“May I take my camera along,” asks Prof. A. Chandrasekaran gently, as we set out on an evening walk inside the lush-green Theosophical Society. He lugs around a Canon 60D, a companion for a few years now, and stops many times as he converses. “There, look there,” he says animatedly during one such stop, “That’s the Black Pearl.”
He’s pointing to a colourful flower in a tree – which he says is one of the many rare specimens in the Society. He should know; Chandrasekaran has taken several photos of the flora and fauna here, out of which 256 of them are up on display currently at an exhibition on the premises.
These photographs are from a collection he’s been working on for 10 years. “The Society is a delight for Nature lovers,” he says, “While it is home for a few species of birds, there are some migratory ones as well. If you’re lucky, you might even spot a jackal here!”
ADVERTISEMENT
He has spotted it a few times, but he considers taking a photograph of a caterpillar among his more challenging shots. “I remember leaning down and waiting for almost half an hour,” he recalls, “Spotting certain insects that cleverly camouflage was also a big task.”
A retired professor of law, Chandraksekaran took to photography when he was in college, and has been at it ever since.
“I’d like to call myself a serious amateur,” he says, “Unlike many other photographers, I don’t invest too much in technology. Instead, I invest in ideas… and wait patiently, which is the primary quality for any Nature photographer.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The photo exhibition is on at the Theosophical Society till November 16. Closed on Mondays.