PHOTOGRAPHY SABIK BIN SULTAN

A little closer.
A little slower.

Everyday lives. Passing light. A place to pause.
Photographs and stories from Bangladesh.

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68 photographs Colour & monochrome

IN FOCUSRain of Golden Grain01 / 68

THE COLLECTION

A closer look.

68 photographs

A photograph first. Its story, one tap away.

Two women lift paddy with wooden tools, sending golden grain into the air. — Rain of Golden Grain
Two women lift paddy with wooden tools, sending golden grain into the air.

A woman stands at the doorway of a corrugated tin home surrounded by floodwater. — Water at the Doorstep
Flood victim, Chauddagram, Cumilla — 2024

An elderly woman in a patterned head covering sits with other women against a brick wall. — The Weight of Age, the Weight of Water
Elderly flood victims, Chauddagram, Cumilla — 2024

A mother holds a young child against her shoulder outdoors. — A Mother’s Embrace, the Final Refuge
Mother and child during flood displacement, Chauddagram, Cumilla — 2024

A woman in a pink patterned head covering holds her infant in a dark doorway. — Water, Poverty, and Eyes Still Holding Hope
Flood-affected mother and infant, Chauddagram, Cumilla — 2024

A woman in pink stands in a narrow wooden boat and poles across floodwater. — Life Afloat on Water
A woman in pink stands in a narrow wooden boat and poles across floodwater.

Men brace against a fishing boat as waves break around them. — Struggling Against the Water
Men brace against a fishing boat as waves break around them.

A fishing boat faces breaking waves beneath an overcast sky. — A Lone Boat Facing the Waves
A fishing boat faces breaking waves beneath an overcast sky.

A young person stands among the burned remains of a settlement. — Time: 05:57 PM
A young person stands among the burned remains of a settlement.

A woman sits among scorched timber and collapsed corrugated metal sheets. — Time: 05:57 PM
A woman sits among scorched timber and collapsed corrugated metal sheets.

Two boys carry a sack through the remains of burned homes. — Time: 05:57 PM
Two boys carry a sack through the remains of burned homes.

A masked man reads a paper among people waiting outside a hospital. — The Waiting Room of Breath
A masked man reads a paper among people waiting outside a hospital.

A masked clinician writes at a desk behind a makeshift cloth partition. — The Waiting Room of Breath
A masked clinician writes at a desk behind a makeshift cloth partition.

A patient rests curled on a hospital bed beside a sunlit window. — The Waiting Room of Breath
A patient rests curled on a hospital bed beside a sunlit window.

A man rests his head on a woman’s lap on a hospital bench. — The Waiting Room of Breath
A man rests his head on a woman’s lap on a hospital bench.

People wait along a hospital corridor, with a seated woman in the foreground. — The Waiting Room of Breath
People wait along a hospital corridor, with a seated woman in the foreground.

A woman in orange sorts green chillies on a rubbish-strewn riverbank. — Survival by the River
A woman in orange sorts green chillies on a rubbish-strewn riverbank.

A woman in a turquoise sari counts banknotes beside the wheel of a bus. — Counting the Day’s Survival
A woman in a turquoise sari counts banknotes beside the wheel of a bus.

A woman tends a stove inside a smoky room with corrugated metal walls. — Cooking Inside the Smoke
A woman tends a stove inside a smoky room with corrugated metal walls.

A porter carries a large grain sack printed with a Bangla slogan. — Promises in Words, Hunger in Life
A porter carries a large grain sack printed with a Bangla slogan.

A shoeshiner brushes a customer’s shoe beside his wooden work box. — Polish of Labor
A shoeshiner brushes a customer’s shoe beside his wooden work box.

A worker lifts a large drum amid towering stacks of barrels. — Man Against the Pile
A worker lifts a large drum amid towering stacks of barrels.

A worker pulls a loaded cart through a brickfield while a chicken walks in the foreground. — Same Posture, Different Lives
A worker pulls a loaded cart through a brickfield while a chicken walks in the foreground.

Three women pull rakes through golden grain spread on a drying yard. — Wrestling the Ground
Three women pull rakes through golden grain spread on a drying yard.

Children run between rows of drying grain as women work behind them. — Childhood Between the Rows
Children run between rows of drying grain as women work behind them.

A barefoot woman carries a child across a broad yard covered in drying paddy. — A Mother at the Center of the Field
A barefoot woman carries a child across a broad yard covered in drying paddy.

A woman cooks beside a clay stove as sunlight streams through a kitchen window. — Rural Bengal
A woman cooks beside a clay stove as sunlight streams through a kitchen window.

A woman sits beside baskets and sacks of produce on a riverbank at sunset. — Rural Bengal
A woman sits beside baskets and sacks of produce on a riverbank at sunset.

Three men work among rows of green crops in an open field. — Rural Bengal
Three men work among rows of green crops in an open field.

A boy in white bends to give money to a man in a mosque courtyard as people pass. — Giving in the Courtyard of Faith
A boy in white bends to give money to a man in a mosque courtyard as people pass.

A worker carrying a bundle and a pole is silhouetted inside a mosque arch. — Labour Inside the Shadow
A worker carrying a bundle and a pole is silhouetted inside a mosque arch.

A smiling barefoot boy holds a long stick beside a herd of cows. — An Afternoon of Herding Cows
A smiling barefoot boy holds a long stick beside a herd of cows.

A smiling boy in a red shirt holds a water hyacinth flower beside moored boats. — A flower gifted by the river mother
A smiling boy in a red shirt holds a water hyacinth flower beside moored boats.

A boy sits beside railway tracks and holds a small puppy close to his face. — Friendship Beside the Railway Line
A boy sits beside railway tracks and holds a small puppy close to his face.

A girl stands beneath a large umbrella in an open field. — Pausing Under an Umbrella
A girl stands beneath a large umbrella in an open field.

A girl holds a baby in a dark doorway beside a wall covered with handprints. — Handprints and the Shadow of Home
A girl holds a baby in a dark doorway beside a wall covered with handprints.

A flock of ducks forms a winding line across a river near boats and a standing person. — Crossing
A flock of ducks forms a winding line across a river near boats and a standing person.

A lone cow grazes in a green field glowing under the low afternoon sun. — Golden Afternoon
A lone cow grazes in a green field glowing under the low afternoon sun.

A white egret stands in shallow water, its reflection stretching below it. — Silent Passage Across the River
15 March 2022 — Near Dobanki Channel, Sundarbans

A white egret walks along a tidal sandbar with other birds in the distance. — Standing Alone at the Edge of Water
17 March 2022 — Tidal Flats near Pakhiralay

A large black-and-white bird stands on a mudflat in front of a mangrove forest. — A Silent Watcher in the Forest
18 March 2022 — Mangrove Edge near Sudhanyakhali

A monkey with food in its mouth walks toward the camera on a forest trail. — Meeting Eyes with the Forest
19 March 2022 — Forest Trail near Sajnekhali Range

People walk through misty fields beneath an orange winter sunrise. — Chalan Beel on a Winter Morning
January 2023 — Chatmohar, Pabna (Rajshahi Division)

Sunlight breaks through thick clouds over fields and a bare tree at Chalan Beel. — Chalan Beel Beneath the Shade of Clouds
January 2023 — Chatmohar, Pabna (Rajshahi Division)

Wooden boats and their reflections rest on calm water beneath a purple-pink sky. — Anchored Silence
15 March 2022 — Near a canal off the Raimangal River, Sundarbans, Khulna Division

A palm tree leans over the shore in silhouette against a soft pink sky. — The Leaning Palm’s Shadow
16 March 2022 — Dublar Char coastline, Sundarbans

A dense line of green mangroves is reflected in still blue water. — Reflection of Green
17 March 2022 — Mangrove belt near Kotka Wildlife Sanctuary

Bare branching trees reach across a clear blue sky. — Blue Sky Beneath Bare Branches
18 March 2022 — Open clearing near Hiron Point, Sundarbans

Orange flames and sparks rise through dry grass at dusk. — Fire in the Overgrowth
Bosila Garden City, Mohammadpur, Dhaka — late evening, March 2024

A row of auto rickshaws waits on a raised road beyond blurred foreground grass. — Lines of Waiting
20 December 2020 — Near the river dock, Nabinagar, Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh

A narrow boat carrying several people floats on still, misty water beside a sloping riverbank. — Into the quiet
A boat and its reflection slip through the mist.

A person twists in midair above water in a black-and-white photograph. — A second in the sky
An airborne figure, suspended above the water.

A child hangs upside down from a rope stretched between wooden posts. — An upside-down afternoon
A child turns an ordinary rope into an adventure.

A man helps a woman cross a narrow wooden gangplank while other passengers wait with bags. — A helping hand
A careful step across the gap between boat and shore.

People walk through an arched, covered footbridge, some blurred in motion around a woman in pink. — Passing through
Stillness and movement share a covered walkway.

A group of people work with pale fishing nets spread across a riverfront landing beside wooden boats. — Threads of a livelihood
Hands at work among boats and fishing nets.

A child in a red dress stands outside a corrugated-metal home beside a littered waterway. — At the doorstep
A small figure in red against weathered metal walls.

A small passenger boat crosses a river framed by overhanging branches and leaves. — Under the canopy
Branches frame a quiet passage on the river.

A man pours water over his shoulder while standing in a narrow pool between rows of stones. — Between stone and water
Ripples interrupt the lines of a stone-lined pool.

A man sits in a worn bus driver’s seat, smiling and raising one hand beside a damaged dashboard. — The front seat
A lively gesture inside a worn bus cabin.

People stand along a riverbank with their silhouettes reflected in a pool in the foreground. — An echo on the shore
Figures on the riverbank find a second life in reflection.

A low-angle black-and-white view of a weathered boat’s bow and thick mooring rope. — Held by a thread
A mooring rope leads the eye to a weathered bow.

People stand beside a wooden fishing boat as waves break around their legs. — Into the tide
A shared effort at the edge of the surf.

Men lean against the side of a fishing boat in the surf, photographed close to the hull. — Shoulder to the sea
Hands brace against the boat as the water rises.

Birds fly above a single tree and a low ridge in a black-and-white landscape. — The sky stirs
A flock scatters above a lone tree.

Helmeted firefighters work together to aim a hose amid damaged structures and debris. — Holding the line
Firefighters direct a stream of water through the debris.

A bus burns beside another bus, sending thick smoke up in front of a tall building. — Smoke above the street
Flames and thick smoke engulf buses on a city street.

A dense crowd moves along railway tracks beside a long covered station platform. — A city in motion
A crowd fills the tracks beneath a station roof.

There is a story in the ordinary.

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