About Me
Hi! Greetings from Dr Amirul Khusru, a Cardiologist by profession and Photographer by passion.
Hay! Get ready to be amazed-astonished! Yeah, I started my photography with a “Medium format” camera, actually a dream for professional photographers. Think how lucky I was! Guess which camera I possess at the end of the year 1975- a Leica/a Hasselblad/a Rollieflex/a Bronica/a Mamiya or a Holga?
These two above shown photographs are samples of my early and absolutely “Black & White” days. Simple disappointment due to the less impressive framing, primitive as well as immature formal style family clicks? Is it not? Straight forward misuse of a Great medium format GEM? I am coming later on about that phase of my learning in the past. So you people may begin to predict that I was a rich man then and maybe a professional photographer.
But no, that is not true. I am rather from a lower-middle-class family in Bangladesh (an underdeveloped country in the past) with a low socio-economic condition. I had to struggle a lot to become a professional. Yes, I am now a Cardiologist by profession and a Photographer (photography student rather) by passion, hobby and I am a nature lover as well.
We are here in our very dear world for a very brief period of time. We use to try, to do or to achieve so many things or goals in these limited hours. Our struggle/effort begins with studies mainly to build up a career (that is not a photographer at least). We attempt to perform so many extra-curricular activities. In the end, some of our dreams are transformed into reality, but many more are not. Most of our efforts go after career building and the least for recreation, hobby or others.
I was born in 1958 in Chattogram (formerly known as Chittagong), a divisional town of Bangladesh (actually was East Pakistan then). I was rather studious in school and college life and have passed SSC (1974) & HSC (1976) examinations from Khulna Zilla School and Govt. BL College respectively. I’ve completed Medical Graduation (MBBS) from Sher-e-Bangla Medical College, Barisal in 1984. I have earned my membership (postgraduate diploma) in Internal Medicine from Bangladesh College of Physicians & Surgeons and have completed my Doctor of Medicine (MD Cardiology), from the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease & Hospital, Dhaka, an iconic institute in Bangladesh, under the University of Dhaka. I was one of the pioneers of “Interventional Cardiology” in Khulna, a peripheral divisional town of Bangladesh. I have received post-doctoral specialized training on invasive and interventional cardiology from India and Singapore. I am also a Member of the American College of Physicians (MACP), European Society of Cardiology (MESC), Bangladesh Cardiac Society, Bangladesh Society of Cardiovascular Intervention, Asthma Association Bangladesh, Association of Physicians of Bangladesh and The Heart & Chest Association of Bangladesh. I was a sincere government officer and served more than 33 years with fame & dignity and retired as Associate Professor of Cardiology in 2017. I have enjoyed teaching as well as clinical service including delicate interventional cardiology a lot. I have ample opportunity to travel to various countries in different parts of the world either to attend scientific seminars and symposiums or only for visiting purposes. Countries included are India, Singapore, Malaysia, United Arab Emirate, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, Seychelles, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Spain, USA, Brazil, United Kingdom and Thailand. My photography gadgets followed me everywhere allowing me to take some nice clicks almost on every occasion, of course including birds.
From early childhood, I was a sportsman and was skilled in football, cricket, hockey, badminton, table tennis, carom and other games. I was involved in different cultural activities and was well known as an organizer. Currently, I am a member of different social organizations like Zilla Shilpokola academy, Khulna, Khulna Zilla School Ex-student Association, BL college alumni association, Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Ex-student Association, Khulna Bonsai Society. I am the President of ‘Brihottar Kumilla Kalyan Samity’ of Khulna for the last five years.
Now back to the old story. In 1975, an Agfa Click, a very basic 120 film camera became my first toy, and definitely none of the above mentioned great cameras. Family photography with everything in a fully manual system. Thrilling “Black & White” reproduction of dear faces on paper. Yes, that was the beginning of my journey of learning photography. In those days learning photography was not so easy and facilities were really scanty. The art of photography was in a very primitive stage and equipment were not easily available in Bangladesh. When I was a medical student, that very Agfa was my company initially, later I used two Yashica Electro-35 cameras, which actually were owned by two of my classmates. Later I used Yashica Fx3 and Contax. Now I am mainly a Canon user.
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At the end of 2012, I could procure a long telephoto zoom (*50-500mm) lens. That allowed me to bring the birds close enough to observe their fabulous and spectacular details.
In the unique shot of the common kingfisher shown above - who is the model? The hunter or the prey? The bird or the fish? We often miss so many pleasant, attractive and spectacular moments around us happening very frequently and every day. Only timely taken clicks can record such precious moments to offer scopes to enjoy again and again, now and in future. Thanks to the modern amenities available nowadays for making it possible to capture these unique, fabulous and unforgettable events around us.
Actually, this shot made me try to discover how beautiful, attractive and eye-catching the birds can be. It is alleged that in nature, three creatures are most beautiful: the flowers, the butterflies and the birds. Flowers are very easy to look over as they are still. Butterflies are alert and agile but not so fast and quick like birds, not so difficult to observe their beauty. Finally, the mysterious birds- they do not pose, do not wait & rather are fugitives. So it is very difficult to capture in expected position and lighting. Ironically birds are most beautiful and attractive during flight and unfortunately it is most difficult to capture them during flight. After reviewing this wonderful shot I thought that only capturing photos and videos can record or document these creatures with their activities, which can produce a permanent and spectacular source of enjoyment. Since then, I feel that I should try to contribute to this field and have become a student of Bird Photography and still I am a learner in the field of photography. My main interest is in bird photography. “Kolorob” a small book I published in the year 2014 containing photographs of many birds, that I captured with a very brief description. Its second edition with a lot of new birds is almost ready for publication but unfortunately delayed due to Covid 19 pandemic. I have achieved some international awards on Wild Life photography and many other photographs were accepted in different international photo contests. Of course, bird photography is my most favourite one, but I used to try other disciplines also. Obviously, some of those are interesting and impressive as well. I must acknowledge my heartfelt gratitude to my wife Dr Afroza Khanam, without whose fluent support, it was impossible to reach my current status in the field of photography.
I have been bearing the responsibility of Khulna Photographic Society (KPS) for the last nine years. KPS is the first and iconic photography organization of Khulna, Bangladesh (khulnaphotographicsociety-kpsbd.org). Being the President of this organization, under my guidance and supervision, KPS is now one of the leaders in the photography arena in Bangladesh.
Front and back cover of “Kolorob”, my publication.
My current gadgets include:
- Bodies : Canon EOS R5, Canon EOS 5D mkIV & mkIII, Canon EOS 7D mkII
- Lenses : Canon EF 50mm f1.2L & f1.8, Canon EF 12-24mm f4L, Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L mkII, Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS mkII, Canon EF 400mm f5.6L, Canon EF 100-400mm f4-5.6L IS mkII, Canon RF 800mm STM, Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM for canon, Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 for Canon EF, EF to RF convertors, Canon RF 1.4x & Tamron EF 1.4x teconvertor
- Compacts: Sony Cyber-shot Rx10 mkIII & mkIV. Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ 200, Canon PowerShot SX50 HS, Panasonic DMC-TZ70
- Flashes: Canon flash ex600 rt. Radio triggers, Reflectors, Diffusers. Off-camera flash connecting cables
- Drone: DJI Mavic 2 Pro
- Accessories: Number of Tripods and monopods, a huge number of filters including Neutral density & Polarizers, Remote switches, and so many others