Photo essay

Ismail Ferdous’s ethereal vision of the Bangladeshi seaside

The photographer’s Sea Beach project celebrates the unique light and culture of a holiday destination he has known since childhood

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17 February 2025

A couple on a day out at Cox’s Bazar beach in southern Bangladesh. Photography by Ismail Ferdous

For centuries, Cox’s Bazar, on the southern coast of Bangladesh, has been a city where diverse experiences collide. As a metropolitan centre, fishing port and popular tourist destination, it attracts people of all religions and social classes from across the country. More recently, it has become the site of refugee camps for one million Rohingya Muslims, displaced from neighbouring Myanmar.

For Ismail Ferdous, it is also a place where memories are made. The photographer first visited with his parents as a young boy, while on a family holiday from their home in the capital city of Dhaka. Since then, like many other Bangladeshis, he has often returned. During those trips, Ferdous has been entranced by the unique light and vibrant cultural life of the area.

Taken over a five-year period, the images collected in his book Sea Beach capture that fascination in sharp and ethereal colour. From lifeguards watching over the waters to a candyfloss vendor against an azure sky and a herd of cows milling around the sun loungers, this body of work shows a variety of poignant moments against the backdrop of a changing and unstable world.

“My favourite part of making this work was the sheer spontaneity of it — walking along the shore, responding instinctively to light, movement and moments unfolding in front of me.” says Ferdous. “It reminded me why I fell in love with photography in the first place.”

Sea Beach is published by Imageless