In the ever-evolving landscape of content creation, Shamrat Neero stands out as a young visionary whose work transcends boundaries and elevates storytelling to new heights. At just 22 years of age, this Bangladeshi talent has made waves in the industry as both a content creator and a masterful drone pilot, captivating audiences with his breathtaking aerial shots that showcase the beauty of his homeland like never before. During an exclusive interview with TINDS, Neero shared his story of coming this far and becoming the sensation that he is today.
TINDS: Tell us a little about your childhood. Where were you born and where did you grow up?
Neero: I grew up in Cumilla, a city in the Chittagong division. The city being a rather small one I did not have much time to tinker around with my camera as such. I was more into technology and even had a small room of my own called the laboratory. The Internet was expensive, however I had access to it from a very early age and surfing through youtube was what got my interest building towards travel. I always wanted to capture the kind of travel content I was consuming back then and it kind of built my thirst for doing so. I started traveling around the country at just 16 or 17 years of age and I must mention that I had a pretty fulfilling childhood.
TINDS: Have you had any formal education in photography or filmmaking?
Neero: Sadly, I have not. As you may already know, a career in any form of art is often not encouraged in South-Asian families mostly because of the lack of stability and uncertainty. I have learned what I know mostly from youtube. My family supported me initially when I started back in my school days and even helped me get to a lot of places.
TINDS: Three words that describe you the best.
Neero: Traveller, Hard working and Anxious.
TINDS: Tell us a little about your educational background?
Neero: I have always been interested in technology and I have a lot of curiosity regarding how things work and the reverse engineering that is involved in it. I once opened up a play station just to see what is inside the console. I got admitted into Brac University in 2021 and am currently studying computer science and engineering there.
TINDS: Have your family always been supportive of your decision to pursue filmmaking as a career?
Neero: Initially, my results had a downward spiral because of me spending too much time with the camera instead of studying. My family was pretty uninterested when I mentioned that I would like to pursue a career in filmmaking because they considered this as a low tier profession and did not think it would provide me the stability of an actual career along the way. However, they have supported me throughout and I owe a lot to my family. In fact, my very first camera was a gift from my brother living in the States. Once everybody figured I was doing well and they saw me working with several brands not just locally but also globally they pretty much understood the caliber of the profession gradually.
TINDS: Tell us a little about your travel experiences within Bangladesh?
Neero: I mostly do not travel solo within Bangladesh. We often travel in groups, which consist of mostly content creators. After the lockdown was over, I visited Cox’s Bazar and stayed there for 15 days after I got hang of a drone that I built in 2020. I created two of the most successful videos in my career during the visit, the first ever First Person View (FPV) video from a Bengali content creator, which got a huge response from the audience.
TINDS: You’ve been around a lot of places yourself, which places would you suggest people to visit when they visit Bangladesh?
Neero: The very first place I would suggest is the Sreemangal Tea Gardens in Sylhet because of its serenity and how one can easily lose themselves within the diversity of mother nature. Next, I would like to suggest Cox’s Bazar and Saint Martin’s island if somebody is fond of the ocean. Also there are houseboats available right now in Rangamati and Kaptai and they can give a really pleasing experience.
TINDS: Which genre of photography would you say you have the most interest in?
Neero: This is something that I really love discussing. I mostly choose urban pictures and I always go for a dark gloomy look because it resembles the Batman movie. If you compare the color palettes of that album to let’s say a Dark Knight movie, you’ll find similarities.
TINDS: What would you be if not a photographer?
Neero: I would still be a traveler if not a photographer. I do not think I will be uncomfortable working minimum wage jobs like in several other nations. You don’t have to follow everyone’s lead, I could be making burgers, pizzas or maybe even delivering them or even be a software engineer. There are many options, and you can be content with any of them really. It is really about what you want to do, honestly.
TINDS: What are your plans for the future?
Neero: My future plans are pretty straightforward. I’m gonna finish my bachelors and after being done with it, I plan on having a year gap to publish research papers and focus on making money so that I am able to fund myself in my further travels. I want to be financially fluent enough so that I can visit three continents. One is Iceland, number two is Japan, and the third is Hawai.
TINDS: What would be your advice to young photographers?
Neero: Most of the time, I receive questions in my Instagram DMS or in Facebook asking how do I get clients or how do I make money from this industry? So my answer is maybe there are people that are making seven figures by taking pictures or selling pictures. So if you want to do something like that, pour your heart into it. I would not suggest people to not take it as a primary career. But yeah, you can go ahead and believe in yourself. The advice that I would give to everyone is not to give up and create your own niche. What took somebody else five years to accomplish might come off easy to you. Make a portfolio of your work that makes you presentable to the community. Make and maintain connections because your network will take you a long way. Nothing comes easy or overnight, everybody has to put in their fair share of work and time into anything they want to accomplish.
| Find Him
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__neero__/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imaginingneero/ LinkedIn: https://bd.linkedin.com/in/shamratneero |
