Asian Photography – July 2019

What prompted you to quit a
corporate job and get into becoming
a naturalist and then eventually, a
photographer?
I was always interested in nature since
childhood. But back then there was so
little information and so little opportunity
to go exploring. After few years of
corporate job, I initially thought I would
take a 3-4 month sabbatical and get back
to my job. But once I started spending
time in the forests, I knew I was not going
to get back. Photography became a tool
for me to document the wildlife that I was
seeing and also a medium through which
I could share the joys of natural history
with the rest of the world. Even today, I
would call myself a naturalist first and the
camera just happens to be my tool for
communication.

You mentioned that you are a naturalist?
Can you define the same and how
does one prepare to become one
academically? What would you suggest
young photographers to pursue?

Being a naturalist is about being

curious about the natural world

and exploring the wild to learn and

understand how things work. For one

to be a nature photographer, this is a

primary instinct one needs to have. Most

people think wildlife photography is just

about going on a safari, trying to find the

next tiger. But we have so much in our

natural world and if you focus away from

big mammals, there are so many visual

stories to tell. Every city has local nature/

bird watching clubs. These are the best

places to start.

Having travelled extensively over the

years, do you feel that a substantial

environmental change has occurred

due to global warming? In your

personal experience what is the

effect that you are seeing on wildlife

and nature due to this?

There are considerable changes that

you can already see in India itself. The

major ones you see of course are in the

Himalayas. There is a lot less snow and

ice year after year and this directly affects

all the major rivers in India. But beyond

this too there are a lot of hidden changes.

For example, the migrating birds are

arriving earlier than usual because

the insects that they need to feed on

have not come out or the flowers and

fruits have not bloomed or fruited. With

unpredictable rains, the breeding season

of a lot of amphibians like frogs have all

been disturbed. The females lay eggs in

late summer but due to the unusual rain

patterns the eggs dry up because of the

heat right after.

We will see large scale ecological

changes because of this eventually and

it will be too little too late. This is the

number one crisis our world is facing and

if we act now, even in the next 10 years,

we could do something about this planet.

According to a report by a famous

news organisation, climate change

will soon cause a total insect wipe

out. Insects are vital to any ecosystem

as we know it. How do photographers