Amir Hamja: From pharma grad to New York Times photographer
In 2020, the world witnessed the brutal killing of George Floyd by the police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The incident sparked a wave of protests against police brutality and racism, which quickly spread across the United States and around the world.
Among the photographers who documented these events was Amir Hamja. Hamja is originally from Chattogram, Bangladesh. He captured powerful images of the protests in New York, and his photographs, which Hamja published on his Instagram, caught the attention of numerous news outlets and magazines.
He began working as a freelance photographer for the New York Times, which paved the way for job opportunities at publications like Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal. Hamja's perseverance and hard work paid off; after over three years of freelancing he will start working as an official photographer for The New York Times, starting 5 June of this year, as part of their fellowship programme.
Born in Chattogram in 1992, Hamja developed a passion for photography in 2012, when he was a student of pharmacy at University of Science and Technology, Chattogram (USTC).
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"Since 2011, I have been watching a ton of movies. Back then I watched a lot of Korean and Iranian films. I had little idea about photography and cinematography then, but I was very impressed by their camera work," he said.
His fascination with film inspired him to pursue a deeper understanding of photography. He studied online, read various books, and eventually delved into street photography in 2014. To support himself financially, he also explored other avenues such as wedding photography.
Hamja completed his graduation in Pharmacy in 2014, but his passion for photography and filmmaking never diminished. "Even before my graduation I decided that I would pursue photography and filmmaking as a career," he shared.
In 2016, Hamja captured stunning photos at the Shakrain Festival in Old Dhaka and shared them on his social media. One of Bangladesh's well-known and revered filmmakers, Piplu R Khan, took notice of his work and reached out to him via Facebook.
Khan offered Hamja a chance to work for his production house's (Applebox Films) documentary project on Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. This was Hamja's first ever job as a photographer.
Working on Sir Abed's documentary was a very inspiring experience for Hamja. Especially when he got to know that he switched careers and founded BRAC in his early 30s.
"Normally, our society demands that one needs to achieve professional success by the age of 30. This gave me hope that maybe starting a new career in my late 20s is not a bad idea after all," he explained.
After finishing the documentary, Hamja got another opportunity to work for Khan in 2017. He worked on the biography about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, titled 'Hasina: A Daughter's Tale'. Photographing the Prime Minister in such close quarters was a new experience for him.
Hamja earned several honours and accolades in the field of photography. He was awarded the first prize in EyeEm 'People and Places' Photography Competition Berlin, Germany, in 2016. In 2017, Hamja was honoured with the Sony World Photography Award, one of the most prestigious awards in photography. He won second place at 'The World We Live In' by Pied à Terre, France, in 2018. Hamja's works have been exhibited in numerous shows around the world.
While working on the Prime Minister's biography, he also received a scholarship from the International Center of Photography in New York, United States. "I always wanted to study filmmaking and photography abroad. I wanted to learn more," said Hamja.
"When I was in Bangladesh, my personal and professional growth, at times, felt limited. I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship and a step closer to fulfilling my dream," he added.
In 2019, before beginning his career as a freelance photojournalist, Hamja got the opportunity to work for the Netflix series 'Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj'.
