The Threadbare Value of a Bangladeshi Garment Worker’s life
The building collapse incident at Savar has led to more than 1,000 deaths and left many more injured. In the last decade, close to 6000 deaths have resulted from accidents at ready-made garment (RMG) factories. Sadly, this number continues to rise. The national and international media are abuzz with the issues of compensation and rehabilitation of the affected. However, although the proposed 20 lakhs (USD 25,628) or 1 crore taka (USD 128,090) may seem generous compared to the 7 lakhs (USD 8,966) promised to the victims of the Tazreen fire incident in 2011, these numbers seem arbitrary and...
Read MorePhotographing the Blue Moon
When there are four full moons on a single season, the third full moon is often called a Blue Moon. This rare astronomical event, also associated with term “once in a blue moon” is actually a result of the fractions in Gregorian Calendar (12 months, 365.26 days) and lunar cycle (29.53 days). The moon itself doesn’t look blue – however it is always a pleasure to watch the full moon from the north. In August31, 2012 the Blue Moon appeared on the Northern skyline and I photographed it from Edmonton, Canada. Blue Moon: August 31, 2012 Photographed at 9:35pm (MST) Shutter Speed: 1/15s,...
Read MoreCanadian Rockies
Finally my long awaited trip to the Rocky Mountain range came true. I went to Jasper, one of the early established national parks in Canada, for a short trip. Though it is a popular tourist destination, it attracts few visitors in winter, except for those who love winter sports. My initial plan was to shoot some landscape but the lighting condition was extremely poor. Here are some images from my archive: Mountain monochromes of Ansel Adams always inpired me to shoot landscape in black and white. I loved the criss-crossed patterns on the slope and thought it would look nice in...
Read MoreWhen Love Is In The Air
The mating ritual of birds is one of my major photographic interests. I have spent quite a long time studying the various courtship displays of different species. Observing such mating behaviors is not very common and requires large amount of time in the field. After spending a lot of weekends, I finally managed to capture these photos from a nature park in Edmonton, Canada. Ring-billed Gulls are adjusted living close to human habitats. It is easier to get close to them and observe their intimate behaviors. But still, I used a lens with 300 mm focal length to keep a minimum...
Read MoreRadio Telemetry
Tracking wildlife is an essential skill for any conservationist. It is challenging and can be extremely difficult sometimes and therefore require dexterity on navigation skills, analyzing footmark and using modern technological devices. There are various devices which provide ccurate data of the target. Most of the devices are expensive but radio-telemetry is quite cheap amidst them. The University of Alberta Chapter of Wildlife society offered a training on Radio-telemetry for their Urdan Deer Project. I was really excited to gain first-hand experience from it. The goal was to put...
Read MoreRed Red Robin
It was the one of the sweetest notes that I ever heard on my life. A Robin was singing on a slightly tilted Y-shaped branch, just beside my apartment building. It was my first sighting of a Robin, though this species is quite common in NorthAmerica. The American Robin, which is considered as the symbol of spring, owned the hearts of numerous western poets and musicians. It’s red breast and agile manner are mentioned as the symbol of “compassion and good hope” in folklore and mythical tales. From North-American Birds From North-American...
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