Rooted in the belief that every photograph tells a compelling story, Sony BBC invited entries for the third edition of the photography competition Earth In Focus. This year’s theme Pride of India celebrated India’s architecture, cultures, and people. The month-long photography contest featuring subcategories such as Wildlife, Portraits, and Monuments, received over 6000 entries. The competition allowed people to cast their vote for their favourite photos and received more than a lakh votes.
The winners — Arun Kumar, Luqmaan Zeerak, and Dhruv Shilpi — get a chance to be featured on the Sony BBC Earth channel. Additionally, the top 15 winners also receive an opportunity to learn from the contest judge Supreet Sahoo, an avid birdwatcher and an award-winning photographer with a specialty in tropical bird photography. During his years in the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and several countries in Central and South America, Supreet has photographed over 3000 species of birds.
Born and raised in India, Supreet has done birding extensively across the continent. “My favourite locations are in Southern and Northeastern parts of India. Since I have spent a lot of time back home with my parents in Odisha, I have had my fair share of birding in wetlands and mangrove forests as well,” he explains adding that judging the Sony BBC Earth’s ‘Earth In Focus’ contest was an enriching experience.
While in the wildlife category, one entry that stood out depicted a rare interaction between a predator and its prey, capturing a moment of intensity and vulnerability, in monuments, a photograph showcasing the play of light and shadow on an ancient structure conveyed timeless beauty. The portraits category featured an entry that portrayed human emotion, creating a connection between the viewer and the subject. “Each category offered a visual feast of stories, demonstrating the incredible diversity of our planet,” he adds.
Supreet says while photographing wildlife one has to understand the subject to predict certain behaviours, which in turn helps to get a good photo. On his experience in tropical rainforests, he says, “ Latin America is the most biodiverse continent on the planet and the fact that I call incredible countries like Costa Rica and Colombia my second home makes it really easy for me.”
The photographer, who started his bird photo tour company Tropical Photo Tours in 2017, advocates ethics in wildlife photography at workshops and photo tours. “Welfare of wildlife is the most important thing. At any point, if I feel that our presence is causing stress to wildlife we stop. As long as we do not disturb the species in their natural habitat, it is okay to click them.”
While praising the work done by wildlife photographers in the country, he says wildlife photography is one of the most lucrative careers, but is also one of the most difficult ones to get through and make a good living. “Whether you sell images, run workshops, or curate the works of others, a content creator on social media, money does not come by easily unless you add value to it.”
Supreet has travelled across the Southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to document some of his most memorable experiences. “The Western Ghats are magical,” he adds. His favourite shot? “It’s impossible to name a single bird species so I always answer that my favourite family of birds is ‘Cotingas’.”
