Ambareesh Pittie has captured, among many things, the Golconda fort and Qutb Shahi Tombs, during his several visits to the monuments (to be specific, he says at least 120 visits). Each visit revealed a new angle, a different light, a different mood. He liked the challenge of capturing monuments in all their glory.
For the businessman who began pursuing photography as a passion, a visit to Ranthambore posed challenges of a different kind. Armed with telephoto lenses, protective gear and loads of patience, he stationed himself in the wilderness waiting for a tiger enjoying his siesta to wake up and give him a perfect shot. “He (tiger) took his own time. We waited till he woke up; then he stretched himself against a tree, sauntered around and finally entered the brown grass through which I caught him, as he gazed intently into the camera. It's one of my best shots; I managed to focus on his eyes despite the thick grass around,” smiles Pittie.
This picture is the centrepiece of the exhibition on wildlife photography currently on display at the Goethe Zentrum as part of their ‘Make a Difference' environmental festival that will lead up to the World Earth Day on April 22 with a host of other activities. The photographs at the exhibition reveal how Ambareesh shot the tiger at various stages. There's more to the exhibition than tigers — vivid shots captured by Ambareesh during trips to Kanha National Park, Ranthambore and Kabini. He is unassumingly honest when he admits, “I don't know the names of some of the birds I shot. I've just begun my journey in wildlife photography. My intention was to capture the birds and animals along with their habitat.”
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The photographs speak volumes about the wilderness, the foliage that varies from light to olive greens, mustard yellows to dirty browns and an occasional reward — like an early morning shot of an owl perched on the branch of a tree.
The exhibition is on till April 30 at Goethe Zentrum.