How did your interest in wildlife arise?
I had an uncanny fascination with the camera. Eventually, I started nagging my father to buy me one. When he finally gave in to my demand, he got me my dream toy and the family gained a photographer. Gradually, the film camera gave way to a digital point-and-shoot, which was later replaced by a Digital SLR (DSLR).
I began with street photography because streets were not hard to find, and they are always interesting in their own way. However, soon I turned to wildlife after I went on my first wildlife trip with Mr. Sudhir Shivram. On the very first day, we were told to wake up at 5:00 am, hop on the rikshaw and enter in the park by 6:00 am. I was pretty nervous. I still remember the day when I was walking 4 KMs down the trail at 6 am carrying all my gear including a tripod, camera, lens, and other accessories in the month of January. Everything was covered with fog and my hands were freezing. At that moment I thought of leaving everything there and running back home. But then, somehow I managed and after the first few hours of that trip, I have found no reason to shift my attention elsewhere since.
How do you describe your journey as a photographer and a person?
My journey has been very simple. I had to face the regular hurdles any girl would face in a country like India if she chooses wildlife photography. Initially, It was very difficult to convince my parents. They were not very comfortable allowing me to go on trips, that too deep into the woods.
Because of this, I would capture domestic cats a lot, for despite cats’ domesticity, the wild never really leaves them completely, which is not the case with dogs. Soon enough it was the eagles in flight — a fascinating sight to behold. And then the baby monkeys – the cute, curious and remarkably articulate creatures in their own little-monkey ways. Those were the three best subjects that I could easily find around my place.
After a while, my parents started opening up to the idea and things started to fall in place. As a person, I have grown to love this work so much that now it has become an extension of myself. A part of me that I cannot afford to lose, ever.
What is your view on Wildlife Conservation? How can we, as wildlife photographers, help to protect our Mother Nature?
I came across a quote worthy analysis cited in an article called ‘How many species are we losing?’ by the WWF.
It illustrated the degree of biodiversity loss faced by our planet through scientific analysis. As per the article, the rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. The natural extinction rate is the rate of species extinctions that would occur if we humans were not around.
As per the calculations of experts, every year around 0.01 and 0.1% of all species will become extinct. Now, if we take the lower estimate of 2,000,000 different species to be true, then 200 and 2,000 extinctions occur every year. But if the upper estimate of number of species is true – that 100 million different species are co-existing with us on our planet – then between 10,000 and 100,000 species are becoming extinct each year.
We are standing at that point of time where we can’t choose to not begin with the conservation process. We have taken choice out of our hands. Every individual should adopt at least two habits every year which can contribute to saving mother nature.
Be it giving up the use of straws or switching to bamboo toothbrushes, be it collecting two plastic bags during a visit to a place close to nature or be it having a small discussion about conservation with your family and friends.
To all those who are reading this, try to do at least something to conserve the environment. Taking it for granted is not a good idea. We have received it from our forefathers, and we should save it as the trust which we will pass on to our future generations.
As for wildlife photographers, they mustn’t forget their ethics. They are a connection between the jungles and the people outside who have never experienced wild. They have the advantage of showing the beauty of the jungle through their eyes. Besides this, wildlife photographers can contribute to increasing the influx of tourism like anything.
Can you give our readers the best wildlife photography tips?
The aspiring wildlife photographers should just pick up their cameras and start exploring. Try different angles, experiment with lighting, read about the subjects and expect no financial returns anytime soon. Patience is a virtue.
In addition to that, respect nature and pay due attention to your surroundings in the jungle, follow the code of conduct inside the forest, appreciate the beauty of nature and do your bit towards animal welfare and wildlife protection.
What plans do you have in the future related to wildlife photography?
I just want to keep doing quality work and to improve as much as I can. Also, help the environment in the process to whatever extent I can.
Tell us something about the gear you use and how it helped in your photographic journey?
In the beginning, I used a Canon Rebel T5i with its kit lenses. Gradually I bought a Canon 100-400 IS II. After graduating to an intermediate level photographer, my gears included a 300mm f/2.8, a 400mm f/2.8 IS II and 600mm F/4 IS II for birding.
