Dhaka, Bangladesh

Like the rest of the Out of Focus members, Zakir lives in Muipur, a neighborhood in the south of Dhaka. While there, he sometimes helps out with his family's fresh food business. The rest of his time is spent working in photography and also studying for the government-administered SSC final examinations. He has been studying business and journalism and hopes to do more of that in the future. Zakir also loves swimming, singing and creating new projects. You can see Zakir's work, as well as the rest of the group's work, on their individual portfolios embedded in the Drik site. Follow the links to Out of Focus and then to the portfolios for some outstanding photographs. www.drik.net

You can find more pictures of Zakir here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

You may know Moli from her participation in the forum, and others may know her from her brief moment of stardom in the Bangladeshi movie (and Cannes winner) "Clay Bird" in which both she and Shetu appeared. However, both girls are humble and when we went to see the famous movie in a hall in Dhaka, their friends (and not them) told us about their acting debuts! Moli is more dedicated to her work as a photographer, which is how she supports herself and her family. Moli is also attending school in Dhaka. She enjoys going to art and photographic exhibitions and of course, taking pictures.

You can see more pictures of Moli here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

At 19, Falan is one of the older members of Out of Focus and he has been there from the group's start in 1994. It is hard to find him without a video camera in hand. Before joining the group, he worked as a rickshaw puller, an assistant on local buses, a steel welder, and a helper in tea stalls. Now he is working at Drik and doing photography to support himself and help raise his two younger brothers. Falan is also a writer, and has been keeping journals for the past few years, writing the story of his life. It is sure to be an amazing story, and we will be emailing him regularly to remind him to get working on the English translation.

You can write to Falan at drikfalan@yahoo.com and you can see more pictures of him here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

You may remember Shetu from the beautiful and sad story that she wrote for the Junior Journal, about her father's death. Shetu was also part of the Hamida group, and is also still working with Out of Focus and Drik. She has been concentrating on videography, and in addition to her Drik work, she created a video project for a national NGO for disabled people. There is a lot Shetu wants to accomplish in her life - in addition to being a video editor, she wants a graduate degree and to go abroad and teach photography as well. For her photography is a way to expose the injustice and pain that people feel and often do not want to express and it is a way to communicate ideas which are new to people. Right now, Shetu is a trainee at the Drik Gallery and a student at the Bangladesh Open University.

You can write to Shetu at shetu_drik@yahoo.com and you can see more pictures of her here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dadon is currently working in Out of Focus's business venture, while at the same time continuing with photography and studying Business and Commerce at the University of Dhaka. He is hoping to continue his education and become an accountant in the future. Education is very important to Dadon, and like J.F.K, Dadon frequently asks himself, " what can I do for society?" At present he is working to keep up his studies and support his family. Another reason he enjoys working with Out of Focus is that it brings young men and women together working side by side, a rare opportunity in his community.

You can write to Dadon at fa_dadon@yahoo.com and you can see more pictures of him here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Iqbal has always been in the arts and is now working as a full-time freelance video photographer. He says of himself that when he was young, he used to paint pictures with paint and now he paints through the camera on photographic paper. In addition to the photography work he does, Iqbal has worked as a production assistant at World View International and with Ekushey Television as a journalist. When he realized he needed more money to support his family, he began doing wedding and birthday photography by renting cameras and editing panels. Iqbal is also very socially-motivated and he spoke to us of his dream to create a group like Out of Focus for girls in Cox's Bazaar (a region several hours from Dhaka) where there is no education for girls.

You can find Iqbal at iqbal_labai@yahoo.com and you can see more pictures of him here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Kashem is interested in photography because for him it is a way to explore social issues and protest injustice. He wants to be a photographer for life, and has already had a magazine internship. Another reason for doing photography for Kashem is to support his family, although this is difficult when is also trying to complete his general studies. He has worked with Out of Focus for many years and he is currently a trainee at Drik Gallery, where exhibitions from local and international photographers are staged continuously. Kashem also told us about his latest project with Shopna - they are planning to create desk calendars to sell as a fundraiser for Drik. In his spare time, Kashem likes listening to music and playing with children.

You can write to Kashem at kashem_drik@yahoo.com and you can find more pictures of him here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Like Bristi, Rabeya (or Rima to her close friends), also took part in 'Muktokhobor' of ETV as a junior television journalist, in addition to her photography and videography. Officially, Rima is working in Drik's Internet division, but like her friends, she is extremely committed to photography as a medium for expression, and she hopes to do an advanced diploma in photography one day in the future. Already Rima has passed her O levels, and is studying political science at the University of Dhaka when she isn't working. For Rima, there are lots of reasons to work. The biggest three are to pay for her education expenses, contribute to her family, and to do something against injustice in the Bangladeshi society. Whether because of her sharp mind or her travels abroad (Rima has twice visited Europe), she is a talented translator and aided us enormously when our Bangla failed us (right…).

You can write to Rima at rs_rima@yahoo.com and you can find more pictures of her here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Bristi, also known as Hamida, was one of the eight participants in the Hamida group from Bangladesh, and the group's representative to the in-person summit in Cambridge. That same collection of young people are also known as the "Out of Focus" group, and they work together as socially-conscious photographers and videographers. Out of Focus is affiliated with the larger gallery and photography school called "DRIK". Bristi herself is sixteen, and she works as a photographer, a videographer (there are tons of pictures of Bristi with her eye hidden by a camera), and as a junior television journalist at 'Muktokhobor', a programme broadcast by Ekushey Television. She is hoping that her career will take her further into journalism. Bristi's hobbies include collecting stamps and birds, which she keeps as pets.

You can reach Bristi (Hamida) at brist_n@hotmail.com and you can find more pictures of her here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

You may also remember Shopna's name from her messages to the online forum discussions on child poverty. Shopna has been working with Out of Focus since its' start in 1994, and through her work in photography and videography, she has been an activist against child labor and child marriage, both widespread problems in Bangladesh. Aside from her work with photography, Shopna is takes classes in computers and has been attending seminars in children's issues. She also holds a part-time job at the World View Cybercafe in Dhanmondi, Dhaka in order to provide support for her husband and adorable four year-old boy. Shopna loves listening to songs and reading books. One day, she hopes to be a famous photographer working with underprivileged children.

You can reach Shopna at shopna_faysal@hotmail.com and you can find more pictures of her here.