Amir Hamja

Last updated
Amir Hamja
SWPA winner 2017.jpg
Hamja in 2017
Born
Mohammad Amir Hamza

1992
Chattogram, Bangladesh
NationalityBangladeshi
Education University of Science and Technology Chittagong (USTC)
Years active2014-present
Known forPhotography
Awards Sony World Photography Award (2017)
Website https://www.amirhamja.com

Mohammad Amir Hamza, professionally known as Amir Hamja, is a Bangladeshi photojournalist based in New York. [1] [2] [3] A former staff photographer and member of the Times Fellowship class of 2023-24, Hamja frequently contributes to The New York Times. [4]

Contents

His works have appeared in Bloomberg, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal , The Guardian , and The Washington Post , among others. He served as the official photographer of the Emmy-winning Netflix show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj . [5] [1] [3]

Hamja's photographs have appeared in the front page of The New York Times multiple times, [6] [7] as well as of The Wall Street Journal. [8]

Early life and education

Amir Hamja was born in 1992 in Chattogram, Bangladesh. [1] [3] [9] He pursued a degree in pharmacy at the University of Science and Technology Chattogram (USTC), graduating in 2014. [10] During his studies, Hamja developed an interest in photography, beginning amateur photography in 2012. [10] [11] [3]

Career

Amir Hamja is an Arabic name. Amir means "prince," "commander" or "ruler." And Hamja (Hamza) means "strong" and "steadfast" and refers to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad's Uncle "Hamza," who was a skilled fighter and commander. I prefer using "J" instead of "Z" in Hamja, as it's more suitable with my native language, Bengali "হামজা." To avoid confusion, I don't use Mohammad as a first name in my byline (or any other online presence), as it is a very common first name among Muslims.

Amir Hamja,on Asian photographers share the stories behind their names, by NPR [12]

In 2016, Hamja's photographs from the Shakrain Festival in Old Dhaka caught the attention of Bangladeshi filmmaker Piplu Khan. [1] [3] [10] This led to Hamja's first professional photography job, working on a documentary about BRAC founder Fazle Hasan Abed. [1] [10] [11] During that time, he also worked on the biographical film about the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Hasina: A Daughter's Tale . He subsequently earned a scholarship from the International Center of Photography in New York, [10] [11] from where he graduated in 2018. [5]

Hamja has worked on the Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj as the official photographer of the show. [5] [10] [3]

The New York Times

Hamja's photography during the 2020 George Floyd protests in New York City drew the interest of media outlets, [13] [14] leading to his first assignments with The New York Times. [15] [16] [17] His work mostly covers style, fashion, and movies segment. [18] [19] [20]

In 2022, Hamja worked on a series of stories for The New York Times titled "A Risky Wager," [21] which explores "how online sports betting has taken America by storm." This series has been published in a five-part format, with Hamja's photography accompanying the investigative reports from renowned journalists such as Eric Lipton and Kenneth Vogel. [22] [23]

In 2024, Hamja covered the 96th Academy Awards for The New York Times. [24] [25] [26] [27] He left the Times as a staff photojournalist in May 2024, although kept on contributing to the publication. [4]

In 2025, Amir Hamja photographed Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan at Met Gala for The New York Times. Hamja's images, capturing Khan’s debut appearance at the Met Gala in a Sabyasachi black suit, aligning with the event’s theme Superfine: Tailoring Black Style—garnered widespread attention through social and mainstream media. [28]

The Year in Pictures

In 2021, one photograph by Hamja was featured in "The Year in Pictures 2021" by The New York Times. [29] In 2023, Hamja's three photographs were featured in the selection. [30]

Others

Before being employed by The New York Times Hamja worked as a photojournalist for media outlets including Vogue, [31] Bloomberg News, [32] The Wall Street Journal , [33] and The Guardian , [34] working with Brendan Fraser, [35] Novak Djokovic, [36] Mira Nair, [37] Loudon Wainwright III, [38] Quentin Tarantino, [39] among others.

Exhibition

Amir Hamja's first solo exhibition, titled A Year in the Times, was held at the EMK Center in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from December 19, 2024, to January 4, 2025. The exhibition showcased 24 photographs from his year-long fellowship with The New York Times, showcasing moments such as the Met Gala, the George Floyd protests, and a poignant feature on a Palestinian family in Springfield, New Jersey. [40]

Awards

YearAwardOrganizationRef.
2015Third place, Bangladesh National Award, Sony World Photography Awards World Photography Organisation [41] [42]
2016First prize, EyeEm 'People and Places' Photography Competition EyeEm [11]
2017Winner, Bangladesh National Award, Sony World Photography Award World Photography Organisation [43] [42]
2018Second Place, 'The World We Live In'Pied à Terre, France [11]
2023Young Guns 21 Winner The One Club [44] [45]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hossain, Farid (2023-09-01). "Amir Hamja: Capturing the World Through His Lens" (PDF). Dhaka Courier . 40 (7): 48 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ↑ MISHA, RAKSHANDA RAHMAN (2024-03-18). "MEET AMIR HAMJA: Hollywood's Bangladeshi photographer". The Daily Star . p. 6. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mahdi, Montasir (2024-03-01). "Photography Beyond Borders: How Amir Hamja Overcame Challenges and Found Success" (PDF). CNEWS Magazine (I): 24–25 (33 on PDF) – via Internet Archive.
  4. 1 2 "Amir Hamja Author Profile". The New York Times . Retrieved 2025-06-05.
  5. 1 2 3 "Amir Hamja Biography". The New York Times Company . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  6. ↑ "The New York Times in Print for Friday, Nov. 24, 2023" (PDF). The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  7. ↑ "The New York Times in Print for Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022" (PDF). The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  8. ↑ Driebusch, Corrie; Hamja, Amir (2021-07-30). "WSJ News Exclusive | Robinhood Stock Sale Soured By Investor Confusion, Valuation Concern". The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   2574-9579 . Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  9. ↑ মিশা, রাখসান্দা রহমান (2024-03-20). "চট্টগ্রাম থেকে যেভাবে অস্কার আয়োজনে আমির হামজা". The Daily Star Bangla. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shuvo, Ariful Hasan (2023-04-14). "নিউইয়র্ক টাইমসে বাংলাদেশের তরুণ ফটোগ্রাফার" [Young photographer from Bangladesh in New York Times]. The Daily Ittefaq . p. 7. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Amir Hamja: From pharma grad to New York Times photographer". The Business Standard . 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  12. ↑ Yoon, Arin; Huang, Shuran (May 29, 2022). "Asian Photographers Share the Stories Behind Their Names". NPR . Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Amir Hamja: From pharma grad to New York Times photographer". The Business Standard . 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  14. ↑ "2020 is not 1968: To understand today's protests, you must look further back". National Geographic . 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  15. ↑ Shuvo, Ariful Hasan (2023-04-14). "নিউইয়র্ক টাইমসে বাংলাদেশের তরুণ ফটোগ্রাফার" [Young photographer from Bangladesh in New York Times]. The Daily Ittefaq . p. 7. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  16. ↑ Mahdi, Montasir (2024-03-01). "Photography Beyond Borders: How Amir Hamja Overcame Challenges and Found Success" (PDF). CNEWS Magazine (I): 24–25 (33 on PDF) – via Internet Archive.
  17. ↑ Hossain, Farid (2023-09-01). "Amir Hamja: Capturing the World Through His Lens" (PDF). Dhaka Courier . 40 (7): 48 – via Internet Archive.
  18. ↑ Holtermann, Callie; Hamja, Amir (2023-07-31). "What We Saw on the Beyoncé Express". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  19. ↑ Hasan, Sadiba; Hamja, Amir (2024-04-10). "Getting Dressed for the 'Muslim Met Gala'". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  20. ↑ Dargis, Manohla; Wilkinson, Alissa (2024-03-11). "Torn Between Golden Past and Thorny Present, Oscars Still Had Some Fun". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  21. ↑ Enrich, David (2022-11-20). "Key Findings From The Times' Investigation of Sports Betting". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  22. ↑ Chen, David W.; Walker, Mark; Vogel, Kenneth P. (2023-02-10). "How Sports Betting Upended the Economies of Native American Tribes". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  23. ↑ Lipton, Eric; Vogel, Kenneth P. (2022-11-20). "Cigars, Booze, Money: How a Lobbying Blitz Made Sports Betting Ubiquitous". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  24. ↑ Gonzalez, Shivani (2024-03-10). "Oscars 2024 Winners: See the Full List". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  25. ↑ Hamja, Amir; Salam, Maya (2024-03-14). "In the Oscars Audience, the Superstars Were the Superfans". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  26. ↑ Times, The New York (2024-03-11). "Best and Worst Moments From the 2024 Oscars". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  27. ↑ "📸✨Celebrating Amir Hamja". Embassy of the United States, Dhaka via Facebook . 2024-04-10. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  28. ↑ "Bangladeshi photographer captures SRK on his lens". The Daily Star . 2025-05-06. Retrieved 2025-06-05.
  29. ↑ "The Year in Pictures 2021". The New York Times . 2021-12-15. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  30. ↑ Leonhardt, David (2023-12-19). "The Year in Pictures". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  31. ↑ "AMIR HAMJA Archives". Vogue Arabia . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  32. ↑ "New York's Empty Office Buildings Lure Rich Families Hunting Bargains". Bloomberg.com . 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  33. ↑ Passy, Charles. "Don't Be Surprised When the Boxers Start Belting Out Opera". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  34. ↑ LeDonne, Rob (2023-05-10). "'Oh my God, Obama's stopping by for pasta': can New York's Carbone survive its own success?". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  35. ↑ Gilbey, Ryan (2022-12-09). "'All that hyperventilating makes you dizzy': Brendan Fraser and Darren Aronofsky on The Whale". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  36. ↑ Futterman, Matthew (2023-08-27). "Novak Djokovic, Back in New York and Loving It as Never Before". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  37. ↑ "Mira Nair on Bringing "Monsoon Wedding" to the Stage". Asian American Arts Alliance. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  38. ↑ Hattenstone, Simon (2022-09-05). "'I was promiscuous – that's murder on marriage': Loudon Wainwright III on sex addiction, booze and family feuds". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  39. ↑ MISHA, RAKSHANDA RAHMAN (2024-03-18). "MEET AMIR HAMJA: Hollywood's Bangladeshi photographer". The Daily Star . p. 6. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  40. ↑ "A Year in the Times: A capsule of history through Amir Hamja's lens". The Business Standard . 2025-01-01. Retrieved 2025-06-05.
  41. ↑ "Banglasdesh". World Photography Organisation . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  42. 1 2 "A migrant photographer's guide to survival from Bangladesh to New York City: 'Do it yourself'". Religion Unplugged. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  43. ↑ "2017 National Awards Winners". World Photography Organisation . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  44. ↑ "The One Club Announces 29 Global Winners for Young Guns 21 | LBBOnline". Little Black Book. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  45. ↑ "YG21 | Amir Hamja". The One Club . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
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