Photography: Into the wildlife

They’re sitting at work and suddenly the desire to head into the wild kicks in and the next moment they’re off to a beautiful jungle with their cameras in hand. Meet Dr Eash Hoskote, his wife Pallavi Kaiwar and their daughter Drishti Hoskote — a trio whose passion for wildlife photography has taken them to the most famous forests in the country.

Ask Eash how the photography bug bit him and he says, “It all started in May 2012 when a friend gifted me a DSLR. One of my friends dropped out of a Masai Mara trip, so I went instead of him. There I was, with a new camera, heading into the Mecca of nature not knowing anything about wildlife. My camera was on auto mode since I had no training whatsoever in photography. Very soon, the shooting bug bit my entire family and within a year, both my wife and daughter started visiting all the forests with me.”

For 15-year-old Drishti, her love for photography blossomed after a trip to Hesaraghatta. “With a pair of binoculars in my hand, I set off in search of raptors. I knew somewhere deep down, that these cameras were going to become my partners in the future. Our next trip was to the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. My parents gave me a Nikon D90 and a 70-300 lens. And that was it. Since then, the camera has been my closest friend,” says the teen, whose images have been published in prestigious wildlife magazines.

The well-known places they’ve shot at in India include the Jim Corbett National Park, Kanha Tiger Reserve, Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve, Bandhavagarh Tiger Reserve and our very own Bandipur and Nagerhole Tiger Reserve.

Ask them if a license is required to shoot these wild animals and Eash answers, “Licensing comes in the form of a permit. All tiger reserves/national parks have a set of do’s and don’ts which have to be strictly followed. As a wildlife enthusiast, what you have to understand is that you are visiting the animals’ homes and you need to strictly abide by the rules and most importantly, respect them. Any wildlife aficionado can get the permit, but this has to be done in advance.”

Some of the rare animals captured by the threesome include the Yellow Throated Martin, Himalayan Mermot, Collored Falconet, Long-tailed Broad Bill in the Indian forests and the Serval cat, Caracal and the critically endangered Black Rhino in Africa. “This hobby is so intriguing and addictive that we make it a point to go into the forests at least once a month,” says the trio.

Reminiscing their most memorable experience in the wilderness, Pallavi, director, product development at Philips Healthcare, says, “We spotted a couple of tiger cubs. They were playing, fighting and rolling over each other. They were also mock hunting, chasing, growling and scaring each other. Another out-of-the-world experience was when a tigress stalked for a good 40 minutes, chased a spotted deer, killed & dragged it in front of us. To capture all these experiences on camera is fascinating.”