Asian Photography – July 2019

July 2019 - 35

hot-spots in India like Agumbe, but every
place will have something to offer. Even
sand dunes in Rajasthan have amazing
macro life to be photographed.

What is your suggestion on the best

season and weather for shooting

animal/insect(s) for our young and

enthusiastic readers?

In India, we are blessed to have the

annual monsoon. This is the season

when most small creatures come out

and this also happens to be the breeding

season for them. Any patch of forest will

give you so many opportunities to shoot

wildlife. Some of the best places during

monsoons are the rain forests. These

are either the Western Ghats in South

India or the forests of North East India.

One can spend a day and come back

with photographs of hundreds of small

creatures.

Our amateur readers would love to

know how it felt when you first got

the news that you became the BBC

wildlife photographer of the year in

2013?

I just could not believe it when I got

the news. I was in fact in middle of a

forest when I just got a little cell coverage

and read the email. I was too remote to

share it with anyone, but did jump in joy

in the forests. As you know the BBC/

NHM photographer of the year is the

most prestigious nature photography

competition in the world and I was also

happy to know that it was a macro close

up of a seed that won me that award.

What equipment do you use and how

important is equipment when it comes

to macro and wildlife photography?

I primarily use Nikon for my stills. I

use 60mm and 105mm macro lenses and

I carry a wireless flash with a soft-box in

front of it to diffuse the light. I also try to

do macro wide angle shots – keep the

subject very close to a wide angle lens.

One does need good equipment

and lighting for macro, but I started with

a 50mm lens and I used to unhook the

lens from the body and reverse it to take

macro lenses. It did take great images.

TEXT: souradEEp roy