Techie heads out to save the wild

BENGALURU: A 28-year-old is on a one-man mission to save wildlife reserves and forests. Technology analyst Manoj Prabhakar started trekking into the wild and doing birding tours only four months ago. But two months into this, in Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary, he saw a skinny elephant and its calf wandering under the heat of the summer sun for water.

“The forest was very dry and there were few water sources left,” he says. He thought of how fragile the ecological balance is. “With that encounter, I realised the importance of trees and rainfall, both of which we have lesser of every year.”

Lessons in photography
Prabhakar, based in Chennai, is also an avid photographer. In May this year, he decided to combine both his interests and began organising walks through various forested areas and green reserves, such as Nandi Hills and Tumkur’s Jayamangali Black Buck Reserve. His efforts are towards making people feel more connected with and responsible towards Nature.

His next is a three-day safari at Kabini Nature Reserve on July 6.
“The safari will include lessons on basic photography skills and the need for wildlife conservation,” says Prabhakar, who takes inspiration from a wildlife photographer Harsha Narashima Murthy. “He taught me how to respect the forest and the ethics to be followed while organising such walks, how to understand and approach a wild animal and also various techniques in photograghy.”

Prabhakar will talk to the participants about the importance of wild animals and forests and help them understand the forest ecosystem, besides his photography lessons on everything ranging from aperture and shutter speed to composition rules and post processing using the latest software. He makes sure that the safaris and walks are plastic free — using reusable bottles and packing lunches from home — and that his teammates follow the ethics of birding and wildlife photography. “I want people to learn how they can create an image and tell a story without disturbing the animals,” he says.

Source : http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2017/jun/18/techie-heads-out-to-save-the-wild-1618213–1.html