Wildlife photographer Anjani Kumar recently won two awards in the ‘Nature InFocus’ annual National awards held in Bengaluru. While his image of a fishing cat taken in coastal Andhra Pradesh won first place in the category ‘Wildscape and animals in habitat’, he was runner-up for his image of an otter in the category ‘Animal portraits and behaviour’.
Anjani is the only photographer from Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh who builds and deploys high-end DSLR camera traps and remote-controlled robots to capture images of animals. Similar to motion sensors used in security devices, these camera traps capture high-quality broadcast and publishing quality images, unlike traps used by the forest department which are more for data and record purposes. They also help to capture images of very elusive animals and are possibly the best way to capture their various behaviours without disturbing them. “I was always fascinated by jungles and animals, I kept visiting jungles to see tigers, and enjoy the beauty of nature,” he says, adding, “I slowly realised that it’s also important to document these moments and so I picked up my camera and started to observe and understand the behaviour patterns of various animals and birds. I also learnt how to use photography as a medium to spread awareness of wildlife and the ecosystem.”
After observing the otters for a few days, a curious mother otter finally clicked a selfie, and the moment was preserved
His pictures bear testimony to his hard work and research before capturing every shot in the jungle. Describing his award-winning photograph, he says, “‘The Fishing Cat at Twilight’ image was part of my camera trap assignment for Fishing Cat Conservancy (US) and the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department to help them in their conservation, awareness and education programmes of mangrove forests in coastal Andhra.”
He says he wanted to depict the beauty of the mangroves and life of the endangered and vulnerable fishing cat. “My camera was strategically placed based on the field research data to capture the male fishing cat that would cross the path during early morning and late evening once in 4-5 days to mark his territory. After a couple of weeks of failures, the cat finally walked in at twilight, getting the award-winning picture,” he says.
For the ‘Curious and Cautious Otters’ picture, he shares, “This image was taken with the camera trap at Mangrove Forest Coringa WLS, Kakinada. After observing the otters for a few days, I placed the camera right on the path where they would come to play and dry themselves. Finally, a curious mother otter clicked a selfie, and the moment was preserved.”
Not many know that the award-winning photographer is an MBA student and a musician who owns a retail and imports business in musical instruments. However, wildlife photography is a serious hobby and Anjani considers it a contribution towards the conservation of wildlife and forests.
