From sketching to photography is a natural transition but from land acquisition skills to bird photography is a paradigm change for anybody. Kiran Poonacha has not only done it in all hues and colors but also crowned it with international laurels and appreciation from the world’s best bird photographers.
Recently awarded the first prize in flight category of Birds as Art at the prestigious International Bird Photography Competition, Kiran says, “I came across a female Pallid Harrier, resting on the outskirts of Bangalore. I lost interest in her as she was sitting in tall grass and there was no clear view. But as I moved my vehicle, a Brahminy Kite took a dive at her. Anticipating another attack, I fired a burst of frames as the kite dove again and the harrier took flight screaming in defense.”
Kiran’s artistic imagery of birds is very unique when you look at his ‘Birds in Action’ collection. The lovely out of focus background, the foreground grasses, the incredible sharpness, a pleasing image design and the spectacular over the shoulder, screaming pose with the bird breaking in full down-stroke with a perfect head angle and a spread tail is definitely an award winning effort in a strong collection of flight images.
Inspired by the sheer beauty of many a winged denizens, Kiran, apart from capturing images of raptors around Bangalore, is presently engaged in making a collection of images of birds found in Coorg, as a tribute to the land of his birth. He hopes that this contribution will serve to raise awareness about birds and the need to conserve and restore their habitats.
It was in 2006, his wife, “also my birding partner”, he reminds us, gifted him a camera and soon, thereafter, he met people who shared similar interests through a social networking site. These timely coincidences evoked and unleashed his passion yet again, this time with renewed zeal and commitment. “My mom has immensely supported me in all my ventures. I go missing during weekends pursuing my hobby going from place to place, standing for hours together be it in water or wading through scrub-lands, capturing the birds in action. But before beginning any new shoot I usually perform pooja otherwise I feel incomplete.”
Kiran’s childhood is replete with instances of keeping pet snakes in shoe boxes, raising pigeons, kites, parakeets, sparrows and also rescuing injured birds. He has repaired their broken wings, spoon-fed young ones and releasing them in the wild. Once a Black Kite which was rescued by him and tended for one and a half years refused to part from him, he says and adds, “My father too has played a big part in nurturing these birds.”
It was in 2007, when I attended a Herpetology Camp held by Jerry Martin that my tryst with nature photography began. “Although I have had no technical training, everything was learnt by watching others and their photos. I imbibed the nuances of photography by surfing and studying the images of well known people and websites.”
38-year-old Kiran is a member of a virtual community called India Nature Watch, which houses works of brilliant nature and wildlife photographers from across the country. This exposure helped improve his photographic skills and gained him a distinguished audience.
A passionate bird lover, Kiran says, “I want to dedicate myself completely into documentation of bird life as never seen before and make quality images that will create interest even in people with less knowledge about wildlife, which in turn, will attract more people towards conservation. I want to start programs at schools and colleges to create awareness amongst the younger generation about birds and their importance for mankind and also make them look beyond tigers and elephants in the Indian wildlife.”
Presently, Kiran is in the process of setting up a birding resort in Coorg about 18 kilometers from Madikeri on the Pushpagiri hills. “I would like to bring people like Arthur Morris, Doug Brown and others here for a nature photography workshop.
This will also help me fund researchers and conservationists to study bird life in the Western Ghats extensively and most importantly start a program to reform hunters from Coorg to join in for the cause of conservation by training them to make a living through its expansive wildlife without destroying it,” signs off Kiran confidently.