The mist hung low over the bustling port of the impressive Meghna River in Bangladesh. Makeshift cafes were serving locals a breakfast of chapattis and dhal whilst the boat owners hustled for business. The river itself is one of most important in Bangladesh and joins two other rivers to form the largest delta on earth, the Ganges Delta in the Bay of Bengal. At its widest point it is over 12km wide, and is littered with small inhabited islands formed mainly of sand.
After a forty minute ride along the river, Mayadip appears, almost indistinguishable through the white haze. It sits just above the waterline lying perfectly flat. The islanders, now numbering around 1200, were formally nomadic and settled on the island in the 1980’s. Since then they have survived living mostly off the land without electricity and with limited supply to basic services. They have been subjected to severe flooding and now face another threat- illegal sand mining - which is causing the island to be effectively absorbed into the river. The majority of the male residents are fishermen, but the sand dredging has also made fish harder to catch. One of the banks of the island has now become completely submerged.
This photographic essay began my interest in low-contrast photography. The natural environment at the time created an ambiance that fitted the situation, something that was further enhanced through low contrast.