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CHENNAI IS A PARADISE FOR BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
Posted on: 21/Feb/2011 1:11:33 AM
Chennai based Photographer Bhaskar Kundu tells us his photographic journey and the opportunity of shooting birds in and around the City .
A painter turned photographer, Bhaskar, moved to Chennai four years back from Kolkata. “I owe a lot to the city. This city has given me the platform to turn into a serious photographer and make hundreds of friends in this field. It is not easy to pursue a hobby seriously, after working as a senior executive in a Multinational Company, which itself brings in lot of responsibilities. Had my friends from the Photographic Society of Madras, not given me the platform, opportunities and encouragement, I would not have been on the success path”. Success in any field of art is relative. For me success means “satisfaction and enjoyment”, and I derive this pleasure by freezing meaningful moments in my camera.
Having achieved several awards and acceptances at National and International levels in the last couple of years, and participating in photography exhibitions, I feel more confident of my work. So far I don’t specialize in any particular genre of photography, but I’m certainly more inclined towards “nature” – birds and insects in particular. But in this field you learn everyday and through every photograph, and one has to enjoy this learning always.
Many of the readers are perhaps not aware that Chennai and its surrounding is a great place to enjoy birds, throughout the year, but more particularly from November to March. “Last year I took this opportunity to capture these little beauties in my camera” There are several places in and around the city which gives lot of opportunities to photograph birds. Some of these are ECR road, Muthukkad lake, Nanmangalam forest, Vedanthangal bird sanctuaty, Shar road, Nelapattu bird sanctuary, Pulicat lake, Kelapakkam, Pallikarni as well as many green areas of the city. One can enjoy the beauties of these migratory as well as resident birds in these places. Pelicans, Painted storks, egrets, hornbills, water ducks, green bee eaters, Indian Rollers, bulbuls, sunbirds, etc are some of the species that are commonly seen. Towards the end of January till middle of February, there is high probability of spotting herds of Flamingos in Pulicat lake. I’m really thankful to the Govt authorities for maintaining the city as well as the state environment friendly and green by encouraging trees to grow all around.
Bhaskar believes that any form of success needs three things: determination, dedication and discipline, and photography is no exception. “To get a good picture, it is not only the Camera or the lens that you need to have. You need to wake up early in the morning by 4 AM and hit the spot by 5.30 AM positively, because the early hour of the day is the best time for photography. You get the golden soft light, nature is fresh and alive and the birds and animals are the most active. Similarly, you need to be prepared to carry some good load on your shoulders – Camera body, Lenses ( the long lenses beyond 300mm are usually all above 1 kg ), Tripod and other accessories. The most important thing in nature photography is “patatience”, and you need to anticipate a moment and wait for it till you get it in your sensor”.
