Exploring the Wonders of Bangladesh with Amazing Aerial
Amazing Aerial’s first organized photo tour, to the colorful country of Bangladesh, introduced photographers to a new destination and a new way of traveling.
May 07, 2025
A woman cleans and sorts red potatoes in Bogura, Bangladesh. Amazing Aerial’s trip to Bangladesh, led by Tanveer Hassan Rohan, immersed our team into the working lives of locals. © Amazing Aerial Agency / Tanveer Hassan Rohan
By Rebecca Duras
Beautiful landscapes and busy shipyards. Picturesque rice fields and plastic recycling plants that have their own painful beauty. These were just some of the sights that Amazing Aerial team members could see on their visit to Bangladesh as part of the agency’s first photo tour.
Amazing Aerial editor Michele Rinaldi was joined by team members Sabine Gerold and Fran Arnau and his wife Jordina Pociello as they explored Bangladesh on an 8-day tour. MD Tanveer Hassan Rohan, an award-winning Bangladeshi photographer, led the trip.
We spoke to attendees about their experience and how going on a trip with other top photographers can push your craft to the next level, and with Amazing Aerial CEO Paul Prescott about the agency’s plans for more organized trips.
Turning a Soaring Idea Into Grounded Reality
For Paul Prescott, the idea of organizing a group trip has been a long time coming. “It has been my desire for the last two years that we organize photography workshops around the world,” he says. “The concept combines a few aspects of the philosophy of Amazing Aerial, one is bringing together, the other is to travel and experience different countries. Another goal is to shoot for your portfolio, build your portfolio and generate revenue, and of course there’s learning from each other with new experiences.”
Agency trips are also a way to accomplish one important goal for Amazing Aerial, which is to bring community from the digital world into the offline world. Strong bonds have already formed between some photographers at previous meet-ups at the Siena Drone Awards and during individual meet-ups. “I was more than happy to meet the team members again,” says Sabine Gerold, who is based in the Maldives. Travel photography can get lonely sometimes, and the team members relished the chance to go on a trip with like-minded people, connect with old friends, and make new friendships.
Organizing trips around the world is a no-brainer for Amazing Aerial, which has over 350 photographers in 85 different countries. The agency has local photography and travel experts all over the world who can organize trips that would be tailored to the expectations of high-flying photographers while keeping expenses reasonable. “The whole idea is to create cheaper tours that our photographers can join where they don’t have to break the bank, but also the organizer, in this case Tanveer and Amazing Aerial, can earn a little bit of money,” Paul continued.
Paul and Tanveer had been in contact for about a year attempting to plan the trip to Bangladesh, and finally found a series of dates that worked with Tanveer’s other work obligations. “When I proposed the idea of a Bangladesh tour, Paul immediately embraced it,” Tanveer recalls. “This synergy turned a personal vision into a shared endeavor, combining local expertise with Amazing Aerial’s global reach to create a truly unique experience.”
After coming up with the idea, Paul worked closely with Tanveer to help him plan and promote the trip. “Preparation involved meticulous logistics: securing top-tier accommodations, crafting daily itineraries, and arranging transport. Amazing Aerial amplified those efforts by promoting the tour, hosting pre-tour virtual meetings, and facilitating post-tour debriefs to refine future plans,” Tanveer says.
“This is a collaborative essay since the desire to do it arose,” Paul adds. “We initiated it, engaging with the photographer, putting together a slide deck, engaging with photographers who might be interested in it, then selling the tour.” Even after the tour commenced, he continued supporting Tanveer remotely via WhatsApp. Michele Rinaldi went along as an Amazing Aerial representative to assist on the ground and create a film about the trip.
Paul believes that Amazing Aerial’s tours are the only ones in the world focusing on aerial photography. The tours are designed with photographers in mind, from itineraries to size to pricing. “The tours are guided, so the local photographer knows the ins and outs of their own country, where to go, where not to go, and so on. It’s organized by Amazing Aerial, so they’re confident that they’re going to be part of something great and organized and authentic,” he says. Photographers went to Bangladesh knowing that they will receive an experience meeting their professional standards thanks to the effort and intentionality that Amazing Aerial and Tanveer put into planning it.
On the Ground—Exploring How Bangladesh Lives and Works
When the photographers landed in Bangladesh, Tanveer met them with a clear itinerary that would take them through diverse locations, balancing travel time with photography time. Over the course of a few days, the team visited brick fields, rice mills, a plastic recycling site, a vegetable market, and a shipyard. They also toured the capital of Dhaka.
The locations they visited were perfect for taking beautiful aerial images, but they also showcased the real side of Bangladesh. Tanveer took his guests to the real industries where local Bangladeshis work and which are important for the country’s survival. For photographers, having local knowledge about the sites they were seeing made the images they were capturing even more meaningful.
Sabine explained that without a local guide, she would not have visited most of the places where the team went. “Without anyone in the know about what to expect or what to see here, I would be completely lost,” she said. “Without the help of Tanveer and the group I would never launch my drone here.” She was affected by the contrast between the country’s beauty and the often-harsh realities of life for its working people. “Flying the drone and being focused with all that in front of the lens was emotional for me,” she says.
Tanveer’s presence was also helpful in connecting with locals. “There are so many people, they are very kind and curious,” Sabine said. Wherever the photographers went, people were eager to see what they were doing, pose for photographs, and invite the photographers to try their jobs. Tanveer and his assistant, as translators and cultural mediators, helped both sides interact. The locals were able to know why they were being photographed and participate in the process instead of just being passive, and the photographers were able to communicate with others despite the language barrier.
Tanveer’s expertise on the trip went beyond his local knowledge. As a highly experienced award-winning photographer himself, he planned the trip with photography and videography in mind. Everything from selecting destinations that would have interesting features to photograph to advice in the field was done with the goal of capturing the best images. This was a different experience than going on a generic excursion or group trip.
For Jordina Pociello, Fran’s wife and a professional photographer who also joined the trip, having the trip tailored to photographers was refreshing. “Tanveer made it very easy for us to be in each location and to have enough time to photograph the images that we wanted to get,” she says. While other group tours tend to rush visitors along to reach as many destinations as possible, Tanveer prioritized the creative process and gave his guests enough time to explore.
Fran agreed that the pace of the trip was perfect for creative expression. “I like this type of travel. It is really special because the group is very small, you can take photos without worrying about how to combine with the others that are also participating,” he said. While photographers had the guidance of operating in a group, they also had freedom to express themselves and organize their own visit.
Above all, the photographers went home impressed with the beautiful sights that they saw in Bangladesh. “This is the perfect playground for photographers,” Sabine said. “That’s why I love being here with the team, to soak up all these impressions here.” Sabine and Fran said they probably would not have visited Bangladesh without the opportunity to do so as part of a group led by a person they trusted, so Tanveer’s trip gave them an opportunity to explore a new destination.
Unique Experiences and Full Portfolios
An aerial view of a brick manufacturing complex. On the tour, Michele, Fran, and Sabine found new perspectives in the work they witnessed and learned from each other. © Amazing Aerial Agency / Michele Rinaldi
The photographers went home with hard drives full of beautiful images and memories of an experience like no other.
For creatives that are used to traveling to far-flung locations and spending lots of time alone, traveling with a group of people with the same goal was a welcome change. The photographers on the trip spoke about the ways they were pushed to do better and motivated by having other people to fly drones with and compare shots with. “I think it’s a great way for photographers to meet, to connect, to learn from each other,” Paul said. “Everyone has their own ways of shooting, flying, and editing, so it’s a good way to learn and build people’s careers and reputations.”
The inspiration of going to a new place and being pushed by the influence of their fellow photographers inspired Amazing Aerial’s team members to push their craft, and some are already seeing results. Fran Arnau created a documentary inspired by his visit to Bangladesh. He and Tanveer also had their images from Bangladesh selected for the World Water Day photo contest.
For Paul, these results are a vindication of his philosophy. He frequently encourages photographers to create more content, build their portfolios, and visit unique destinations, as those are prerequisites for accessing better opportunities. The fresh creative inspiration and awards Fran and others experienced after visiting Bangladesh proved the wisdom behind Paul’s advice.
Workers arrange bricks at a brick factory near Dhaka. Having a local photographer leading the trip allowed Amazing Aerial members to connect with locals, creating some of their favorite memories from the trip. © Amazing Aerial Agency / Sabine Gerold
The group trip also meant something for locals who encountered the photographers on their trip. Michele was even interviewed for a local YouTube channel, showing how interested people were in seeing foreigners visit their country. For Tanveer, the opportunity to show a different side of his country to international visitors was a welcome one. “By intentionally curating these locations, I gave the photographers a chance to immerse themselves in scenes that truly captured the essence of Bangladesh,” Tanveer says. “The tour’s success was measured in the group’s awe and the stunning portfolios they produced.”
For Amazing Aerial, the Bangladesh trip showed how group trips can work as the agency progresses. Paul already has a fully-booked tour to Bhutan planned for this summer and is in conversation with other photographers to organize trips in their homes. Amazing Aerial has amazing potential for these trips to bring less popular destinations to the forefront thanks to its diversity. “I believe that being able to travel, shoot new places that haven’t been shot before, working with institutions on the ground and maybe brands will give us the focus to produce top-level photography and ultimately build a reputation for Amazing Aerial,” Paul says.
Perhaps the best asset that Amazing Aerial has is its photographers, and group trips allow these leaders to share their knowledge and help others produce the best work they can while exploring a new environment.
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