A Compact Camera in 1980
In 1980 I bought my first compact camera. It was an Olympus XA2. I bought it because I thought it would be a useful tool for street photography. Small, discreet and with an excellent lens it was ideal for unobtrusive photography. Before then I used a SLR (single lens reflex camera) which was much larger. Today I fluctuate between using a Digital SLR and a compact camera depending on what I am shooting. Mostly for street photography I use a high end digital compact. This gives incredible results, is flexible and can be set manually. In 1980 the Olympus compact produced excellent results. Below are some of the photographs taken with the first roll of HP5 film I wound into the camera.
Bootle, Liverpool 1980
Bootle, Liverpool 1980
Bootle, Liverpool 1980
Bootle, Liverpool 1980
Bootle, Liverpool 1980
The following Photographs were taken using HP5 film and a SLR camera.
Liverpool Cathedral c.1978
Distant view of the Anglican Cathedral. Liverpool late 1970’s
Distant view of the Anglican Cathedral. Liverpool late 1970’s
Boy riding his bicycle off Princess Avenue. Liverpool 1980
An empty Toxteth street, Liverpool 1981
Climate Change & Bangladesh
Bangladesh, with its low elevation and severe tropical storms, is among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, though it has contributed little to the emissions that are driving it.
Global sea levels could rise more than three feet by 2100. Higher seas and warmer weather will cause profound change. Climate scientists have concluded that widespread burning of fossil fuels is releasing heat-trapping gases that are warming the planet. While this will produce a host of effects, the most worrisome may be the melting of much of the earth’s ice, which is likely to raise sea levels and flood coastal regions. Island nations like the Maldives, Kiribati and Fiji may lose much of their land area, and millions of Bangladeshis will be displaced.
Bangladesh produces only 0.3 percent of the emissions driving climate change. Some developing countries have demanded that rich countries compensate poor countries for polluting the atmosphere. A few have even said that developed countries should open their borders to climate migrants. “It’s a matter of global justice,” said Atiq Rahman, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies and the nation’s leading climate scientist. “These migrants should have the right to move to the countries from which all these greenhouse gases are coming. Millions should be able to go to the United States.”Bangladesh has done much to protect its population by creating an early-warning system and building at least 2,500 concrete storm shelters. The result has been a vast reduction in storm-related deaths. While Cyclone Bhola in 1970 killed as many as 550,000 people, Cyclone Aila in 2009 killed 300. The deadliest part of the storm was the nearly 10-foot wall of water that roared through villages in the middle of the afternoon.
Dhaka, Bangladesh 1995
Dhaka Bangladesh 1994
Bangladesh 1994
Rickshaw,Bangladesh 1994
Bangladesh 1994
Rural Bangladesh 1994
Bangladesh 2008
Rural Bangladesh 1992
Bangladesh 1994
Dhaka Bangladesh 1994
Dhaka Bangladesh c.1992
Dhaka Bangladesh c.1994
Bangladesh 2008
Rural Bangladesh 1994
Bangladesh 2008
Sylhet Bangladesh c.1992
Bangladesh 2008
Dhaka Bangladesh c.1992
Bangladesh 2008
Bangladesh c.1992
Bangladesh c.1992
Dhaka, Bangladesh 1996
Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
Images Of Bangladesh
My interest in Bangladesh began because a lot of my friends in East London were born there. I first visited in 1991 with my friend Alla Uddin. My archive of photographs of Bangladesh cover a number of visits over two decades.
Dhaka, Bangladesh 2008
Transporting food on the river in Bangladesh, 1991
Dhaka, Bangladesh c.1996
Boy on a train, 1992
Children on a landfill site in Dhaka, Bangladesh 2008
Boat on a river it twilight. Bangladesh 1996
Taking a nap, Sylhet Bangladesh 1992
Two bikes in Dhaka, Bangladesh 1991
Man on bicycle, Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
Sylhet Bangladesh c.1992
Pupils in a boat taking them from School back to their village. Sylhet, Bangladesh 1991
Tree on a flood plain outside Dhaka. Bangladesh 1996
Boy steering a boat. Bangladesh 1996
Global Voices In Bangladesh
I’ve visited Bangladesh many times and I try to keep up with events in the country. I was dismayed to hear recently that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has been ordered to block 35 news sites. No reasons are given for the ban. But some of the sites have carried reporting that is critical of the government, says citizen media network Global Voices.
I only have positive memories of Bangladesh. The last time I was there was in 2009. Below are a variety of photographs I have taken there over the years.
Dhaka Bangladesh c.1994
Young man outside a book shop in Dhaka, 2008
Dhaka Bangladesh c.1994
A hair cut and shave in the shade. Sylhet, Bangladesh 1994
c 1994
Boy looking after vegetable stall, Chittagong 2008
Boy selling cigarettes in Dhaka, 1994
Women workers in a tea garden, Sylhet, Bangladesh 1992
Boy running next to a train, Bangladesh 1992
Babies in a rickshaw, Bangladesh 1996
Sunamganj, Sylhet Bangladesh 1992
Bus in motion, Dhaka Bangladesh 1991
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“An extract from Phil Maxwell’s Modern Magic Lantern Show’ (short film)
Brick Lane Over The Years
I’ve traversed Brick Lane for nearly forty years. During that time it has changed dramatically. When I first arrived many of the building along the Lane were derelict and empty. There were a number of empty patches of land hidden by sheets of corrugated iron. There were only a few Bangladeshi eateries and a handful of small businesses and workshops. Here are some photographs of Brick Lane taken recently with photographs from the early 1980s onwards.
Brick Lane 2016
Brick Lane c.1992
Brick Lane 2016
Brick Lane c.1986
Brick Lane 2016
Brick Lane c.1985
Brick Lane 2012
Brick Lane c.1984
Brick Lane 2002
Brick Lane c.1993
Brick Lane 2010
Brick Lane c.1993
Brick Lane 2012
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