Call of the hinterland

Wildlife is where her lens comes alive, candid, apt and almost as if capturing never-before seen images. Arguably one of India’s foremost wildlife photographers, Rathika Ramasamy is passionate about wildlife and nature. In documenting wildlife through her photographs, she has developed a style of technical excellence combined with a captivating story. And always on the move, she likes the call of the hinterland, to capture those images.

Water ballet: Indian Darter, Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan

Courtship game: A pair of blackbucks, an endangered species, in courtship. One can see hundreds of blackbucks at the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, Rajasthan.

She has travelled to most of the national parks in India, and has also been to national parks in Africa and sitting patiently, awaiting that one stark moment, one can easily picture her deep in her anticipation of that quick set of clicks. Wildlife photography is not only her passion, but she feels, that, “It’s a powerful medium to help conserve nature.”

The attack: A pair of parakeets chasing away a monitor lizard when they find it trying to steal their eggs at Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan

Play time: Baby elephants in a playful mood, at Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand

Her work has been appreciated and featured in several national and international publications. “My photographs have been featured in National Geographic Traveller India, Better Photography, Sanctuary Asia, Smart photography, Discover India, Travel and Flavors, Fotowide, Kyoorius-14 Rediff Indiaabraod and Uccelli in Natura among others,” says the photographer.

After a busy morning of fishing and feeding, a squadron of pelicans at Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, is basking in the sun at noon on a tiny island. Two of them got up and started preening.

Selected as one of the top bird photographers in India by ‘Birds of India’ in 2008, February 2010 saw Rathika publish her first photo book on photography, a photo book collection of her best images. The year 2014  Rathika went beyond just the nature inspired to capture hidden acts of nature in her  The Best of Wildlife Moments, a photo book of wildlife  moments from her collection. Rathika was also conferred the “Inspiring Icon Award” in 2015 from Sathyabama University, Chennai, and later the ICF (The International Camera Fair) award for her achievements in wildlife photography.

Pecking order: Pair of spotted owlet preening and helping each other. They are active nocturnally, but during summer they come out on open branches.

The Delhi-based photographer  takes her Nikon where ever she trudges, be it mountains or deep valleys. “I just finished shooting near Ajmer, for Lesser floricanan, it is an endangered species and you sight and shoot it only in the monsoon. I am going this week to shoot monsoon birds near Kumaon hills. Will shoot at this place until October,” says Rathika. She also loves conducting wildlife photography workshops. “I have many favourite images. It was my dream shot, to have a predator and prey in the same frame. I got a memorable moment to capture a predator and prey looking at each other. The picture also captures the habitat that is typical of Corbett,” ends the dreamer.

Rathika can be reached at http://www.rathikaramasamy.com and https://www.facebook.com/RathikaRamasamyPhotography