Countless selfies and photos of beach games and other activities, like horseback riding (above), are snapped at Cox’s Bazar every day, but photographer Ismail Ferdous knew his simple portraits with the sea and sand as settings would stand out, wrote Nina Strohlic in this month’s issue of National Geographic. “The things people overlook, I paid attention to,” he said, noting the tremendous variety of beachgoers at work and at play. Here, “you’ll meet people from 64 districts with 64 accents.”

Many Bangladeshis know Cox’s Bazar as a favorite tourist destination—and for Ferdous, who grew up in the capital city of Dhaka, it has personal meaning. One of his earliest memories is of riding a train to Cox’s Bazar for a family beach vacation. And more recently, as a photographer, he documented the Rohingya crisis. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Myanmar arrived in the Cox’s Bazar region starting in 2017.

Feeling inspired? Celebrate the end of summer by snapping some beach pictures of your own.

See the full story here—and other scenes of summer below.

Reader, please consider supporting our storytelling by subscribing to our magazine and unlimited digital offerings.

“Despite how much Indigenous people lost due to colonization, we still practice what we have left in our songs, dances, prayers, ceremonies, and much more,” says Indigenous model and activist Quannah Rose Chasinghorse, who was featured on the July 2022 cover of the magazine. “This embodies pride and keeping tradition alive.” Read more about how Indigenous peoples are reasserting control over their land, laws, and how they live.

This email was sent to: peter.hovis@gmail.com. Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored.

This email contains an advertisement from:
National Geographic | 1145 17th Street, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036

Stop all types of future commercial email from National Geographic regarding its products, services, or experiences.

Manage all email preferences with the Walt Disney Family of Companies.

© 2022 National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved.