JOIN USWildlife photography show in B'luru next week
Wildlife photographer Deepak Shankar will display 50 to 60 of his best works in a solo exhibition titled ‘Into the Wild’ in Bengaluru next week.
“While most exhibits will be 36 x 24 inches in size, copies will be available for purchase in different sizes,” informs Shankar, who stays in Jayanagar.
The four-day show will feature photographs of big cats, elephants and birds from Africa and India. ‘The Flying Hunt’, a sequence of photos that captures a cheetah chasing an impala, will also be up for viewing. It earned him a runner-up spot in the 2019 wildlife photo competition ‘The Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year’.
Although he has shown most of these works on various tours and his Instagram handle (@deepak.shankar.photography), he is mounting a solo exhibition for the first time. Going
forward, he plans to hold one exhibition every year.
Shankar started out as a photographer in 2008 and decided to specialise in wildlife photography six years later. A trip to the Yala National Park in Sri Lanka was the turning point. “All the hard work you put in amounts to maybe one memorable shot or two,” the 39-year-old says.
The love for wildlife started young. The Nature Club in his school, Sri Kumaran Children’s Home in Doddakallasandra, used to host excursions and nature-related activities, he recalls. As a tribute to his school, the exhibition will be inaugurated on May 18 by Deepa Sridhar, director of academics of Sri Kumaran Group of Educational Institutions.
His passion for wildlife photography has given way to advocacy for wildlife conservation. A lot of his shots feature predators or large herbivores gazing at the camera. “This helps to establish a connection with the viewer. I want the future generations to see the wild in its pristine state rather than go to the zoo, which is a commercial site for conservation,” he explains.
Shankar hopes to show “the beauty and intrigue of the natural wild” through this exhibition. He will be present at the venue to discuss his work, take questions and talk about his career with aspiring photographers.
From May 18 to 21, 10 am to 7 pm, at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumarakrupa Road. Entry free. For details, visit deepakshankar.in