Hasiru Hejje: Workshop for a new breed of photographers

Last weekend, we were part of the Photography workshop at Nagarhole National Park conducted by Lokesh Mosale. It was the fourth since the past two years. The earlier ones were at Hotel Mayura River view and at Ranganatittu. There is one more to go in the mid April at Bandipur, the Tiger heaven of Karnataka.

A doe in Hadlu

Giving up mainstream journalism he took to wildlife photography full time and has explored all possible ways to earn a living out of it. Ever since he had his first solo exhibition at the Lankesh Gallery in Rangayana, Mysore he has lived on wildlife photography. Wildlife photography as a profession he feels is like getting back to school as a kid. Every day is important in the field; as every child on the right track in school feels about his class. He craves for unique wildlife experiences more than good pictures and that makes him a different shutter bug.

After the harvest...

These workshops are of intimate mode with just about a dozen participants in each of them. The participants are of diverse background and range from techies to teachers to scribes.

People with high end SLR cameras to the ones with a basic aim and shoot models would be on roll. The typical routine would be a session on the basics of photography and the choice of equipment followed by the operations of the equipment. Then you have as much outdoor shooting as possible for which there would be critical analysys case by case. The final session is about theethics and responsibilities of a wildlife photographers. Of cource this is where our involvement come in the whole workshop; to tell the participants that wildlife photography is just not about taking beautiful pictures of animals.

Fire aftermath....

Photography done purely for personal fulfilment and joy with no intentions of contributing to a cause is equally valid. However, there is a need to stress the ethics of wildlife photography and possibly redefine responsible wildlife photography because some get so carried away by the urge to take a perfect picture that they end up doing more harm than good to wildlife. It is not being said to demean ethical wildlife photographers since photographers and, more generally, anyone who enjoys nature are likely to be strong allies in conservation. But many of them turn a blind eye for something ghastly happening in front of them.

Meal time!

We have seen many of the photographers deneying to see a dead animal through their camera. let alone the idea of they inspecting the animal or the cause of death. "Of what use is that picture? Let's move on we may find a tiger." LOkesh who is in circuit of many wildlife photographers recalls their attitude. On the other end there are amateurs who simply photographed dead wildlife on the road in Bandipur for four years. Today those pictures are a testimony in the supreme court to stop the night trafic through the park.

Banded??

At the same time thre is seen such stiff competition among photographers about accumulating pictures of species and flaunting them on the social media.However, we do mean to raise the alarm about irresponsible and unethical photography. Irresponsible wildlife photography runs counter to conservation. Over gardening habitats to take clear pictures, destroying a nest after their photography is done, blindly stamppeing on flowers that are not so important to him and so on. Litterning and loitering the habitat is a serious threat. some times revealing the site to any body frevilous is also equaly disasterous to wildlife.

Knowing your camera

We make clear that photography itself is not so much a bane as it is a boon. As wildlife photographer, Morkel Erasmus puts it, qualifying traits for being a wildlife photographer include unwavering passion and dedication to the craft, intimate knowledge of animal behaviour, loads of patience and an equal passion for the conservation and preservation of that which one photographs.