that’s almost this is my 30th year so
when I started photography there were
just four people in Kerala doing relay
photography and none of these four we’re
professionals in fact I was the first
professional photograph I shoot
endangered wildlife flora for our wild
speeches but if you ask me the most
endangered species in India is a
professional wildlife photographer and I
should hotels
I shoot hospitals I shoot for Kella
tourism in fact all the pictures that
Kerala Tourism used during the first ten
years from 1992 onwards through the 2002
which brought millions of tourists to
Kerala were shot by me but that was the
problem
I was the in fact destroying nature with
my pictures I’m a crazy guy you know
like I shoot nature and and sell it to
tourism and these tourists come and
destroy our land so this is a reality
I’m talking about but before that let’s
just just to understand things what is
nature photography what is wildlife
photography if you look at the textbook
it says that it is a visual
documentation of the endangered or
otherwise flora fauna or animals living
in their natural habitat right but if
you asked me uni real skills you have to
be really fast because in nature
photograph you cannot say excuse me
eagle can you just hold on it doesn’t
happen so you need real fast reflexes
but if asked me really I would tell
nature photography is the training in
the art of disappointment because you go
to the that beautiful landscape the
elephants are there you wait for the
moment they turn the other side and walk
away it happens all the time but in
between nature will give you these
beautiful pictures so these are the
moments that the whole work
but my whole life it gives this
beautiful moments it’s a spiritual
experience for me so that is the way I
consider a trade nature photograph in
fact I can happily go to the forest
spend one we can come back without any
pictures I don’t have any complaints but
2000 changed everything digital came now
everyone in this audience I know you are
all photographers because you all have a
camera on your mobile phone right every
one is a photograph for now so it change
the whole lot of things even in wildlife
photography so what happened to us
hundreds and thousands of people have
now taken a photographic they are
hobbies but very good hobbies with very
good equipment and beautiful skill they
make amazing pictures but let me tell
you one thing the most important talent
that a photograph or requires it is not
equipment it doesn’t mean whether you
have this 600 mm bazooka or a Stinney
camera what is most important is that
your ability to see the image your
ability to dream about the image that is
the most important thing if we can
really dream about the image then you
can achieve those images I’ll give you
just two examples I was taking a small
group of people to Masai Mara and on the
fourth day we haven’t seen a cheetah at
the driver suddenly some cheetahs are
there let’s go and within five minutes
he stopped the car in such a take the
picture of the sheet I said where are
the cheetah where of the cheetah so look
down sir
so when he looked down three feet away
from the tire of the vehicle this
cheetah was lying down I said this is
not my teacher I want to shoot the
cheetah in its beautiful landscape but
the cheetah was lying here but since I
knew the behavior of the cheetah I
looked around then I saw a big acacia
tree which was falling down
lying there I said take our vehicle day
so we took our vehicle and I said let us
wait within two minutes the cheetah got
up walk towards the tree and climbed on
top of the top of the tree now you see
so this is what I say the power to dream
you must be able to dream and everywhere
you go you need to find those pictures
the pictures are around you all over all
around you but you have to isolate and
locate and make the picture this is what
we saw in Lake Nakuru it’s a place where
you have a million flamingos but why it
is my picture then we search for them
such among these million birds and you
have to find the frame that is what I
did with my next picture this is what we
got the way I’m drilling isn’t I am for
me this talk is basically for the future
generation of nature photographers I
want them to dream don’t fall for the
equipment don’t ever fall for the you
but just dream and make pictures in your
mind all the time
now let’s come to this digital era no
there are hundreds thousands of people
who are shooting and they are all
traveling in beautiful Safari vans you
go into company you go to other places
and and they are shooting see this is
what happening now you go to company you
go to bundle good then we have named out
the Tigers there so why does muchly so
much alesse that side okay this is only
Shere Khan so and people are just just
madly madly following Tigers and the
Tigers also have got hooked now if you
go to Cal Khanna or company and unless
you take out your own DX smart tool and
a 600 more fitted onto it the tiger is
gone look at you look at you it’s a
reality so when they’re all these things
happen one day something different
happened I was sitting with the tribal
chief inside period I guru self who
knows me very well and after you know
that inside the forest by 7:30
everything is over is pitch dark
so this tribe of old chief asked me
balancer I know you I knew a dad also
you have been coming here for a long
time you are making lot of pitches which
got you a lot of awards Fame everything
but let me ask you one thing
for all these greatness that nature has
given you what have you given back to
nature when you take from nature
and when you take again from nature we
thought getting anything in return
isn’t that visual that moment changed my
life up to that moment I was just madly
trying to achieve things it was just
about me my fame my success why I’m
telling is that the new generation of
photographers you are making great
pictures but you are posting it on
Facebook and you are getting this
million likes oh my geez vows out of the
world what is that doing to nature what
is it giving back to nature nothing so
when I was going through this
confrontation and pain one fine morning
one lady knocked on my door and
introduced at Milan my name is Christina
meter Mia I am the executive director of
the International League of Conservation
photograph was I would like to welcome
you to join our organization that was
the biggest honor I ever got in my life
let me just so what is IMCP
planet earth is changing vital
in an unprecedented move the world’s
leading conservation photographers have
like a visual army their images are
fighting the Battle of our threatened
bringing their passion influence and
talents the frontlines together we can
inspire change together we can make a
the International League of Conservation
photographers is a group of 60 people 60
photographs
except for me every other one is a
National Geographic photographer but
they took me into that Lee what we do is
very simple the world is changing and we
don’t have time and there are so many
people working for working to protect
our planet Earth and photography plays a
major role James Balog the great
photographer who was chasing ice for his
whole life told once a photographer in
the field is the first witness to change
so we are the people in the field when
you’re walking we see the change we see
the climate change we see what’s
happening to our rivers what’s happening
to our our oceans we see and we don’t
have time so in sort of one photograph
were working on a detail long project
let us all come together and we focus
our multiple talents there are
underwater photograph was there an
aerial photograph was so all of us come
together and work on a specific target
and we produce the result across the
world now conservation agencies
conservation organizations are calling
us to translate their research document
into a visual movie I’ll just give an
example we all have problems on the
Western guards imagine tomorrow the
other eppela karate place is going to
come up what will happen lot of forest
area will be destroyed so some results
scholar will be doing a detailed
documentary and finally he’ll bring out
this 800 page research report and give
it to our chief minister sir please read
this this has got all the information do
you think he’s going to read it okay
I’ll read it oh isn’t it but if we can’t
do that we can translate that 800 page
documentary document into a ten minute
multimedia presentation and we can show
it to the world this is what going to
happen so the end of the day my purpose
is very simple use images for a purpose
that is the only difference between
wildlife photography and conservation
photography
you can just translate images and you
can make people believe when you shoot
this you also shoot this this is very
important because when you shoot that
only show the beauty of nature we have
forget forgetting other side when you
show this one you show the other side also thank you