KOCHI: For Haripad native Arun Sivakumar, venturing into photography was a natural step as love for the art form was prompted by his grandfather P V Nair, a renowned photographer. Arun spent his childhood in his grandfather’s studio and developed an affinity towards cameras and lenses. In 2016, he set forth to Kabani Reserve Forest to try his luck in photography.
Though he was interested in street, landscape and wildlife photography, Arun was apprehensive about the genre he genuinely wanted to pursue. “I met the famous wildlife photographer Mohan Thomas in Kabani. A conversation with him urged me to take up wildlife photography,” he says. “He narrated stories on his trips to several forests -- what to expect and how to track animals. It took him nearly 10 years to capture a tiger on his camera. Fortunately, I was able to capture a tiger on the expedition. I’ve not turned back ever since,” says Arun, who works in a Kochi-based MNC.
Arun has visited Kabani, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, and Jim Corbett National Park multiple times for photography projects. His favourite subjects are hornbills and tigers. Though it has been four years since his tryst with wildlife photography, Arun insists that the sight of a tiger still gives him goosebumps.
The photographer refuses to edit his pictures. “Regardless of the subject, I prefer presenting pictures in an unfiltered manner,” he says. Wildlife photographers consider the African continent as their dream project. “Though I had a chance to visit, I didn’t go lst year. However, I want to cover forest reserves in India before embarking on other journeys,” he says.
Arun had big plans lined up in 2020, however, the pandemic played spoilsport. For now, he conducts monthly trips to destinations like Thekkady and Nelliyampathy. “I wanted to visit Ranthambore and Bandhavgarh this year. Hopefully, I can go sooner,” he adds.