How did your interest for wildlife arise?
Thank you so much for this great opportunity. For a budding photographer like me it is a great privilege to be on your prestigious platform. An urge for photography started early in my childhood. When I grow up, that dream also grew with me. Since my childhood, under the influence of my father, I have been a devout observer of nature. I used to trek a lot in lush forests, I admired the beauty of nature and its fauna. Gradually I noticed how we are endangering our nature and its lifeforms. My father also taught me the importance of protecting our enchanting world. That sparked in my mind the desire to do something for our nature. Eventually, when my passion met my interests, it opened another world to me and I realized that I could do something for our environment through this medium. I began my journey as a street photographer then recently got an opportunity to visit the Masai Mara National Reserve to capture the beauty of its fauna. It’s been my long-term wish to become a wildlife photographer and visiting Masai Mara was on my bucket list for a while now. I firmly believe that everything happens at the right time and I’m glad that it happened now and to be a budding wildlife photographer.
How do you describe your journey as a photographer and a person?
As I mentioned above, photography has not happened for me overnight. I am wordless to explain my love for photography. This passion grew within me and once the time came up my husband gifted me my first gear, a Nikon D3100. It was a watershed moment in my life. I started clicking for my dream to make it a reality. I am a self-taught photographer. Whenever I go for any kind of shooting, I search on YouTube, Google, and numerous photography sites to enhance my knowledge. It has helped me to improve my perspective towards it. Many world-renowned photographers and some of my photographic friends influenced me to take better images.
I worked hard, faced challenges and obstacles during my journey. I realised that this is my destiny, and nothing can stop me to achieve my dream. I resigned from my well-paid HR job and bought a full-frame DSLR and pursued my career in photography, now working as a freelance event photographer. Believe me, when my passion turns into my career, my whole life has changed in a positive way. It is not about dollars; it is about satisfaction. I believe that whatever we do in our life if we do with our whole hearts at the end of the day the ultimate thing we need is only satisfaction. And, if you have a strong desire to achieve something, whatever the situation arises you never give up on your dreams – that is what I have learned so far. I can’t even imagine a life without photography. Photography is not just my passion, it is my life.
What is your view on Wildlife Conservation? How can we, as wildlife photographers, help to protect our Mother Nature?
As we all know wildlife is one of the most significant aspects of our planet. Most of the time, humans ignore the fact that we are deeply rooted in nature and destroy it instead. As everyone knows we are the last generation with a real opportunity to save our world. This is a final call for us to awaken and act for the sake of our environment. We all know how a single organism can impact our lives. Our existence is reliant on every organism on the planet. Despite our best e !orts, even a small distraction can have a drastic effect on the environment. We can enrich our relationship with nature by valuing and conserving forests and wildlife.
As artists, we can make a huge impact through our images. Visual imagery is a powerful tool for storytelling and public outreach. One of the thoughts behind this is that people will not destroy what they love the most and they tend to protect it at any cost. Capturing wildlife in their magnificent natural habitat and writing about how their habitat is endangered raises peoples’ awareness on conservation worldwide. In addition, we must keep in mind that, photographing wildlife is accompanied by the immense responsibility to adhere to ethical practices and zero disturbance to the animals. Animals should never be disturbed, nor the natural settings be manipulated.
Can you give our readers the best wildlife photography tips?
Be a naturalist first to be a good wildlife photographer. Learn about nature and the wildlife around you. Respecting their life in its natural habitat and following ethical practices is something that should be followed by everyone. The second thing is patience, and that’s the key to any genre of photography. When capturing wildlife, you need an extra deal of patience because nature is unpredictable. If you want the perfect shot, plan to wait for it. You need to be a quick thinker and decision-maker while photographing wildlife as there is no re-take in the wild. My understanding is that there is no substitute for hard work and passion. Never forget that no photograph is more important than the well-being of wildlife. Take only pictures and leave only footprints. And Keep Practicing, practice ultimately makes perfect.
What plans do you have in the future related to wildlife Photography?
I just started my journey as a wildlife photographer, and I need to learn much more to reach my goal in this genre. I am looking forward to expanding my body of work this year, especially in wildlife. Furthermore, I want to explore the world’s many beautiful regions, have great adventures while documenting its wildlife is very fulfilling for me. I hope to continue my journey as a wildlife photographer and to share my findings with others in the hope of raising awareness and promoting the conservation of our treasured place.
Tell us something about the gears you use and how it helped in your photographic journey?
I’m a Nikon lover. The support they are giving me to date is much appreciable. I always carry two Nikon full-frame bodies (DSLR & Mirrorless) and lenses depending on what event I shoot. During my Masai Mara visit, I carried two full- frame bodies i.e., D780 & D750 with 200- 500mm, 70-200 mm, and 24-70mm lenses. During this trip most of my photographs I shot with 200- 500 mm only. In my limited knowledge, I understood that gear matters, especially in wildlife photography, and helps you secure better photos, but it is only one part of the game.
The real fun begins when you challenge yourself to take better photos that push both your technique and artistic abilities. Recognizing the exceptional light, exploiting exciting angles, exploring unique compositional possibilities, and mastering it to make storytelling images. The power of photography resides in the artistic vision and on-the-ground techniques of the photographer wielding the technology.
