“Those who read the newspaper avoid the simple matters and stories around them; rather they focus on the larger news and matters happening daily all over the world.”
Rakib, a documentary and street photographer, who captured this photo series in Dhaka, Bangladesh, rises with the sun to catch the daily hawkers and consumers in action.
“There is a saying that Dhaka never sleeps. Dhaka, is the busiest city in Bangladesh and the hawkers of this city also lead a busy life selling the daily newspaper. Their life starts when the sun starts to shine.”
He has taken a special interest in those who seem so entranced by the news. They keep their heads buried in the pages choosing to learn about the world they live in - yet, ironically missing out on what is happening in the world directly around them.
“...they think of and wait for what’s coming the next day. They want to know more and care more about the country, that’s why they read it.”
Documentary and street photography focus on capturing someone in the moment which adds an intriguing level of authenticity to the captured images. Rakib seeks to capture ‘the story behind the story’ - to immortalize a fading moment in time.
Rakib’s trick? Look to the moments of still in the busy environment, and you will find you can capture so much more:
“When you go out on the street in the morning, the first thing you notice is people reading this Newspaper. Ever since I was a student of journalism and later worked for a newspaper, I took pictures of these people considering that paper newspapers would one day be lost in the digital age”
“In public transportation terminals and stations, people use it parallelly as a mirror of the world and as a time killer. So, until their transportation arrives so they can go to work or another destination, the readers try to complete a whole page, sometimes a whole paper.”
“Trains come and go like on all the other days, but the reading continues.”
Just like those people reading the newspaper, you have to truly be an observer of your surroundings to capture a great story as a photographer - so, while his subjects are observing only the space between themselves and the words on that newspaper - Rakib has taken a snapshot and created art.
You can explore more of Rakib’s skillful still photography right here.
Author: Dana Balsley, community manager and content creator at Scopio.
