A three-day tourism photography exhibition and competition opened on March 1 at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

Bangladesh Tourism Board, under the supervision of Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, has organised the exhibition, titled “Beautiful Bangladesh”. The exhibition was inaugurated by Khorshed Alam Chowdhury, Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

The subjects of the photographs cure diverse: natural beauty, landscape, culture, heritage, rural lifestyle, harvest, food, historical sites, artifacts, river, forest, biodiversity and more of Bangladesh.

The participating photographers took their cameras in search of exquisite images from the Sundarbans to Bandarban, from north-eastern Haor region to St. Martin's Island, from river to forest, from Paharpur to Kantajir Mandir and other parts of Bangladesh. Impassable hills, unfathomable sea, pointed roots of mangrove forest did not appear as impediments to them. Almost all the seasons of Bangladesh have been conspicuously highlighted through the images.

The jury evaluated almost 4,000 entries from 139 contestants and from these, 180 images

by 71 photographers were selected for the exhibition. The best three entries, excluding an honourable mention, will be awarded at the closing programme today (March 3, at 5pm) at the gallery. Col (Retd) Muhammad Faruk Khan, MP will hand over the prize money to the winners: the 1st with Taka 50,000; 2nd with Taka 35,000; 3rd with Taka 20,000 and the honourable mention with Taka 5,000.

MM Zahidur Rhaman Biplob has the largest number of entries at the exhibition, with 13 beautiful images selected. The accomplished photographer is clearly attracted to the natural beauty, landscape and pastoral lifestyle of Bangladesh. Biplob's works feature a cautious deer from the Sundarbans, a spider meticu-

lously weaving a web, the voyage of a bamboo fleet on a narrow creek, a successful kingfisher and more. As white clouds move along dancing with the azure of the sky on an autumnal kashphool river, it not only grips an art connoisseur but also anyone taking a peek.

All these images bring to light many facets of Bangladesh, some overly familiar and some surprisingly underexposed. Among those several images stood out as they captured the magnificence of moments.

And that's not all. Apart from scenic destinations and festivals, the exhibition also includes photos of historic and archaeological sites, indigenous lifestyle, flora and fauna. It is indeed a feast for the eyes.