Shooting from the heart

CHANDIGARH: India's first woman wildlife photographer Rathika Ramasamy had to wait for six months at Bharatpur bird sanctuary to click a perfect shot of a Saras crane pair. On her visit to the city, she narrated her close encounters with snakes, lions and gleaming birds of African jungles and Indian bird sanctuaries. For her, the most interesting work so far has been shooting Saras crane at Bharatpur bird sanctuary, Rajasthan.

Describing her 'perfect shoot', she said she had to wait for six months to shoot photographs of a Saras crane pair at Bharatpur. 'I waited for the right moment to capture elaborate courtship dances being engaged in by these cranes. When I got the shot, I was on seventh heaven. These photographs are possibly the best of my collection,' she said.

She has been regularly visiting national parks in and around Delhi to keep her zeal alive. She got into more active photography by shooting wildlife, especially wild cats, sitting patiently in hiding to catch the cats in action. She then zeroed in on the birds. 'I am a nature-friendly person and used to visit bird sanctuaries. I grew up visiting bird sanctuaries near my native place,' she added.

While she specializes in bird photography, she is also into wildlife photography. 'I remember a time when we were stuck at Nehru Park, New Delhi. While clicking photos of a lion that came suddenly in front of our vehicle, when we tried to move back, an elephant was coming from the other side. However, we managed to escape. I will never want to face such an experience again,' she added.

With her first SLR camera that she got from her uncle, Dr Appasamy, an amateur photographer, Rathika started capturing nature's moments like blooming flowers and swaying trees. 'My first candid shot was of my parents in the house that is close to my heart,' she said.

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