USyd student's image ofcheetah wins accolades atthis year's Africa Geographic Photographerofthe Year competition

BY BAGESHRI SAVYASACHI

-year-old Aditya Nair's photo'The Murderous Pharaoh' was highly comn1ended in thisyear's Africa Geographic Photographerofthe Yearco1npetition.

Nair's stunningcapturetaken on safari in the Maasai MaraNational Reserve depicts a 1nen1beroftheTano Bora (largest known male cheetah coalition offive) in the n1iddle ofazebra meal.

Whether the imageisevocativeor disturbing,we leaveit toyou to decide.

"l absolutelylove thebigcat fa111ily,the1·e's so n,uch character to the1n,"Aditya told IndianLink. "Theguides, locals, and industrystafftrack theiJ·stories and constantlykeepupdatingvisitors. Thatway wecreate more ofan emotional attachn1ent to these animals. J wouldn'tsayI havea specific anilnal 1 love shootiJ1g, but I love a good leopard sighting."

Aditya Nairwasborn inTrivandrum, Kerala, and at theageofthxee hisfamily moved to Mon1basa, Kenya,wherehespent a 111ajorityofhischildhood exposed to the warmAfricansavanna.

"Growingupin Kenya gavemea unique upbrmging," theyoungphotographer pondered. "Wehave a laidbackbeach lifeas wellas the adrenaline-filled wilderness-bush experience."

Though he always had apassionfor wildlifephotography, Aditya onlybegan takingthe craft seriouslyafterhe left Australia,where hewas a n1arketingstudent at the UniversityofSydney.Theonset of the COVI0-19pandemic led himto return ho111e to Kenyajust beforeborders closed.

"I came backtoKenya fora changein environ1nent andwiththe intentiontospend moretin1ewithwildlife,"he said.

"Thefast paced, money-oriented city lifetooka lotoutofn,e. When I looked backat allthetitnesl feltatpeace, thefust thingthat came tomind waswakingup to asunrise iJ1the MaasaiMaraNational Reserve, hearillgtheroarofalion," he mused.

Asforinspirations,Aditya revealedTV shows thatbeganhisfruitfulfascination withwildlife. Progra1nslikeAnimalPlanet's MadMikeand1\1.ark, andthelikes oflate

Most ofAditya's shots aretaken on a camera bean bag that rests on the window ofa safari vehicle.

AustralianiconSteve Irwin reinforced the allureofthe wild.

Withregard to photographyand art, Aditya names NatGeoWild photog,·apher Shaaz Jung'sworkasasourceof encouragement topush theboundaries ofphotographyand addmgtouchesof surrealism.

Due tothenatureofthesetting, 111ostof Aditya'sshotsare takenonacamera bean bagthatrestson thewmdowofa safari vehicle.At othertimeshepreferstotake hand-heldshots,and rarelyuses tripods.

The photographercampsillnational parksforfow·to fivenightsata stretch, everycoupleofmonths. Thatn1aysound likea lottosomeandverylittletoothers, butmoney-wiseitcanbequiteapricey venture, especiallyifyou're notmakingalot ofmoneyfro1n the activityitself.

"However, dw·mgmytimeatthese nationalparks,I spendalmost8-12hours outonsafari. Sometimesgoingfrom sightingto sighting, andotherssimply stationaryinone spot,"Adityasaid. "As forplanning, plentyoftouragents make our liveseasybutwherever l canavoid the middleman, I do. It doesn'ttake time,it takesinitiative."

Social n1edia andassortedwildlife documentarieshave alsoplayed arole illhis understandingofthe practice. Hesayshis maillsourceofresearchis spendingtimewithanimals inthewild, observingthemwiththe helpofguides.

"As forwildlife photographers, there are a lotofus; l justknowthat there are two thmgs l aimtosticktowhen creating andpostingcontent. One isquality over quantity.Twoistostand out,"Aditya stated. Whatissomethingpeople don't know aboutwildlifephotography?

"Thateveryimage isadifferent story and there'salways someone illCredibly passionate aboutwildlife behind the lens," Aditya remarked.

TheAfrica Geographiccompetition entrieswerejudged on theirabilitytotell a story,evoke emotionandcapture the essence ofAfrica,which overtheyears, Adityaseemstohavegottenthe hangof.

"To alreadyhave myname inthe san1e conversation as all the other talented photographers mentioned is1nind blowing," hegushed.

Inthefuture,Adityahopes toworkin the tourismindustrytohelptherest of the world experiencewhathedoesinthe awesomeAfricansavanna.

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BY CH ITRA SUDARS HAN

byKrishnakumar