2017-10-01 Sanctuary Asia

Sanctuary | Cover Story

The WULF pro K9 camera bag is currently the fl agship product in the company’s camera bag lineup. The bag is compact

enough for a person as carry-on baggage and it weighs in at around 2.9 kg. The reason for all that weight is the thick

padding that is there to keep all your expensive gear safe in extreme conditions. It has adjustable waist and chest straps to

keep the bag fi rmly in place and the latter can be removed when not required. The front two storage areas of the bag can

hold camera accessories such as chargers, batteries, a fl ash kit and audio recorders. Then there is the main compartment,

which can be accessed either by opening the main zip or opening it in two halves via another zip in the front. This allows

easy access to the inside partitions.

Speaking of the inside, there are enough interchangeable dividers in the main compartment that can be added or

removed to suit every pro-photographer’s needs. Wide angle, zoom or even a telephoto lens along with two pro-DSLR bodies should fi t

comfortably here. In fact, place your dividers right and it should be able to take in an entry level cinema camera from any major brand

along with a few lenses. There are four more small storage areas in the main compartment, which can hold memory cards and ND fi lters.

Finally, in the back, there is a compartment, which can fi t a 38 cm. laptop and maybe a T-shirt too! On one side there is a holder, which will

accommodate most compact aluminum or carbon fi bre tripods, and on the other there is space for a one litre bottle.

The padding at the back is exactly what you expect from a fl agship product and so is the stitching and the zips. The company says it

has used fancy materials such as high quality nylon and YKK zippers, which keep the bag dust and water resistant, but just for that extra

peace of mind they also give you a rain cover. This should keep your equipment dry, provided you don’t end up crossing a river with the bag

completely submerged. For all you extreme users, the bag comes with a limited one year warranty, whose terms and conditions can be found

online. As of September 2017 the pricing of the bag ranges from Rs.12,599 to Rs.14,849. Is it worth that money? The simple answer is yes if

you are a pro and travel around with an 800 mm. lens and other expensive equipment. For others who might just be starting off or who are

passionate about photography, WULF pro also has entry-level camera bags, information on which can be found on their website. The WULF

pro K9 can be ordered online and has free shipping in India. Reviewed by Kaustav Patel

has created a sense of competition among photographers.

This has also led to many photographers crossing the thin

line of wildlife ethics. Some claim to shoot for the love of

natural history, but do not hesitate to excessively process the

images, which sometimes have no connect with reality. Then

there are photographers who will bait or follow unethical

methods to get a particular image that is likely to garner

more admiration.

As a wildlife photographer, the well-being of the subject

must be of utmost importance. This means, not exposing

an animal to its prey or obstructing a predator on the

hunt. Nature photography at the end of the day is about

showcasing the wonders of this natural world and the

LEFT A spinner dolphin off the coast of the Andaman and Nicobar Island. These dolphins are known for their spectacular above-water displays of

leaping and spinning several times on their body axis. Many photographers are now creating fi ne-art out of nature.

RIGHT An alien-like, close-up of a great star coral. There is an amazing amount of detail in the underwater world and a macro lens brings out these

details, which are strikingly diff erent from what we see on land.

ADVETORIAL

and restricted to a few well-seasoned naturalists and travellers.

But with the birth of Internet forums, this kind of information has

become easily available, which means a lot more photographers

can easily access wildernesses and photograph some of the rarest

species in India or even the world.

Many of these photographers are willing to share their images

for free on the Internet – as they revel in their passion for wildlife

photography, rather than benefi t from it fi nancially.

THE UGLY SIDE

However, with the birth of social media, the wildlife

photography community has also gone through a drastic

change. It is all about how many likes one can get and this

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KALYAN VARMA

DHEERAJ NANDA/ENTR

Y-SWPA 2017