Wildlife photography expo reveals hidden side of nature

Nagpur: The hidden side of forest life of wild animals was brought into light through brilliant photographs at a wildlife photography exhibition which started on Tuesday at Government Art and Design College (GADC).

The five-day exhibition with theme 'Indian Wildlife' is organized by Maharashtra Forest Department, Social Forestry Division, Birds of Vidarbha and GADC as a part of wildlife week. Around 750 photographers from the country participated in the competition from which 100 were selected for display.

The exhibition was inaugurated by collector Sachin Kurve, Shailesh Balakwade, SP Nagpur rural, Kadambari Balakwade, CEO Zilla Parishad. A range of photographs illustrating the unique life of forest were displayed at the exhibition.

"India is geographically diverse so a range of wild animals can be observed in its territory, so wildlife photography has a wide scope in our country. Wildlife photography in India is not so popular but exhibitions like this will definitely inspire young photographers like me," said Gauri Paranspe final year student of photography in GADC.

Many other pictures of wild animals that catched the eye of the photographers included a picture of two elephants locking teethes, a rhino standing in the middle of village road, an elephant taking a dip in a lake on a sunny day while a tiger swimming and a black panther posing for photograph while climbing on a tree and many other unique pictures conveyed a story through the photographs at the exhibition.

Another student of photography Rutuja Pathak said, "Every photograph must have a composition and a good story. Every photograph at the exhibition shows a different side of forest life. Workshops on wildlife photography will definitely benefit budding photographers."

Deputy conservator of forest G Mallikarjuna, said, "For this year's competition we requested work of wildlife photographers from all over India online, and out of 750 photos, we selected best 100. The winner of the competition will be awarded after the exhibition is over." The exhibition will be open for citizens till October 7.