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Antarcticaaaah!
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Antarctica has some of the most intriguing forms of nature which even a casual eye cannot miss. Photographer Shrenik Baldota invests these images with an extra zeal.
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AN EXHIBITION of photographs by Shrenik Baldota — Frozen Frames of the White Continent — that concluded at the Chitrakala Parishat recently attracted the viewers' attention as much to the unusual content as to its elegant mounting. The event, brought to Bangalore in association with Bombay Natural History Society, showcased over 90 pictures shot by the photographer in the wonderland that is Antarctica.
As could be expected, large masses of frozen rocks, floating icebergs and mammoth glaciers shape the unmistakable backdrop of an intensely riveting landscape in Antarctica. Washed as it were with the primary colours of white, blue, and black, nature in pristine glory stands in its most basic form defined by its many patterns and moods, while radiating with a magical energy. Lingering images of some of the most intriguing forms of nature in Antarctica are perhaps too obvious for any eye, but there was an extra zeal in the cluster of images shot by Baldota. Even though there was not much in evidence in terms of organised research or documentation, still the event was enlivened by a photographer's courage and commitment that seemed to pervade the spirited display.
The exhibition welcomed the visitor with a hugely blown up and tightly composed picture of an infant elephant seal on Deception Island, warning the photographer that he was too close for its comfort. The spellbinding image also magnified a very unusual expression and temper on the animal's face. Five other blowups, including images of mammoth glaciers, continued the spirit of both and awe and adventure. These were followed by a large number of relatively smaller works, many of which still successfully held the viewer's interest despite their diminished size.
Apart from the massive nature shots incorporating breathtaking ice formations, brilliant sunrise, colourful sunsets, placid lakes, tilting icebergs and freezing icescapes, Baldota brightened the proceedings by bringing home some lovingly shot images of birds and animals. Penguins, in particular, were captured in varying postures and surroundings — sometime in solitary serenity, otherwise in small groups or as very large assemblage. One particular shot showing an awesome sight of millions of king penguins breeding at Salisbury Plains was as riveting as another one, where a massive iceberg, dotted by thousands of these birds, is made even more interesting with a deep shadow cast by softly filtered sunlight. In yet another shot, Baldota beholds a rare sight of penguins mating.
Other birds are not forgotten, captured as they are in a variety of poses and actions: sitting, squatting, huddling, feeding, flying, fluttering, pecking, swooping. The albatross, for instance, which can glide effortlessly for hours without flapping its wings, was caught in its flight as well resting stance. An in-flight pintado pertrel skimming just over the surface of the sea was caught against the superb backdrop of silky smooth waves, while a giant petral and striated caracara were captured in sombre moods.
Baldota also pictures the seals and whales of Antarctica, in both their friendly and ferocious presence. Colourful pictures of flowers, sunrise and sunsets, clouds and waterscapes filled the remaining images of this very interesting exhibition which brought to mind what Hildegard of Bingen once said: "All nature is at the disposal of mankind / We are to work with it / Without it, we cannot survive."
ATHREYA
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