Abu Sayeed, Chairman of Bishwa Sahitya Kendra was chief guest of the programme.
The completely online campaign, titled Robi Photo School, was run in association with eminent photographer and founder of Drik Gallery, Shahidul Alam, and offered short video tutorials by Shahidul Alam giving tricks and tips on photography.
Each video had a separate theme including: Portrait, Street life photography and Landscape. Following each video on the fan-page, Robi Facebook fans were invited to upload their own photos taken using the techniques taught.
The photos were transferred into an app through which the participants could collect “likes” to win attractive prizes.
The first prize, won by Mohammad Fahim Ahamed Riyed, was a 1-year scholarship at Pathshala (Drik Gallery). First prize was, however, based on the judges’ choice rather than the number of “likes” on the fan-page of facebook. The popular choice award, a Canon EOS 60D camera was won by Meem Atiqur Rahman, and the popular choice award runner-up, the winner of a Canon EOS 600D camera was Md Neyamath Ullah Sikder. The final award was presented to Hasibul Hasan, who won an iPhone 5S.
About the first prize, Shahidul Alam, photographer and founder of Drik Gallery said: “The winning photograph is a great image out of many. However, it stands apart from the rest because of a tenderness and sensitivity that is rare. It rises above the aesthetic requirements of a well-crafted photograph, to become an important social document that is gentle, evocative and deeply significant. It is an image many would have missed. A situation most would have passed by and where many photographers would have put their camera away, if only for protection from the elements.”