With just a click they let you revel in the sights and sounds of the natural world. Wildlife photography is truly one of the best ways to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of fauna and flora. Often, it is also a means to raise awareness about wildlife conservation. After all, a picture does speak a thousand words. Prior to World Wildlife Day on March 3 well-known photographers talk about focussing on nature, wildlife photography essentials and why it’s time to get serious about wildlife conservation and protection.
Call of nature
“There are usually two ways that one gets interested in wildlife photography. One, your interest in wildlife leads to visits to the wild and you start taking photos to capture the magnificence on camera. Secondly, you are interested in photography and there are few things more challenging for a photographer than catching wildlife in action in their natural habitat,” says S. Vinaya Kumar, former academic and wildlife enthusiast. He puts himself squarely in the former category. “While studying in Government Arts College, I was a student of Professor Neelakantan a.k.a. Induchoodan, who wrote the seminal ornithology treatise Keralathile Pakshikal . It was by reading his book and accompanying him on bird-watching expeditions that I developed an interest in birds and subsequently all manner of wildlife,” adds Vinaya Kumar.
Seema Suresh, one of the only handful of women in the profession, was also inspired to turn to wildlife photography, this time by the work of wildlife photographer N.A. Naseer. “I attended a wildlife photography camp that was conducted by Naseer. That first time I entered the jungle, my mind expanded with the possibilities. I was blissfully happy, I was hooked. I had finally found my calling,” says Seema, a freelance writer and photojournalist specialising in wildlife.
For most of the shutterbugs, it seems that a childhood fascination with nature led to an interest in wildlife photography. Venu Gopalakrishnan, CEO of Litmus 7 Systems Consulting is one of them. “They call me kaadan – man of the forest – and with good reason too. My father was a warden in the forest service and I literally grew up in the jungles of Kerala. Even now, given the opportunity, I trek across the forests and wildlife sanctuaries of the world,” he says.
Praveen Muraleedharan, an eco-tourism entrepreneur too has been a keen wildlife enthusiast and photographer from his school days at SMV School. “I was passionate about nature and was a keen observer of it too. I made my first foray into the forests when I was in class seven and have been enthralled by their majesty and their secrets ever since.”
That perfect shot
A couple of years ago, while on a safari in Bandipur, Seema came across a herd of endangered Gaur. “There were maybe a dozen of them grazing at the far end of a mist-shrouded road. The moment they became aware of us they lifted their heads in unison, enabling me to get a shot that captured them in all their inquisitive splendour,” explains Seema. “I enjoy taking shots of the forest when it rains, even though it’s not the ideal condition for photography. The rain makes everything luscious and vibrant and gives the entire forest an ethereal feel,” she adds. As many a wildlife photographer will tell you, each trip into the jungle, each shot is memorable, given that you often get only a few seconds to capture a moment for posterity. Praveen recalls his “once-in-a-lifetime shot” in the peripheral forests of Wayanad. “I was driving through a remote section of the national highway to Bangalore when a tiger bounded out of the jungle and pounced on a cow that was grazing by the side of the road. What an unforgettable sight it was!” he says. Venu also has a big cat story to tell. “I was trekking through the Rajamalai forest when a black panther leaped in front of me. There was this all too brief moment of communication when we both looked at each other, our eyes mirroring surprise, before it bounded away back into the jungle. I couldn’t capture it on camera because there was just no time; or rather, I didn’t want to, because to have seen the elusive animal with my own eyes was worth it,” he says. “Another memorable shot that I am proud of is of two Ostriches fighting, which is sort of difficult to capture because it’s akin to sports photography where the subjects are always moving,” he adds.
Following etiquette
The jungles of Kerala, by virtue of it being dense tropical forests (mostly), are not exactly the ideal (or friendly) terrain to get the best shots. Praveen explains: “The forest is full of surprises. You almost never get what you set out for but you’ll almost always come away with images that you’d never expect to get. It has a lot to do with luck.”
Nonetheless, shutterbugs do have some tricks up their sleeves and no we are not talking about frowned upon activities such as disturbing nests [incidentally, most of nature magazines will not publish photos of nesting birds] and scaring animals out into the open. “The welfare of the animal or bird has to always come first. Don’t harm them. Be as unobtrusive as possible and don’t be fanatical. In your haste to get the perfect shot, the spotted deer you frightened away could well run straight into the mouth of a predator. Why be the reason for that?” asks Vinaya Kumar.
Venu agrees and adds: “Understand the language of the animals. Understand that you are in their habitat. Pay attention to the surroundings. One time, for example, I found myself in the midst of a herd of elephants. Another time I was chased by a black bear when I inadvertently disturbed him by suddenly jumping out of a jeep. The key is to be calm and collected always. In their environment you are not their prey – until you see them as a threat and behave accordingly.”
Message of conservation
Is it true that wildlife photography can inspire a love of wildlife and the desire to protect it? “The more you understand and immerse yourself in nature, the more you feel the need to conserve wildlife and create awareness and educate people about protecting it. It makes you aware that a butterfly and a tiger are equal in the eyes of nature and so it should be through your lens too,” says Praveen. Vinaya Kumar seconds it saying that photos are extremely effective in popularising the message of conservation, especially when the wildlife is shot in its natural habitat.
“Wildlife conservation and protection first entered Kerala’s collective consciousness in the late 70s and early 80s, thanks to the Save Silent Valley campaign, India’s first major environmental social movement, where people from all walks of life across the state joined hands to prevent the destruction of Silent Valley, a biodiversity hotspot that’s home to several endemic species. The concept has by and large remained in the spotlight since then. However, increasingly, we are seeing an obsessive interest in the big cats, resulting in a sort of overexposure of just one species, which is not the message you want to get across,” he adds. Then again, not all wildlife photographers are conservationists.
Venu explains: “Sadly, there are some rapacious photographers who are in it just for the money. I came across a couple of them talking excitedly about their ‘sells’ and not bothered about the conservation of nature/forest. The moment words such as price or sell come into the picture, all bets on behalf of nature are off. I believe that every picture should convey some sort of a message. Each shot is in a way a poetic portrayal of myriad emotions that depicts different meanings to different people. And if it ultimately helps to impress upon the viewer the beauty of the wild and the need to preserve it forever, then the objective of the photographer is fulfilled. It is not the exclusives of the picture that matters but the exquisiteness of the nature that we are so fortunate to live in, which needs to be protected by each one of us.”
