CHENNAI: Varun Aditya does trading for a living but his passion is in photography. His award-winning photograph of a snake titled ‘Dragging You Deep Into The Woods!’ was shot at Amboli, Maharashtra. City Express spoke to the youngster about his pictures, career and challenges.
Talking about the award winning picture he said, “I shot a Malabar Gliding frog on a tree and then I began searching the ground for its tiny fluorescent green tadpoles. That is when I spotted this Green Vine Snake on a small dead branch just behind the walking path. I walked in front of the snake and that was my first encounter with a snake at such a short distance.”
Despite the intricacy of the photo, Varun never expected to win anything for it, much less an award! “Basically, I don’t participate in competitions because there is a big difference between a winning picture and perfect picture. After I shot my pic, I was hoping for third place because I was disappointed with the quality of the photograph. A perfect picture is the one that satisfies you.”
He also informed that a third party website had placed his picture in the 13th place among 20 other pictures. Then he got the official news from NatGeo that his picture was among the top 10. “I signed the affidavits and sent 20 raw shots of the photograph and later I was told that I was the winner,” he smiled.
Talking about the importance of encouragement in life he said, “Encouragement and motivation works wonders. It gives me happiness and the drive to move forward and never stop working.
I wish everyone gets the encouragement like I got from my parents and friends.” He was also inspired by photographers Bence Mate, Burrad Lucas, David Llyod and Dhritiman Mukherjee from India.
He loves action and nature photography too. “I travel a lot with my parents and I stay near Marudamalai. I grew up watching the mountains and greenery. I love bird watching as well.”
His words of advice? “There is no steady career in wildlife photography. The only way to earn money is by conducting workshops or rent your equipment.” Varun will start conducting workshops after a year or two.
Varun opines that a lot of good conservationists and many lawmakers are trying their best to save nature. “If we respect it, we would never exploit but just admire the beauty of it. There are a few photographers who use bait to get a perfect shot, but it may die after a couple of days.”