Snap-O-Matic

Hokay folks, I'm back and this week another talented "Guest Photographer" would be contributing to Snap-O-Matic. Extend your friendly paws & arms towards(*drumrolls) Aneek Mustafa Anwar, a 2nd year student of Mechanical Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Tech (BUET). He is a specialist on low light, concert photography and today his post would delineate the very same. Until recently, Aneek was a vagrant camera owner who would loan DSLRs here and there ignoring (painfully so) the many unseen connotations and conditions imposed upon him. Thankfully, he now owns his own DSLR and can let the beast off the leash. Let's enjoy his write-up now, shall we?

It was not long ago that Atunu bhai, Shamir and me were coming back from ‘Moo’s Band Fest’ at Banani listening to Crematic X and we were stuck in one of the infamous "Traffic Jams" of Dhaka and it was then that the plan of this blog was revealed to us by Atunu vai...after months of planning and organizing, here I am writing for it. That day NiH told us that the contributors of this blog would be upcoming photographers along with some experts in the trade. Now that I've finally been given the chance, I feel proud writing this short account of my ‘Rocking Hard’ series of photos in flickr. This is a great opportunity for a flickerite like myself as somehow I feel like it strengthens my drive as an emerging photographer on the amateur circuit. The other reason being the fact that I'm being featured in the same place where so many masters have showcased their thoughts about photography (O' rly? - Says NiH)

I would talk about some of my concert photos here, about the moments that I shot them what I felt back then and what I feel now. First I would want to start with a photo that carries a special meaning to me. This particular exposure was shot during the ‘Level Completion’ Concert of our BUET ’07 batch . This was the first time I got the approval and appreciation from master photographer and the canonical "Guru" of all denizens of BUET-PS, A.A.Apu bhai . That is why I consider this shot in particular as the "spark that lit the fire" (how else would a Mechanical Engineer describe an event? w00t )

Now here comes the photo that defines the whole series for me. It’s the first of the rocking hards that came to see the light of the world. The amazingly charismatic Oni Hasan of Warfaze in action, blazing down the stage with untamed energy. This was shot with my beloved ‘Fuji S5800’ point and shoot camera and probably proves the fact that concerts can be well shot with P&S cameras.

Up next, I've decided to include a moment in time frozen in suspended animation as a proof of what rock stars can do on stage. The crowd mesmerized in unison with Tuhin the vocalist of ‘Shironamhin’ another fusion rock band of Bangladesh. This was shot during the civil festival with a Nikon D40 and it's kit lens.

The next photo is something that doesn't quite belong to the rocking hard series. It was titled ‘Beat it’ in the memory of the ‘King of Pop’ the moonwalking-master ‘MJ’. I uploaded it the day he died. This photo is one of my most favourite among all the concert shots that I have taken. The smokes and the lights give us a part-obscure visiton that screams of the drums being set ablaze. If you notice carefully you’ll find the silhouette of Sanjoy Haldar the drummer of our very own part-lounge/part-alternative rock band from BUET ‘Crematic X’ hidden somewhere in the photo.

The next photo is probably a favourite of our in-house conceptual photographer Shucheta. Here Mishu vai from our BUET band Crematic X , once again rocking hard during the Civil Festival Concert a few months back.

I guess I’ll wrap up things here; you guys are probably snoozing out there already with me spurting out all this jibberish. Wall know that us photographers have our own little field of comfort where we feel at home. In a way, a very fitting fashion, concert stages give me that feeling. The music, the lights, the smokes and the Rock stars all provide me with thousands of reasons to go crazy with my camera. Banging head with a camera in your hand is real fun; everyone should try it once in a while (assuming you don't have arthritis or spinal concussions :D ). I just got myself an old 30D and can’t wait for the next concert to come across. I just hope that I will be able to continue to present you with more rocking concert photos.

Ow…..do I hear a drum beat out there……..see ya people next time……till then ‘Rock Hard’
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Yibbiti ...yibbiti...yibbiti..that's it folks...leave your words of wisdom in the comments section. Or alternatively, just enjoy this visual endeavor.