essay

Minimalism is one of the interesting and powerful concepts or styles in photography, irrespective of the genre. ‘Less is more’ is a popular phrase which says: “that which is less complicated is better understood and appreciated than something that is more complicated”. This is the crux of minimalism. And its benefits can be seen in nature photography too. My personal understanding and opinion is that a photograph is minimalistic, if, apart from the subject in topic, there are very few distracting elements....

The amazing wetlands of Bharatpur support a wide variety of wildlife. Birds, among them, being the most numerous. Come winter and the migration season, scores of birds throng to this place to enjoy the abundance of food, water and locations to breed. This place, then, turns into sheer magic. The cold, foggy mornings, when the sun just refuses to come out till it is quite late in the morning, the ear soothing orchestra of the very busy flocks of water birds, the incessant squabbles of the highly territorial rose-ringed parakeets, the occasional howls of the wandering jackals, the whooshing-whirring sounds of the many cycle rickshaws ambling along, laden with people, make the Keoladeo National Park, an experience unlike any....

Spiders (Order: Araneae, Class: Arachnida) are probably one of the more evolved group of arthropods. They have developed a highly diverse set of skills and strategies for hunting. Some stalk and run down their prey, while some wait in place for their prey to wander by, using stealth and camouflage. Many others use silk and sticky webs in very innovative ways to trap their meal. A few of the highly specialised spiders belonging to the genus Portia are known to display intelligence in their ability to choose different tactics for hunting and also in developing new ones....

Kaas, the plateau of bliss, the ‘valley of flowers’ of south India is a biodiversity hotspot very close to Satara, in Maharashtra. This place is well known for the annual bloom of various types of wild flowers and its amazing reptilian life. It was very high on my wish-list of places to visit for a long time. It finally happened over the past weekend. With all my camera gear in tow, went there to make the best of the opportunity....

Patterns and designs are very much an integral part of things in nature. Even the most ornate of designs or patterns have a sense of reason for their existence. Be it a perfectly aligned ‘V’ pattern of the high flying birds or the elaborate embellishments of its nest by the Bowerbird or the gory dress up of an assassin bug with the husks of dead ants, each and every one of them has a powerful instinctive need and a purpose....