BENGALURU: One might come across many inspirational quotes to follow their hearts and prioritise their hidden passions to achieve ultimate happiness but very few are able to break the mould and take the step needed to reconnect with themselves.
Amidst those very few who take the road less travelled is the 64-year-old Dr Pradeep Rao, a consultant pathologist, who decided to pick up his childhood love of photography and turn it into an inspiring story that charts an adventure all across the world. Dr Rao’s tryst with photography dates back to his student days.
“Photography has always been my passion from my student days. At that time, it used to be very difficult to get equipment, but still, I used to click photographs when I was in medical college,” reminisces Rao. But life always comes in the way and he got busy keeping up with the ‘rat race of life’ and gave up on photography for 30 years.
As his cameras gathered dust for nearly three decades, the world of photography changed drastically when he finally came back to greet his past passion. “In 2016, I went back to photography. By that time, the science of photography had changed so much. From analogue cameras, everything had become technology-driven with digital cameras so I had to relearn the whole thing once again,” says Rao. This marked the beginning of Rao’s global expeditions, from Costa Rica to Ecuador, to capture the wild.
For Rao, his keen interest in wildlife photography stems from a love for travel and a deep appreciation for nature’s creations. “It is to appreciate the creation of mother nature, note behaviour of animals along with the people who are living around the animals in harmony,” he adds. One of the continents that he most ardently visits for his photography is Africa. “I always like to go to Africa. In fact, many of my friends and family introduce me as the honorary consul of Africa,” laughs Rao, emphasising that he would not have been able to keep up with this passion without support from his family.
Rao reflects that he wants to bring people closer to wildlife and spark an interest in understanding these magnificent creatures through his photography and the insights he gains on his travels.
Among his many remarkable photographs, one stands out for him: the capture of a tiger preying on a buffalo in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh. “It’s a dream image for a wildlife photographer. I don’t think I will be able to capture something like that again,” states Rao, highlighting the importance of the picture as it depicts another angle to the serious repercussions of human-wildlife conflict.