Sumon Yusuf
Photographer
By Sheikh Iraj
Sumon Yusuf, 33, is an award-winning photographer. Yusuf started taking photography seriously back in 2002. He believes photography is not just a tool for entertainment, rather it can also be used for human storytelling. His second solo exhibition November in Paris was held November 4-15 at Alliance Franaise de Dhaka. During the exhibition, his mother passed away and he dedicated the show to her. This week, The Weekend spoke to him about his work, achievements, and future plans.
How did you get into photography? What inspired you?
It was in 2002 when I first started photography. At first, I only thought of photography as a tool for entertainment. Soon, I realised photography is more than that. I always wanted to take pictures that portray human stories. I started travelling to different parts of Bangladesh in search of interesting human stories. I came across the Mru tribe in Bandarban hill tract district. I decided to make a documentary photography series on this ethnic group. I believe from that moment on, I started taking photography more seriously.
How important is institutional training for a photographer?
It is not mandatory for everyone to learn photography in an institute. I believe practice and hard work can fill that gap, too. That been said, after 12 years of my photography career, I realised I should do a course. Soon, I got a chance to do a diploma in photojournalism, with a full scholarship, at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.
Please tell us about your recent photography exhibition, November in Paris.
November in Paris was my second solo photography exhibition. I exhibited 21 images and a multimedia presentation at the show. Last year in November, I was in Paris to attend an artist residency programme. On November 13, terrorists attacked Paris. I decided to cover the aftermath of the attacks (which left 130 people dead) and that is the theme of my exhibition. I am very much grateful to my exhibition curator, Turjoy Chowdhury, who helped immensely with the multimedia presentation.
Please tell us about your biggest achievements.
In 2015, I won the first prize in an international photo contest on climate change, titled Climate: State of Emergency, organised by the Alliance Franiase Foundation in Paris. Some of my other achievements are becoming the 1st prize winner of the 10th annual Photoshare Photo Contest, USA, and getting the Honorable Mention Jury Award in Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest, held in Russia.
What are your future goals?
In the past four years, I have been documenting river-oriented communities of Bangladesh. I am working on the River Padma. I am trying to portray a poetic story of river life. After a few years, I wish to publish a book on photography from an international platform.
Photos: Courtesy
