“It was a full moon day and I ventured into the Nagamalai forest armed with a Canon 7D Mark II camera. Even from a distance, I could clearly see the details of the shrubs and trees – from the veins in the leaves, the texture of tree trunks and night-time flowers to the bats hanging from branches,” B Neeraj Kumar recounts the experience of his first visit to the jungle. “The forest had an eerie feel, but I was looking for something even tinier – the insects. I scanned the tender shoots beneath flowers, the petals and leaf blades, hoping to find a different and funky looking insect.”
Ever since, Kumar's father N Baskaran, DSP Vigilance, Madurai, gifted him the fancy dslr couple of years ago, he has been on a spree of shooting birds, animals and insects. The budding wildlife photographer's first love for clicking birds bloomed in Nagercoil. “My father's transfer took us to Nagercoil and I was mesmerised by the scenic beauty of the place. Surrounded by hills and farmlands, I took pictures of birds there, even without knowing their names initially. Later, I developed interest in nature and landscape photography. My latest love is macro and that's why I trail insects.”
Neeraj spends much of the evenings and early mornings either in his backyard or in the Nagamalai forest. Apart from brilliant pictures of common, rare and exotic insects, he also takes home rashes from insect bites. “Once I get into the bushes, I can't avoid getting bitten. Rashes and itches have become common for me. However, I enjoy shooting insects. They are unique in many ways from appearance, life cycle to behaviour.” From ants, house flies, cockroaches, grasshoppers and bugs to honey bees, grey mantis and a wide variety of other forest dwelling insects, Kumar has captured them all on his macro 100mm F 2.8 lens. Some pictures of house flies remind of the visuals from the movie Eega. The pictures are so vivid that one can see the textures of the compound eyes of insects.
“On one my visits to Nagamalai, I noticed white spots on the calyx of a wild flower. On the next visit, I saw them moving and I realised that they were ant eggs. In the successive trips, I saw them hatch and become adult ants. It was like watching a wonder coming to life. Till then, I had no idea of ant eggs. Though, ants are the most common insects we encounter on a daily basis, I realised that we knew so little about them,” narrates Kumar.
Photographing insects is more difficult, says Kumar. “They are extremely sensitive. Sometimes, you tend to push the lens too close to the insect and it flies off and you end up searching for it for hours in vain. The funny part is, you may find it sitting right on your shoulder, bag or lens all that while.”
Kumar who is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering, started clicking pictures as a 6th grade school goer. “I got my first digital camera in 8th standard and the first dslr in 11th. I always had a fascination for cameras, their mechanisms and the output.” That's how, Kumar now boasts of a collection of over 100 vintage cameras. “I hunt for old cameras and lenses wherever I go. The Madurai Sunday Market on Workshop Road is my regular haunt, from where I source much of my collection.”
Kumar is also trying his hands at clicking big wild animals. On a recent safari in Bandipur, he was lucky to freeze a leopard on his camera and is soon planning to visit Kenya.
“I want to pursue wildlife photography as a profession. But since, it's an expensive passion, I am saving money and sharpening skills right now.”