Tuesday, May 11, 2010

To wildlife photographers, with love




I had just been to Bannerghatta with a few people I encountered recently. They were all, apparently, "Wildlife photographers"......

At first, we spotted an Oriental Honey Buzzard. Popularly known as OHB, this is a very majestic raptor. I have observed it many a times, but I had never till date seen it settled so well on a nearby perch. No sooner did one of us spot it, than someone started pointing their lenses at it. In no time, i was surrounded by people possesed by "The spirit of the shutter". There were shutter sounds all around me, and it somehow sounded like rain with hailstones. Hence, the OHB flew away... and only some lucky ones had managed a click or two.
Next, we spotted a group of mudpuddling common crow butterflies. Again, "it started raining".... many managed very good shots of the scene. Great.
A little later, I noticed a beautiful butterfly on a nearby bush. It was a spot swordtail. I hadn't seen it before, so i was EXTRA thrilled. I announced the find to my friends. One of them slowly moved towards the butterfly... slowly... slowly... by an inch, by another, and finally another. He achieved the right distance. Then started the rain - this was expected ! Even after thirty to forty clicks, the butterfly was still there. My friend looked at the LCD screen of his camera. "WOW !!" he jumped in excitement, and walked right through the bush the butterfly was sitting on..... obviously the poor bewildered butterfly flew away !

What I'd like to say here is - first of all, enjoy the beauty of the creature before clicking at it !
Suppose we see a butterfly, and want to photograph it. We approach it in a very soft, sweet way so as to not disturb it and cause it to fly away. This carefulness should exist even after getting the most amazing shot on earth.... we shouldn't be selfish enough to approach in a nice way only because we need a good photograph. We should do so because we don't want to disturb the living being.....
After all, we have BRAINS !!! :D LOL

Cheers
ABHIJNA

4 comments:

  1. sadly, this is exactly the attitude of a majority of people

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  2. yes, thats why i wished to post it...

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  3. Point presented very nicely :) It is true with a camera in hand one forgets to enjoy what you are trying to capture on image.
    Best approach is to leave the camera in the bag when you truly want to enjoy wildlife.

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  4. Very nicely written. Iv come across this situation quite often, esp while birding.. :(

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