Turning spotlight on habitat

Wild beings are often the silent sufferers of the cruel acts by human beings. It's high time we shed light on this issue and created awareness among society. Biome, the wildlife photography exhibition by 11 photographers happening at Chithrasala Art Gallery of Kerala Lalithakala Akademi hall in Thrissur, intends to convey the same through unique shots of the Western Ghats and its beings. The show that started on August 1 features 55 photographs to educate viewers the need to conserve the land for a bright future. The participating shutterbugs are Abhilash M.R., Arun Vijayakumar, Mridula S., Muhammed Sayeer P.K., Muralimohan P.V., Salish Menachery, Sandeep Das, Sasikiran K., Sreedev Puthur, Sujith Surendran and Vinodh Venugopal.

"The show features five photos by each photographer,” says Sandeep Das, who is a researcher by profession and wildlife photographer by passion. That is one interesting aspect of the show. Not all the participants are professional wildlife photographers. “From banking to IT, they hail from different professions,” says Sandeep. What binds them together is their passion for nature photography and the equipment they use; they belong to the Nikon family. Moreover, they all are Keralites.  

The photographs take a closer look at the biodiversity of the Western Ghats which runs parallel to the Arabian Sea along with the west coast, forming one of the eight hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world. One can find the biggest mammal to the tiniest insect in the photography exhibition. Sandeep says the outcome has been an organic process. “When we put them together, it appeared in a way that contains all sorts of organisms in the environment.” Through the exhibition, the photographers aim to bring awareness on the endangered biological richness of the Western Ghats and the need to conserve it. “We always tend to believe that our biome (habitat) is what that simply exists around us. While thinking on a broader perspective, we understand that our biome is the biosphere where we exist. Here, we believe it's the rich flora and fauna of the Western Ghats and the sum of all that we have built out of it that form our biome.” Each photographer has taken his/her freedom in capturing the moments. The idea is to make viewers understand the importance of habitat, says Sandeep.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Prabhu P.M., assistant conservator of forests, Department of Forests and Wildlife. Praveen P. Mohandas, renowned nature photographer, and N. Rajashekhar delivered felicitation. The participants also have plans to help the family of late Baiju K. Vasudevan with the proceedings from the sale of photographs. The show concludes today.