BENGALURU: Bengalureans! Get transported into the world of wonder, and experience some breathtaking images of fauna in the wild as wildlife photographer Ankul Shetty unveils his collection at the Nexus Koramangala Mall on April 15 and April 16 from 12pm to 9pm.
An IT consultant at Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India, Shetty has been pursuing his passion for wildlife photography for 10 years. He says, “After the pandemic, this is the first time that I am displaying my works on the occasion of World Art Day which falls on April 16.”
Around 25 photographs taken over the past years will be on display. “The idea is to showcase nature in its purest form to the people,” he says. Though Shetty has been into wildlife photography for many years, this genre wasn’t his first choice.
It was in 2010 that the then Mangaluru-based photographer relocated to Bengaluru and started with other genres in photography like weddings and fashion. However, he soon realised that those were not his areas of interest. “I wanted to do something more thrilling and exciting,” he says.
That is when he stepped into wildlife photography in 2013 and it became his passion. “ I didn’t even have a camera of my own. Since wildlife photography was expensive, I did wedding and fashion photo shoots to earn some money. My first wildlife trail was in 2013 in Bandipur Tiger Reserve where I had an overwhelming experience of spotting a tiger, leopard, and even a sloth bear on my very first safari. For a few years, I continued doing all these genres in photography until I started ‘The Wild Terrain’ in 2019 where I offer bespoke wildlife tours, photography workshops, and nature camps thereby presenting people an enriching experience in the wild,” says Shetty.
Shetty has travelled extensively to various wildlife destinations around the world, including the Masai Mara and Amboseli in Kenya, Corbett National Park, Kaziranga, Bandhavgarh, and the Western Ghats in India. Sharing his experience in Kenya, he says, “Safaris in Kenya or the savannah grasslands (most East African Safaris) are quite different from the Indian forests. The open savannah and wildlife help in scouting and spotting animals in a much easier way when compared to the denser forests where the visibility is limited to just 20 to 30 meters.”