K M Asad was born in 1983 in the Mughal part of Dhaka city and spent his early life in the vivid alleys of the Bangladeshi capital’s old part. He graduated from ‘Pathshala’ – The South Asian Institute of Photography – where he studied photojournalism between 2005 and 2008.
Coverage of the 2007 Cyclone Sidr deeply affected the then-young photographer and he became determined to turn into a documentary photographer. He has been following the Rohingya crisis — one of the worst global refugee catastrophes since 2012. The National Geographic Magazine in its August 2019 issue’s cover published Asad’s photo from his detailed coverage of the Rohingya in the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. His work has also been taken as permanent collections in the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts (KMOPA) in Japan.
Asad is now mainly working as an independent photographer. He also works as a Zuma Press contractor and Getty Images contributor. He is a fixed-term consultant for the World Bank in Bangladesh. His other clients include the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Agence-France Presse (AFP) Service, Plan Bangladesh, EDUCO, Forbes and UNDP Bangladesh.
After completed his photography graduation and working continuously as a professional photographer Asad has received numerous honors and awards including UNICEF Picture Of the Year, China International Press Photo Contest (CHIPP), Picture of the Year International (POYI), Days Japan International Photojournalism Award, New York Press Photographers Association (NPPA), The Lucie Award (IPA).
His works have been published in TIME, New York Times, National Geographic Magazine, La Stampa, CNN, VICE, The Telegraph, BBC, The Guardian, CNBC, Deutsche Welle, Yahoo News, Amnesty International, Los Angeles Times, International Business Times, Human Rights Watch, ABC News, MSN, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal.
Awards
2020 | Pink lady food photographer of the year – Grand prize winner
International Festival of Photography PHOTOVISA (Krasnodar, Russia) – 1st place as the Gold winner
Neutral density photography awards (ND) editorial general news – 2nd place silver
Siena International Photo Awards – Honorable Mention
Siena International Photo Awards – Remarkable Award
2019 | The Lucie awards Deeper perspective photographer of the year (IPA) – 1 st Winner
The Felix Scholler Photo Award – Shortlisted
2018 | Siena International Photo Awards – “Photographer of the Year 2018”
Xposure International Competitions – Runner-Up
“Sente Antu Cup” International Photo Contest by Global Photography – Runner-Up.
FOTODOC Center for Documentary Photography Direct Look photo contest The Conflict category – 3 rd Place
The Alfred Fried Photography Award – Special Award of the Jury
International Photography Awards IPA Editorial Photo Essay and Feature Story – 1 st Place
International Photography Awards IPA Deeper Perspective – 3 rd Place
International Photography Awards IPA Editorial-Others – Honorable Mention
International Photography Awards IPA Editorial-General News – Honorable Mention
International Photography Awards IPA Editorial-General News – Honorable Mention
PX3 – Prix de la Photographie, Paris – Honorable Mention
Hamdan International Photography Award “HIPA” ‘The Moment’ Category winner – 1st Place
The NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism 2018 CATEGORY: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES STORY – Honorable Mention
2017 | UNICEF photo of the year 2017 _ “Second Place”
Allard Prize for International Integrity – Winner
Shining a Light: Experiences of Refugee Women International Photography Contest exhibition Organized by MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER – Winner.
The Biennial’s Grant for Photography organized by the Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography – Runners Up.
“Sente Antu Cup” International Photo Contest by Global Photography – Winner.
Neutral density photography awards professional – Honorable mention.
The Lucie awards Deeper perspective photographer of the year organized by International photography awards (IPA) – Honorable Mention
