2023 in Photographs

My favourite images from the previous year...

Hey friends,

Greetings from Bangalore, India!

So this week, I was supposed to share my 2024 goals; the stuff I have planned for this year.

But I am not going to do that.

Initially, I thought I should, given that I shared my review of 2023. If you want you can check that below.

But now that I’ve finished writing it, I feel like it is a little too private. I don’t want to be a person who says he’ll do something before he actually does it. I hope my actions will speak for themselves this year.

One thing I can say is that we are set to publish the book soon. Everything is finally coming together—the writing, design, and illustrations. Stay tuned for that.

This week, I am going to share some of my favourite images from 2023.

A shepherd from interior Uttarakhand, near the border with Tibet.

I took this portrait deep in the lower Himalayas, just 50 km from the border with Tibet. We were making this reasonably steep ascent when these sheep just strolled past us. Shows who is really fit. Ganesh ji (the shepherd) was such a lovely chap to talk to.

Police officer, interior Rajasthan

I took this portrait somewhere in interior Rajasthan. I don’t know where. My bus had stopped for breakfast when I spotted this officer sitting at the far end of a dhaba (local restaurant). He was only to glad to be photographed.

Himalayan forest stream, Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand is probably my favourite state in India. There is something magical about this place. I knew I had to take a long exposure of this stream when I saw it. It was just before sunset, and my fingers were freezing, but I managed to dial in the correct settings and get this shot. Photography in the Himalayas is not easy.

Saw scale viper, Rishi Valley

I found this snake in Rishi Valley School, a boarding school in a forested valley that I used to study in. I had gone back as an alum to write the some of the RV chapters, and found this little guy while exploring the nearby forests. Don’t be deceived though. Saw scale vipers are responsible for several snake bite deaths in India.

PS: My book actually ends with my interaction with this snake! Buy the book (publishing soon) to find out more.

Malabar giant squirrel, Idukki

I think this image best captures the ‘stunned’ look of a Malabar giant squirrel. I have spent almost 2 years running after this animal. I have a few chapters in my book dedicated to its home—the Idukki district in Kerala, India.

Bonnet macaque, Bangalore

I think this shot is a good example of what flattering lighting can do. Also, I feel like monkeys are not photographed enough. Everyone loves tigers and elephants, but if we give these primates the same attention, we can create some wonderful shots.

Fisherman, Kollam

This is probably my favourite street photograph. I was exploring the docks of a fishing town in Kerala, when I visualised this shot. the vast cloudscape combined with the boats and nets made for a very evocative scene. I hope I could do it justice.

Substack won’t allow me to publish any more shots, so I will have to cap the images here!

Postcard

Last week, I got my book illustrations scanned. This is one of them that I haven’t shared before. I was scared that I might lose some of the detail in the scanned image, but it looks like this one did alright.

I’ve been told that this sloth bear has a shocked expression on its face. Do you agree?

Favourite Quote

This is one of my favourite quotes about the rainforest. Unfortunately, I can’t use it in the book because it is too long. But I can share it here. Do read it; you’ll be glad you did.

The unsolved mysteries of the rainforest are formless and seductive. They are like unnamed islands hidden in the blank spaces of old maps, like dark shapes glimpsed descending the far wall of a reef into the abyss. They draw us forward and stir strange apprehensions. The unknown and prodigious are drugs to the scientific imagination, stirring insatiable hunger in a single taste. In our hearts we hope we will never discover everything. We pray there will always be a world like this one at whose edge I sat in darkness. The rainforest in its richness is one of the last repositories on earth of that timeless dream. - Edward O. Wilson

Have a creative, wild and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

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