Growing in Photography

I was terrible at this craft...

Hey friends,

Greetings from Bangalore, India!

So I booted up the old computer in our house because I needed to recover some documents. As I poured through the archives, I stumbled across some old photos taken perhaps five years ago. 

I started taking photography seriously around seven years ago, and back then, I was only obsessed with wildlife photography. I would shoot only when we visited tiger reserves, so my exposure to this art form was greatly limited (you can’t visit these places every day). But back then, I would come back with images that I deemed worthy of several Pulitzers. To me, they were priceless. 

But now, when I look back at them, I’m shocked. What was once aesthetic now looks downright awful. I mean, you take a look for yourself. 

Gosh. This is an old image of mine of a wild dog—a rare sighting—from the forests of Nagarhole at least 5 years ago.. Man, my photography was so bad then.

This is a sloth bear, incase that wasn’t clear. I won’t blame you if you couldn’t ID it.

Having never looked back, I didn’t know whether I was improving my craft. But I now find solace in the new images in my portfolio. Five years on, at least there has been some improvement. Please indulge me as I share a few of my favourites. 

Part of my improved photography skills is my access to better camera equipment. I might as well admit it. The Sony line of cameras genuinely live up to their reputation. 

But what moved the needle the most was simply taking thousands of photographs. Gosh. By now, I must have taken tens of thousands of photographs. I’ve had to buy an extra hard disk to save the images because the old one was filling up. I improved at photography by relentlessly pursuing the craft.

There is no substitute for practice. Now that I know that, I’m excited to see what the future holds. I await the day when I look back at my current photographs with shame and horror :)

David Yarrow, one of my photography idols, said that a good photographer knows less is more. By his standards, a good photographer can only take six shots worthy of showing the world. Now, that figure is around 20-30 per year for me. Maybe I need to sharpen my critical lens…

I don’t think these old “poor” shots of mine are useless. They bring back fond memories of a time when I was so hungry for the wild that I couldn’t talk about anything else. I guess these shots also show that the value of a photograph goes beyond its aesthetic appeal. Photographs carry emotional weight, too. Why else will a blurry shot of a wild dog or a crumpled, old picture of a deceased relative mean so much to us? 

Postcard

The Lion-tailed Macaque is among the most beautiful animals I’ve ever seen. I was in Valparai recently, where I spent much time photographing this enigmatic animal. I always wanted to take a high-intensity fine art, bnw, portrait, which you can see above. I think it captures the majesty of this endangered primate. 

I’ve wanted to visit this town for a long time, but I’m glad I did not go there when my photography skills were poor. I wouldn’t have been able to do this gorgeous creature justice. 

I got my dream shot of this animal, which I wrote about in another newsletter. You can read that below. 

Favourite Quote

"For my part, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream" - Van Gogh 

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.

I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my newsletter and work with your friends. It really helps me out :)