bangladesh woman

Canon 1Ds Mark II with 70-300mm f/5.6 DO lens at ISI 400
We were on the deck of our boat, moored near a public dock in downtown Dhaka, Bangladesh. A ferry pulled alongside us, and we watched as passengers got on and off. Of course they watched us too (foreigners are quite rare in Bangladesh).

I suppose I may have looked curious to these two woman, but probably no more so than they appeared to me.

Look at the curve of the white metal port that they are standing in, and then look for complimentary curves in the rest of the image; faces, glasses, shawl...

I was doing photography in an abandoned building in the ancient capital of Sonargoran. A parapet on the third floor faced across a narrow street to a building where people were living. This woman was turned, talking to someone else in the room. What drew me, in addition to the muted yet colourful tonalities, were the unanswered questions. Who was she? Who was she talking to? What was this unknown life all about?

I was wandering though the courtyard of a Hindu temple. This woman lived within, part of the caretaker's family. I was photographing some architectural detail, and when I turned around at one point, saw her whipping her long hair though a twisted towel in an almost balletic motion. Pure poerty, and this photograph is my attempt to translate that poem into a visual record.