Behind the Photo · ##Dhaka #Bangladesh #Kawran Bazar #old age
The Woman and the Train
At Kawran Bazar in Dhaka, I waited quietly beside the tracks as a train blurred past an elderly woman who stayed perfectly still.
While photographing at Kawran Bazar, Dhaka’s huge wholesale vegetable market, I walked a little way off to find a toilet. On the way I noticed small temporary sheds built right beside the railway tracks. I realised the area had potential, so I decided to explore it on my way back.
That was when I saw an old woman sitting near the tracks. I didn’t approach her straight away. I kept my distance, sat down quietly so I wouldn’t disturb her, and waited. I already knew what I wanted: a slow shutter shot, with the train as motion and her as the still point. So I set up my camera and settings in advance and waited for the train.
When it came, everything happened at once. The train thundered past, I moved in towards her, and she looked up and met my eyes.
The slow shutter turns the green and orange carriages into a blur, while her face and hands stay sharp. The train passes, but she doesn’t move. Her red patterned sari and weathered hands, resting on her walking stick, are the details that hold the frame together.
What I took from this moment is that patience matters as much as technique. I had the idea before I had the subject. Then I let the subject settle, stayed out of her way, and was ready when the moment arrived.
This photograph received a Consolation Prize in the “Old Age” category at the National Level Photography Contest, Photofest India 2025, organised by the All Kerala Photographers Association.