My goal is to share my field knowledge and make people fall in love with wildlife and nature. We, humans has been consuming a lot from nature, many species are endangered and some of them are functionally extinct, my aim is to make people connect with wildlife and make them fall in love with it, for what you love, you'd definitely protect.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
My love for nature has been with me since my childhood days. My late nana (maternal grandfather) used to take me to the forests of Similipal, Bhitarakanika, various other parts of the Eastern Ghats, etc in Odisha. Photography became a logical next step in the process and a fairly new one at that. I started with shooting landscapes and macro subjects during my engineering days back in 2006-10.
Wildlife photography came into the scene only when I was able to afford my own gears, that's post 2010. One thing made to another, one trip made into another and here I am! Wildlife Photography is an obsession now, it's a level higher than passion, so much so that I've started my own wildlife safaris & photography workshops company called (Safari Monks)
2. How did you decide to make your passion for wildlife photography your career? Was your family supportive?
My family has been very supportive for my endeavours which has helped me through the years a lot. Post my MBA, I have a day job as a senior product manager and I have my wildlife safari company which we operate under the brand name of Safari Monks.
3. How has your life changed from being an MBA to a wild life photographer?
A roller coaster ride and just the way I like it! I am someone who can never sit idle, I wear two hats, one of an MBA and the other of a wildlife photographer and teacher and I make sure I dont mix them. This means taking a cut with one's social life , which I do in moderation. Wildlife photography and teaching gives me peace and will not trade this with anything.
4. What inspires you about wildlife photography?
The sheer joy of being in nature, amidst the calm and chaos of its denizens is something that can be experienced and not expressed. My goal is to share my field knowledge and make people fall in love with wildlife and nature.
We, humans has been consuming a lot from nature, many species are endangered and some of them are functionally extinct, my aim is to make people connect with wildlife and make them fall in love with it, for what you love, you'd definitely protect.
5. What is the level of commitment and time required in wildlife photography?
Immense, I'd say. One has to be a good wildlife naturalist, understanding of animal behavior and traits is very important. It takes years of practice. Similarly, it take practice to master photography, understanding light, composition and story telling. But if one is passionate about something, it's the journey that shall build the character.
6. What has been your biggest challenge that you faced while taking wildlife photos and how did you overcome that?
Wildlife photography demands a lot of patience, wild animals do not behave the way pets do, hence tracking them and being able to frame a composition aesthetically with a strong story in mind becomes very difficult. This is one of the most important challenges among many that I face in my field of photography.
The only solution for this is to have repeated efforts to increase your chances. Visiting the same place. multiple times, spending more time with your subjects, trying to understand their behavior helps immensely.
7. Tell us about your company 'Safari Monks'?
We registered Safari Monks in 2019 with the sheer intent of taking people for an adventure of their lifetime, and in the process imparting them our knowledge of the wild through workshops. We are registered in India & Kenya.
Tilak handles the Africa operations, whereas Kirti handles the rest of the world operations and I manage sales & marketing. We provide fixed date itineraries & bespoke safaris in Indian sub continent, East Africa & Iceland.
Owning a company is like having a baby, the responsibilities are huge and every day is day 0. So far, due to Covid-19, we've seen many ups and downs in these short 3 years, we plan to expand operations and our value chain in the coming years, expanding to newer locations, starting with merchandise. For more details one can check (safarimonks)
8. What are the important skills one should have to be a successful photographer?
For one to be a good photographer, one has to understand light and storytelling, These are the pillars of any genre of photography. Also, the ability to showcase your work to a broader audience. In this current digital age, everyone owns a DSLR (a mirrorless nowadays ;)). THe newcomers should concentrate on building a strong portfolio and also a way to market their work to build their own personal brand.
9. What are some tips you would like to share with amateur photographers?
For beginners, it's very important to start small and something within budget. The best advice would be to learn about species and animal behaviour and venture out shooting subjects which are closer to home, like visiting local water bodies, parks, grasslands, where they can spend more time with their subject and have the advantage of time & access to understand their behaviour. People have this notion that in order be a wildlife photographer one has to visit only tiger parks.
While mega fauna attracts more people, its the smaller fauna and any subject closer to home where one learns more: about species behaviour and photography skills in general. The idea is to learn to spend more time with your subjects to gain their trust and hone up your photography skills.
10. What is your long term plan/ future plans?
May be, own a resort in Masai Mara, drive my guests to the grasslands for a safari of their lifetime and enjoy my drink overlooking the setting sun. How, I wish! Near future holds a book publication(called 'Wild Odisha') which I am working on with two of my friends (Kirti & Lokesh). The book is in collaboration with the Forest department & Honorary PCCF's office in Odisha, aimed at showcasing the wildlife hotspots of Odisha in a first person narrative.
11. Which is your favorite book and why?
Tough question, I have many fav photographers and many fav books. A current fav is a book by Michael Nick Nichols called 'WILD'
- Interviewed By Kusum Jha
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