Toucan barbet in Ecuador
| Photograph Credit score: MN Jayakumar
Images can seize a second, place, animal or factor that may both deliver again a reminiscence, protect one or give viewers an opportunity to gaze on one thing they might by no means have the prospect to. And whereas this may be stated of all images, journey and wildlife photographers are maybe those whose work solely showcases the perfect second, whereas the remainder go unmentioned.
Anybody who has accomplished a little bit of birding or gone on a jungle safari is aware of the chances of recognizing a creature in its pure habitat shouldn’t be at all times nice. Realizing {that a} explicit shot would have been clicked after hours of affected person ready, throws the pictures captured by any wildlife photographer into sharper perspective.
It will appear MN Jayakumar has infinite reserves of endurance, perseverance and time. “Sightings are uncommon and might happen in a break up second. Of the 100 occasions you could spot an animal, solely 10% of the time can these pictures be used as they could be a blur or obscured by foliage. And even in the event you click on 50 pictures in that second, you find yourself with solely two or three, that are usable. Getting a shot within the wild shouldn’t be as glamorous as one would possibly suppose.”
Photographer MN Jayakumar
For sure, there is no such thing as a finish to the encounters Jayakumar can recall. “We have been on the Maasai Mara reserve in Kenya, hoping to seize elephants at nightfall. All of a sudden, the entire sky darkened and was lined with clouds, however on the identical time turned a good looking shade of blue. We requested our information to take us to any elephant hang-out the place we’d be capable to {photograph} them.”
“As an alternative, we got here throughout a couple of giraffe and have been capable of get a couple of photographs earlier than the sunshine light and it started raining. It went on to pour for 3 hours straight! We have been fortunate to seize the ambiance in these few fleeting minutes.” The fantastic thing about two stately giraffe standing on a swathe of vivid inexperienced beneath a sapphire blue sky is on show on the present.
He goes on to share how at Kabini a couple of years in the past, they noticed small elephant herds scattered across the backwaters. “We have been hoping they might group collectively however after about half-hour once they didn’t, we selected a herd which had a male, feminine and some calves framed towards the backdrop of Bandipur forest.“
Alert leopard on a tree in Botswana
| Photograph Credit score:
MN Jayakumar
Jayakumar shares a geography nugget: Nagarhole frames the northern financial institution of Kabini and Bandipur its south.
“After some time, a couple of elephants from the opposite smaller herds started dashing in the direction of us. Fortunately, we had an skilled driver and it turned out to be a mock cost.”
He mentions one other picture from the present — that of a cheetah operating within the golden twilight. “That was when two cheetahs have been on the hunt for prey. They didn’t realise then that that they had been noticed by a leopard which started chasing them. They took off in two completely different instructions; thankfully, we have been at a vantage level and I used to be capable of take six or seven good images.”
Jayakumar held his first exhibition in 1998 at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi to commemorate the twenty fifth anniversary of Mission Tiger, following which he has had many exhibits each in India and overseas. In 2009, he was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society, England, for his work on Indian birds. Whereas the honour is a rarity in itself, he was the primary Indian forest officer to have been awarded the fellowship.
Also read: Karnataka forest officer awarded MFIAP
Nature’s Splendour has round 30 of Jayakumar’s works within the gallery, whereas one other 5 have been positioned within the foyer of the venue. The works, that are on sale, have been printed on Hanemuhle Daguerre canvas and are his most up-to-date work taken after September final 12 months, throughout his journeys to Colombia, Texas and different forest areas.
A velvet purple coronet in Costa Rica
| Photograph Credit score:
MN Jayakumar
Hanemuhle Daguerre canvases are created with out the usage of acid and lignin, and consequently, pictures printed on them can final for 5 a long time with out colors fading.
Jayakumar doesn’t submit his pictures on social media platforms on account of blatant plagiarism. Nonetheless, one can comply with his Instagram deal with mnjayakumar23 for updates on his upcoming exhibitions.
Nature’s Splendour might be on show at Elegant Galleria until August 31, 2024. Entry charge ₹50.
