Mastercraftsman

The masters of the craft share their insights and photographs

Uday Hegde is a SAP Technical Architect by profession and is currently living in Bangalore.

He hails from a small village called Sirsi in the North Canara District of Karnataka. He is married and has a 9-year-old son. Says Uday “I was lucky to have been born in the midst of the natural beauty of the Western Ghats which I always wanted to capture the age of eight or nine, I used to take wild shots using my dad’s old camera never knowing the perfect angle. But that got me so interested that it became my dream to buy a camera for myself when I grew up and got a job.

■ Photography covers several genres. What got you interested in macro photography?

I am from a small village in the lush valley of Western Ghats and it was very common to see snakes, frogs, scorpions and different insects around my home. I was always very interested in watching these and in fact they were like my childhood buddies. One day I witnessed an event wherin a vine snake patiently waited for almost 4 hours, without moving an inch, to make its kill. This was a turning point in my life. I felt that I need to show the world the beauty of these lesser known subjects.

■ How do you manage to find your macro subjects?

Subjects are always the photographer’s choice. If you do not have a particular subject in mind, then even your home garden / plants in balcony will give you subjects for a full day shoot. Your subjects are everywhere waiting to be discovered. in mind, then it is ideal to do some homework on it by reading about it about the habitat, elevation level, type of forest and their behavior before choosing the place to visit. For example, Trimeresurus macrolepis, which is commonly known as large-scaled pit viper is found only in the mountains of southern Western Ghats , south of Palakkad Gap, at elevations of 1200-2695 meters.

■ Some of the species you photograph are obviously dangerous. How do you ensure your safety?

Understanding the behavior of the subject is the key here. Maintaining

safe distance during the shoot is always safer for you as well as for your subject. Safe distance always varies from subject to subject. A 2-feet long pit viper can strike almost one third of its body length which means you will need to maintain almost two feet distance during the shoot. This distance will become 15 feet for a 14-feet long king cobra. I always follow “do not disturb” policy for my shoot. habitat and photograph them in the best possible way from a safe distance without disturbing them.

■ Many of your subjects are nocturnal. How do you spot them at night?

Most of the nocturnal species depend on their senses – like smell and hearing – than vision to hunt during the night. Knowing their behaviour and their prey base will the night. As an example, pit vipers who mainly depend on their heat sensing pits will be around streams where frogs are in plenty. Most of the nocturnal species are more active

during late evenings i.e. 7 pm to 9 pm or early mornings , say 3:30 am to 5:30 am. All you need to do is to be at the right place at the right time to photograph them.

■ As a photographer specializing in macro, do you have creative freedom to portray your subjects as you would like to or are you bound by some restrictions to show them as they appear in reality?

I feel all genres of photography usually give creative freedom to photographers. Creativity can be enhanced by including some elements which are closer to the subject or by creatively using the light. As a macro photographer, it is my creative freedom to use image. I believe, showing common help in conserving them. In case I capture the subject from all angles the body.

■ Tell us how to go about capturing macro subjects during the rainy season.

For macro photographers rainy season is the most sacred festival that cannot be missed at any cost. As most of our trips will be to high rainfall areas it is very important to protect ourselves from insect bites, rain, moisture etc. and safeguard our camera equipment. I carry a good pair of gumboots and raincoat along with some quick dry clothes for myself along with a waterproof bag, umbrella and water resistant cover for the camera. Apart from this I even carry my basic medicine kit which consists of anti-allergic medicine and mosquito repellent creams.

■ What basic equipment would you recommend a beginner in macro so that he could start without breaking the bank?

When it comes to cost, macro photography luckily is the cheapest in terms of investment. It is more about your ability than the place or subject. As mentioned earlier, your garden can be your destination and this type of photography doesn’t really require any exotic locations and thereby no

need to bear the huge travel expenses. To start with, you can use macro easy to use as a dedicated macro lens; you will need to practice on how to use them effectively.

What advice would you like to give our readers who want to pursue this genre of photography?

I would like to say “Be responsible towards nature and towards yourself”. In any form of nature photography, your aim should be to show the essence of beauty to your viewers so that it can be preserved. Preserving does not mean you destroy the subject and surroundings to create one beautiful image. You will need to remember that you are entering their home and have to leave the place as it was before. Try not to disturb or litter the surroundings. Our small action can completely change the micro environment.