Bhavya Joshi / Member Interview

Engineer by profession and wildlife photographer by passion. I got addicted to nature at a very young age. I try to be in the wild as long as I can, to understand how nature works and also get the self-satisfaction of observing and photographing nature. Especially with bugs, bugs attract me much more due to their uniqueness from all other fauna. I call them common aliens around us.

I got many national and international awards and publications in magazines like national geographic, BBC. Those felicitations keep motivating me to do more and more unique things. I believe, nature is beautiful, unique, mysterious, and the best teacher. The moment you enter into nature’s realm there is always something new to see and learn. Capturing those random things will always give you many magical memories. These memories will always inspire you and serve as a catalyst to induce a change in your life.

Location

Rajkot, India

What inspired you to become a photographer?

Indian Rock Python! Yes. It was Indian Rock Python which inspired me to do Photography on Wildlife. I still remember, in 7th grade we were taken to a Nature camp and one Herpetologist professor showing us Indian Rock python and surprisingly he put the 10 feet snake on my neck. I was so shocked and shaking, terrible moment it was. He tried to calm me down and explained me nicely that how these animals are a part of our world and living their own lives. I can say, it was a love at first sight with this lovely animal but, that incidence changed my point of view towards wildlife. After this trip I was excited and curious about animal kingdom. I requested my father to buy me camera and he got me my first small solar camera.

Tell us about your first photo that really validated your interest as a photographer.

I owned small digital camera and I used to capture small backyard bugs. I was always interested to observe them from childhood. One day I found a jumping spider and I could capture it nicely. This image got many appreciations as a macro photographer like fetching me awards and it was featured as a Magazine Cover page too. That’s changed my mind totally and I found myself falling deeply into photography. And yes, I still love my first image. It gave me lots of motivation, inspiration, and energy to do something more in this field.

Back when you were just starting out, what was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome that?

In India, we require permission from our parents and have to respect their decision. Hence, I too needed parents’ permission and family support for doing different things from the same age youth. Wildlife photography was not so well-known in India those days. It became popular after the Bollywood Movie named “3-idiots” and in the meantime, DSLR cameras became affordable. Getting out for photography and visiting different wild places to photograph was also a challenge because of the obvious risk factors and I was not experienced too. But as time passed I continued with my passion and family too recognized my work. They started encouraging me and I got some more freedom to do what I wanted to do.

What do you enjoy photographing the most?

I love to photograph and observe every single animal on this planet. I wish to see the whole biodiversity, but bugs attract me the most due to their uniqueness from all other Fauna. I call them common aliens around us. And most of people say: ‘Disgusting Creature’!! If we see them closely you will find some interesting behaviors, patterns, body parts, and how interestingly & mysteriously they are living around us. Bugs are not considered important in our world. But the truth is our ecosystem can’t survive without them.

What has been your proudest moment as a photographer?

Well, the proudest moment so far was when I got the first International award from prestigious Nature Best Photography in 2013. You might be surprised to know that the picture that won the prize was clicked by basic gears. This award surely opened many doors for me.

There are many photographers starting out, who don't have the money to buy the camera gear they want, What advice can you give to them?

We don’t need too expensive or any high end gears to do photography. Most of the times we need vision for photography and that’s free. One just needs to used whatever camera they have, for example mobile phone camera or any simple digital camera. Some great photographs click from their mobile or some random small cameras and they can beat the DSLR camera results.

How do you feel photography has impacted the way you see the world?

Photography made me see the world in a different way. I am a nature lover first and then a photographer but still, my outlook for the nature and wildlife changed. I became more observant, I learnt patience. I became more creative. My perception towards the nature is totally changed. I used to like nature, now I love it.

What do you see photographers doing today, that if done differently tomorrow would improve their success?

Nowadays, Peoples don’t understand the word “Photography”. Owning a DSLR camera became very cheap. You go out; you click some random things, put them on social media and promote yourself as a photographer is very easy in this era. But this is a half cooked food. You can’t excel unless you understand the camera, learn photography, take interest in nature and understand how nature works. I always advice to my fellow photographers that if you are really interested in photography field than stick to one genre which you love. to see and shoot but Shoot uniquely, its ok to get inspired from experiences artist out there but don’t copy, Use your Creation and create, there is no bad art it’s the way how others judging.

What is your best photography related tip?

CONSERVE, COMPOSE, AND CLICK. I always Follow this three simple words in my field. Respect your subjects what you are shooting comes first and then photography.

Creating unique frame comes next. Do not just click; make frame with all the elements in it that shows the world. Surprisingly most of the photographers miss it.

And then click. On every shutter press, the frame which you made should be outstanding. The frame itself should convey the entire story that you have seen while capturing.

What would you like for people take away from your work?

I used to feel angry when someone copied took away my work. But over the period, I realized that it can’t be stopped. I surely suggest them to create your own work and inspire others. There is no need to take anyone else’s work. Art can’t be copied unless you are a mediocre. Art comes from within and it defines how creative you are. The more passionate you are in your work, the more stories you can create.

What are some ‘must have’ items in your camera bag?

I usually check my memory cards, charged batteries, chargers, rain protection for camera and first aid kit whenever I go in the field.

Final question, and it’s a fun one: Life has been found on another planet and none-other than Sir Richard Branson is piloting Virgin Galatica and has put together a team of engineers, scientist, doctors and has asked you to come along to document the journey. The challenge is you can only bring two lenses and one camera body and two other items. What would you bring.

Since it’s a fun question, I would prefer to have the latest high end camera, a tele lens and a macro lens with me apart from many memory cards and battery charger. (Since it’s a sponsored mission, I assume that my safety, food etc will be taken care of)


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